While 2020 was all about stories surrounding politics and COVID, 2021 saw audiences gravitate lifestyle and general interest pieces.
Whether it is news fatigue in the post-Trump, post-pandemic era, readers are drifting from news and are dedicating more of their time to hobbies and special interests. Publishers are looking to retain their hard-won subscribers by pivoting to non-news verticals to build loyalty and boost subscriptions.
Publishers like Gannett, Salon and The Atlantic are creating content-specific landing pages and giving formerly add-on verticals like food content a more prominent place in their website line-up. Publishers are also tracking segments of readers returning to specific content categories.
While some publishers are keeping specific content verticals accessible to all readers, some are even placing them behind a paywall to convert readers at known points of interest. Publishers like Gannet have even launched niche, subscriber-only verticals, like the crossword puzzle offering.
[5 minute read]
