The Apple News opportunity

As major platforms send less traffic to publishers’ properties and distribution of their content becomes more challenging, publishers are increasingly looking to Apple’s news aggregation product, Apple News, to reach and engage new audiences.

Approaches vary for publishers attempting to generate revenue directly from readers. Some are posting all of their paywalled content to Apple News’ premium tier, Apple News Plus, and are satisfied with taking the cut of revenue that Apple gives them. But others are looking at Apple News primarily as a way to build direct audience connections by pushing readers toward newsletters and their owned and operated properties.

FlatPlan works with a range of major publishers to help distribute their content optimally via Apple News. The company’s chief executive, Kieran Delaney, says publishers are paying closer attention to the platform.

“We’re seeing an uptick in interest from publications that haven’t delivered to Apple News in the past, and also publications that have been delivering to Apple News but suspect they could be doing so to a higher quality,” he said. “Word has got around that traffic is growing heavily on Apple News, and there’s a monetization aspect that is being spoken a lot more about now.”

Driving direct connections and first-party data from Apple News

Audience engagement is growing consistently within Apple News, thanks largely to the strength of the recommendation engines it employs. Apple leverages a range of device-level data – such as downloaded apps and other behavioral information – to help surface relevant content to readers, which makes it a potentially powerful discovery vehicle.

From there, some publishers are using the platform effectively to funnel traffic to their owned and operated properties, but more specifically to build direct connections with their more engaged audiences on Apple News.

“The approach I would say to take is to get the audience to your content, focus on bringing them back as much as you can, and then to look at using calls to action within articles to drive those audiences toward newsletters,” Delaney said.

Some publishers say they’re seeing success driving users directly from Apple News to registration pages, free subscription trials, and other data capture tactics. But for the majority of publishers, newsletters are currently an effective interim step for building more meaningful relationships with casual readers.

“It’s hard to see how driving users directly to paywalled content would work on a conversion level to a high number. If you can engage the reader with the content and then give them a really good reason to sign up for the newsletter, that’s a good first step. And then from there, you can continue to build the relationship,” said Delaney.

Approaches vary for subscription publishers

Publishers with subscription and membership options are increasingly looking to third-party platforms such as Apple News to drive discovery and sampling of their content while locking down access to content on their owned-and-operated properties more tightly. 

Some publishers are employing that approach with Apple News, using it primarily as a way to drive new audiences to the top of their subscription conversion funnels. Others are leaning more heavily into monetization directly within the platform, making all of their content available within its premium subscription tier, Apple News Plus, and taking the cut of revenue that Apple hands them.

“If the reader is already in that environment and they’re already engaging and paying a subscription for Apple News Plus, there’s certainly an argument for publishers that being part of that package does make sense from a business perspective,” Delaney said.

Others are pursuing strategies that sit somewhere in between, aiming to leverage the platform for both native monetization and to help drive direct paying relationships with their most engaged audience segments. That might involve making some content freely available on Apple News, publishing some content only for Apple News Plus subscribers, and also holding back portions of content or other features that are only available via their own properties.

The most effective approach depends largely on the nature of publications’ content, brands and audiences. Those targeting highly specific audiences or focused on niche coverage areas might be able to leverage Apple News effectively to drive direct paying relationships with readers, for example, while more generalist publications might see more success publishing to Apple News Plus.

Apple’s incentives

Publishers are no strangers to the idea that platforms are ultimately incentivized to keep users within their own four walls and to leverage their positions as an intermediary between audiences and publishers where they can. It’s safe to assume that publishers’ relationship with Apple News and opportunities to drive traffic from the platform back to their own properties could change as the product and the broader media landscape continue to evolve and shift.

But Delaney said he sees no evidence currently that Apple will make any significant changes to what it allows publishers to do on its News platform in the near future.

“We certainly have never seen any guidance from Apple to say, ‘Please don’t send readers off into app downloads’ or ‘Don’t send them off into newsletters’. I think there’s an understanding from Apple that ultimately publishers need to build their own businesses as well, and that data capture is an important part of that. I really can’t imagine a scenario where Apple would say to publishers, you can’t be building your own first-party data,” he said.

Interest in branded content grows

Apple News includes a range of monetization opportunities for publishers including display advertising, pre-roll video, and the ability to monetize via affiliate models as they might on their own properties. However, the opportunity to distribute branded or sponsored content on behalf of partners is proving particularly interesting to some publishers.

“We are seeing an increase in publishers that are selling in direct campaigns, and we’re increasingly seeing publishers putting lines within media packs for Apple News-specific branded content products,” Delaney said.

As traffic to Apple News grows, publishers are thinking more carefully about how best to leverage the inventory and eyeballs they’re attracting on the platform. And when it comes to pitching to marketers, many are leaning into the premium experience it affords and the inherent qualities and characteristics of Apple audiences. 

How can publishers get on Apple News

Apple’s official stance is inclusion in Apple News is by invitation only, but some publishers have seen success in having third parties pitch Apple on their behalf. 

In terms of the types of content Apple might be most likely to accept, Delaney suggested it’s looking for publications serving specific niches and verticals that Apple audiences are most likely to be interested in. That’s difficult to define, but Apple has a team of human editors across the world manually vetting publications’ content for potential inclusion.

Delaney added that many publishers might previously have been accepted into the program without realizing it, however. “Apple News was more open many years ago, so there’s sometimes a bit of detective work that can be done. Publishers may already have an account that can be turned into a full account that delivers into the platform’, he said.