Apple News' News+ Recommended Reads widget, displayed at the bottom of every article, showcases a broad selection of content exclusively from News+ publishers. As every article in this module is behind the paywall, the discoverability potential for participating publishers is substantial.

For News+ publishers, the ‘More from’ recirculation box, which is positioned directly below News+ Recommended Reads, has recently had a change of logic where every article is sat behind the News+ paywall.

How FlatPlan can help with bespoke Apple News content

FlatPlan+ is a simple, no-code CMS for designing, building and publishing premium Apple News+ stories.

Publishers using FlatPlan+ get:

• Custom templates and layouts to mirror each brand’s style, with features such as animations, galleries, review modules and bespoke typography. 
• Support for rich formats, including slideshows, recipes and video-led articles, expanding creative possibilities.
• Every article is optimised for Active Time, ensuring readers stay engaged throughout. 
• FlatPlan+ users also receive expert insight on what to create and when to publish

Every article is optimised for Active Time, ensuring readers stay engaged throughout, with FlatPlan+ users also receiving expert insight on what to create and when to publish.

Here’s how it can work in practice

Take a cycling magazine as an example, where they produce a monthly issue, but their web content isn’t behind a paywall…

Their magazine subscribers will mostly be serious cycling enthusiasts. They will expect their content to have an assumed level of knowledge, where speed cassettes, quick-link chains and derailleurs are the norm.

This means their Apple News+ content isn’t going to be of continued generalist interest, therefore hindering exposure to Apple News’ wider audience.

By creating bespoke Apple News+ content that lives just on the platform, the topics can be targeted towards a general audience, with articles such as ‘Top 10 ways to stay safe when cycling on the road’ and ’How to perform a simple winter bike service ahead of your first ride of the year’.

It also means headlines can be written for the reader to create a curiosity gap that makes them want to click, and not having to be optimised for SEO.

Make each piece work harder.

In keeping with the cycling example, creating breakdowns of all-encompassing guides will allow for an increased number of audience-specific and buyer-specific articles, again all behind the News+ paywall and optimised for active time.

An article on The 100 best items of bike gear could be published in its entirety in the magazine, and then made into:

• The best new helmets where style meets comfort and safety
• The best safety gear for cycling in winter
• The top ways to track your long-distance bike ride

Similarly, a piece on the best bike rides in the USA could be broken down to focus on America’s hardest hill climbs, the best scenery, West Coast and East Coast-only recommendations or finishing your ride in luxury accommodation.

If you're interested in understanding how bespoke content can enhance your offering on Apple News, please get in touch.

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