Rise of Subscriptions and the Fall of Advertising

Subscriptions are unbelievable. You have recurring revenue that, ideally, compounds month after month. Nothing else matters because you have growing subscriptions. And then it stops. Suddenly, you report a loss in subscribers. And panic ensues. Suddenly, you ask: should I have been so anti-ad all these years?

We’re moving into the era of creators as marketing channels. It feels like Facebook ads in 2012: the distribution is mis-priced and the attention has already shifted, but companies are too stuck in their ways to adapt.

The thing is, consumers in the bottom 78% of US workers live paycheck to paycheck, they already spend everything they have each month.They’re not holding back additional money, waiting for the right product to appear. Which means all this advertising is creating little additional growth and wealth, it’s just taking it from other companies.

There are extremely compelling reasons to consider diversified revenue streams. Expanding revenue beyond ads allows for the simple fact that people’s preferences change. Digital marketing experts estimate that Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads daily. There is a point where you can no longer stuff more ads down a consumer’s throat;... See more

Subscriptions or advertising. The pivot to paid is overall a healthy trend for many publishers, but subscriptions aren’t a savior. Ads still have a role, sometimes as the main plank of media business models. The success of Axios, Morning Brew and Dotdash prove that. And ads can work with subscriptions -- look at the success Bloomberg is having in t... See more