MGR eCommerce Edge Weekly | April 21, 2020
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How to Rebuild Print Media - MGR Blog

Rebuilding the Media Industry Through eCommerce

Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack, wrote earlier this week on how he would rebuild the print media industry, which inspired me to write this. He came to a similar conclusion as the thesis that I’ve been writing about in this newsletter for the past year.

That starting now and into the future media and commerce are intrinsically connected. That every eCommerce company will be a media company, and every media company will be an eCommerce company.

The same thing that will save media, is what will skyrocket eCommerce brands, and that is the understanding that the audience is the product.

The success of media and eCommerce companies will be determined on their ability to own, nurture, and monetize audiences vertically.

What does that mean for each business? For media it means focusing much more on audience depth rather than width. They want audiences who are deeply passionate about certain topics, and eager to spend on exclusive content, merchandise, and anything else that makes them feel a deeper connection with that niche.

For eCommerce brands it means focusing less on short term paid customer acquisition, and a heightened focus on building out content around current products, while collaborating with audiences on developing new ones.

The most powerful brands in the future will be those who achieve verticality. They own their audience, distribution, and product development under one roof, giving them complete control over the customer experience, and achieving a higher level of audience monetization than ever thought possible.

Other Notable Links:

1. A deep dive on the magic of bundling, how discounts increase profits – DIVINATIONS

2. Is Facebook Marketplace a solid alternative (or supplement) to Amazon? – MODERN RETAIL

3. Inside Kanye West’s vision for the future – GQ

4. How to understand your analytics data and boost sales – MGR

 

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