some fresh context from an Industry bellwether

The New York Times stock price fell sharply last week after reporting slower digital revenues and subscriptions. With 3.8 million digital subs, including low-cost cooking and crossword subs, it's still headed to record newsroom employment: 1,750.

in part 1 of this story, i listed 10 metrics for journalists to focus on. in part II, andrea Spiegel, Who played a key role in my startup, true/slant, joins In as we explain why these metrics offer insight into the health of any news enterprise.

1

Audience is everything. It's proof that consumers want what you do. But how much audience? There are benefits to size and reach. Certain advertisers demand it. Yet, growth needs to be purposeful and core to your mission. The days of eyeballs at any cost are over. Sophisticated ad technology is pushing ad rates even lower. So, getting an extra eyeball to view another page matters less to the bottom line, unless you pile more ads on to that page. A no-holds-barred unique visitor push runs counter to a focused growth plan.

2

You need a loyal audience. Check out the monthly ratio between new visitors (passers-by) and returning visitors (loyal consumers). And while you're at it, check out the number of pages that visitors view. A paltry 1.5 article pages per visit is the norm (skip those empty calorie photo pages). You're doing it right if returning visitors are growing, seeing more pages and spending more time on site. Admittedly, this is hard to achieve, partly because journalists often cover what they want to at the expense of what audiences want.

3

Digital revenue must be the primary focus. It can take many forms. Ads are only one. The NYT began to erect a site-wide "pay wall" to drive subscription revenue in 2011 after a false start with putting opinion behind a wall. It also sells limited subs for its crossword puzzle and food content. Its sub revenue is now reported to be 60% of total digital revenue. Newsletters can drive digital revenue, too. The NYT is also playing the NPR member-drive game. Journalists working for its podcasts actually pitch NYT sub sign-ups.

4

Brand marketers are rejecting print much faster than audiences are fleeing it. That's because they can measure the effectiveness of digital ads in ways that matter. Facebook and Google are winning that game for now, but privacy concerns could change that. Despite the challenges, the magic line to cross is at least 50% digital ad revenue. Some big city and regional news organizations still hover at only 15% to 25%. Those numbers will eventually take a toll.

5

In direct selling, a human sales team pitches high-priced ads to marketers who want to engage with your core audience. Good text CPMs: $15-$25 CPMs. Good video CPMs: $35-$50. Integrated selling involves humans selling programs that combine print, digital, video, podcasts, newsletters, whatever. Programmatic sales through computer exchanges are much lower-cost ads (typically $2 CPMs). They're more for the random visitor and used to fill ad space the human team can't sell.

6

Here's the pipe dream: a sales team sells 100% of that high-priced digital ad space. That's not going to happen. Anything near 75% is great. And some calendar quarters are better than others. Low sell-through rates can tell you a lot. It could mean the sales team is not structured properly, or your audience data doesn't support higher CPM ads, or the ad placements are not effective. It could also mean neither marketer nor consumer finds value in what you're doing.

7

"Original sin." In the media business it refers to giving away online content for free. Today, it's all about charging for it. That's easier said than done in a world flooded with free content from reputable publishers still caught in the grow-audience-at-any-cost trap. Product development is critical to digital subscribers. So is data science and audience development. Consumers are willing to pay for content and services more than ever before. Think beyond a digital version of print. For local, it might be a community service.

8

Facebook and Google grab more than 50% of all digital ad revenue. Together, they account for more than 90% of mobile ad revenue. That means digital ads alone won't be the answer for publishers. Yes, other non-digital revenue streams are mandatory, but that digital revenue must grow. At Dow Jones, digital revenue is now 40% of total Dow Jones revenue (shy of the 50% magic line). But a great sign is that the Wall Street Journal's digital subscribers account for 70% of total subscribers.

9

Digital subscribers are great -- if they pay more than introductory rates. Newsrooms cannot prosper on digital sub rates that don't come close to print sub rates. I pay $25/month for an unlimited NYT digital subscription. Its newsroom will soon employ 1,750. I pay $100/year for another news outlet with 1,000+ journalists. For two years, I paid only $5/month for a third digital news product with a 600+ newsroom. It just went down to a promotional $1 a month. Think about those economics for a moment.

10

Then there's the ultimate number. In the days of "get me eyeballs," the focus was revenue per digital page, which ranged from a few cents to a nickel. In building a loyal audience, it's better to think in terms of the lifetime value of a dedicated user. To get your head around that, think of your annual value to a cell phone carrier or cable provider. I certainly know how much I pay them and I'm okay with it.

When you get the data, try to remember there is no editorial or business side to point fingers at in this new media world. There is only one team working together to find a way forward.

Some Great ones