Why publish to Apple News?

Here’s a guide to the benefits of Apple News to publishers.

Reach a sizeable audience

There are 1.5 billion active Apple devices in the world. According to Apple’s CEO, some 5 billion articles are read on Apple News each month, with around 145 million people actively using it as a news source. The app comes preinstalled on iOS and MacOS and lives prominently on a user’s home screen, which has led to many people treating it as their default source of news and feature content.

Connect with a valuable audience

Apple News is an application dedicated solely to the discovery of medium to long-form editorial content, as opposed to social networks like Facebook that place articles next to personal pictures and status updates. This gives the user base much more intent to read editorial content, leading to strong average active times. Apple devices are premium products, so this audience tends to be made up of professionals with expendable income, an audience many publishers – and advertisers – are keen to tap into.

A unique route to new readers

Apple News suggests articles to readers based on interest, building up a picture of these interests through articles a person reads in-app and through anonymised usage on the internet. This leads to those interested in movies, for example, to be surfaced stories from all manner of publications that cover films, rather than just those they actively follow.

Articles on Apple News also carry recommendations from other titles. This can result in publications being suggested alongside comparatively larger brands helping to drive serious growth. Apple News is also curated by an editorial team that trawls articles and regularly features pieces from all manner of titles. These often appear in prominent areas of the app, creating spikes in traffic. You can find out more about how stories are surfaced here.

You can build loyalty from this new audience

Apple News allows your audience to ‘Follow’ your publication. The act of ‘Following’ on Apple News sends a clear signal to the algorithm to surface your content more regularly around the app. This allows you to nurture loyalty with your new readers.

You can also build loyalty with recirculation links within your articles. If you use Trending Stories or Read More widgets, FlatPlan can recreate these for your Apple News channel. Find out more about recirculation links here.

It’s a ‘sticky’ application, so usage is high

Apple News stories load inside the app (rather than bouncing the audience to multiple websites). This means pages load quickly in pages presented with clear typography and clean design. Apple’s combination of human and algorithm control means the app offers a steady stream of quality content, leading to a “sticky” app with high engagement.

With FlatPlan, your articles live on fully branded pages

Apple News stories open up within the app, and with FlatPlan those pages are branded to your publication, carrying your fonts, brand colours, logos and look and feel. Feature pages can take this even further by using subtle animation and strong design to create a storytelling experience and boost brand recognition. When combined with FlatPlan footers, articles can build strong brand recognition from a new audience.

You can monetise your channel on Apple News

Publishers can run their advertising on the platform, or allow Apple to monetise the publication for them. Display ads can be trafficked through Google Ad Manager or through Apple’s Workbench system. Native ads can be delivered to the app as well. Find out more on monetisation.

Once set up, content is delivered automatically and instantly

Apple News receives your stories as they are posted on your website through your CMS – there’s no need for a social team to set aside time for posting out links, they appear as soon as your team hits Publish in your CMS. FlatPlan allows publishers to post all stories or add a simple tickbox to allow editorial teams to choose the stories they wish to send to Apple, making delivery frictionless.

With FlatPlan, you can use Apple News to drive growth elsewhere

Our system, FlatPlan, opens up functionality like article footers that can be used to promote newsletters, social follows, website visits or subscriptions. Attract a large, loyal audience and every time they read an article they will be met with a fully branded, graphical footer promoting your goals as a publisher. Read a more in-depth explanation of why Apple News can work for you.