SODP Dispatch - 6 March 2025

The New Yorker Turns 100 − How a Poker Game Pipe Dream Became a Publishing Powerhouse

By Christopher B. Daly

Literate in tone, far-reaching in scope, and witty to its bones, The New Yorker brought a new – and much-needed – sophistication to American journalism when it launched 100 years ago this month.

As I researched the history of U.S. journalism for my book “Covering America,” I became fascinated by the magazine’s origin story and the story of its founder, Harold Ross.

In a business full of characters, Ross fit right in. He never graduated from high school. With a gap-toothed smile and bristle-brush hair, he was frequently divorced and plagued by ulcers.

Ross devoted his adult life to one cause: The New Yorker magazine.

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By Vahe Arabian

🎯 Winning Strategies for Audience Retention in 2025

Retention isn't merely a metric; it's the foundation of sustainability that needs to be prioritised.

While acquisition drives traffic, retention builds communities. In 2025, publishers must prioritise strategies that deepen reader engagement and foster loyalty.

Constantly chasing new audiences is costly and unsustainable. Studies show that loyal readers consume three times more content, share articles twice as often, and contribute to 60% of recurring revenue. Retention also strengthens SEO, as returning users signal content quality to algorithms, boosting organic rankings. Here are some proven retention strategies for publishers:

1. Email Newsletters

   Newsletters remain one of the most effective retention tools, but they must be personalised and habit-forming. The New York Times’ “The Morning” newsletter builds reader loyalty by delivering a mix of must-know news and personalised recommendations. Similarly, Axios keeps readers engaged with its concise, structured Smart Brevity format. Tools like Mailchimp and Beehiiv enable publishers to dynamically tailor newsletter content based on reader preferences, ensuring relevance and repeat engagement.

2. Membership Models with Tiered Value

   Offer exclusive benefits that scale with commitment. A basic tier could include ad-free browsing, while premium tiers unlock live Q&As, downloadable reports, or early access to events. Publications like The Saturday Paper and Crikey excel here, tying subscriptions to unique editorial value. Additionally, fostering community through forums, webinars, and member-only Q&As encourages deeper engagement and advocacy.

3. AI-Driven Personalisation

   Leverage machine learning to serve tailored content recommendations. Platforms like BrightEdge or Dynamic Yield analyse user behaviour to predict interests, curating homepage layouts or article suggestions. For instance, a reader browsing "AI in media" sees related case studies or podcasts upon their next visit.

4. Develop Brand Lovers

   Leverage habit-forming channels like apps, events, and games to create deeper audience connections. Encouraging interactions among readers—such as The New York Times crosswords or SODP online events and offline dinners—fosters a sense of belonging and strengthens reader retention.

5. Have a Good Onboarding and Churn Procedure

   Identify subscribers at risk of leaving (e.g., inactivity, upcoming expiry dates) and implement targeted interventions. Offer incentives like exclusive content or discounts on longer-term plans to encourage renewals and reduce churn.

It's not too late to implement strategies that boost retention and drive long-term engagement, you can start now.

SEO shortcuts gone wrong: How one site tanked – and what you can learn | Search Engine Land

AI has made it easier than ever to scale SEO fast – but with it comes high risk. What happens when the party is over and short-term wins become long-term losses? Recently, I worked with a site that had expanded aggressively using AI-powered programmatic.
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Google Answers Over 5 Trillion Searches Per Year | Search Engine Roundtable

Google has posted some fresh data, saying they answer over 5 trillion searches per year. The last time we saw this data was in 2016, when Google was at 2 trillion searches per year and then 1.2 trillion in 2012. Google wrote, "We already see more than 5 trillion searches on Google annually."
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Google Business Profile Update: QR Codes For Review Pages | SEJ

Google has rolled out a new feature for Google Business Profiles that makes it easier to collect customer reviews. You can now generate custom QR codes that, when scanned, direct customers straight to your business’s review page. Read more ▸

OpenAI launches $50M grant program to help fund academic research | TechCrunch

OpenAI on Monday said it is supporting a new consortium called NextGenAI that would focus on supporting AI-assisted research at top universities. NextGenAI, whose 15 founding academic partners include Harvard, the University of Oxford and MIT, will be funded with $50 million in research grants, compute funding, and API access from OpenAI, the company said.
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From ChatGPT to Gemini: how AI is rewriting the internet | The Verge

Big players, including Microsoft, with Copilot, Google, with Gemini, and OpenAI, with GPT-4o, are making AI chatbot technology previously restricted to test labs more accessible to the general public.
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