Confidence and cognitive dissonance between words that usually don’t go together can draw a lot of attention while also conveying the right message to the reader. And we all want to read texts from confident people, don’t we?

But adding strong adjectives isn’t the only tip we’ve got when it comes to coming up with your blog headers. Let’s see what other tips there are.

The Importance of a Compelling Title

A headline is the first thing a reader sees about your blog. Whether they’ve specifically been searching for your article or not, and it just makes an impression on them, the title has to make them gravitate toward it.

Headlines play a very important role in search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines like Google utilize headlines to interpret a blog post’s subject matter and assess its relevance to a given search query.

A carefully constructed title with chosen keywords in it can improve your blog post’s search engine ranking and increase site traffic.  Moreover, headlines may establish the mood of your blog article and let visitors know what to anticipate. A compelling title may spark a reader’s interest and encourage them to continue reading, but a dull or deceptive headline may leave them feeling let down or deceived.

The Elements of a Killer Headline

There are several weapons a good writer has in their arsenal which could help them write a killer headline. We will list a lot of tips below. Combine 3 or more of these to achieve solid results.

• Use active tense, instead of passive, use verbs, and be the protagonist in your headline urging someone to take action. Push the reader to action right from the start. “Discover The Mysteries of Oak Island’s Hidden Treasure.”
• Curiosity is very easy to implement in titles. Just find a search term, and go for it. “I Drank only Milk for 12 months, and This Happened.” Although this is an example more suitable for YouTube videos, paired with a thumbnail, it can also work well for blogs.
• Be Concise, don’t go overboard with 15 words for a heading unless you absolutely know what you’re doing in terms of keywords and SEO. That’s why our heading is a bit longer.
• First 8 words matter. If you go for a longer heading, make sure the reader can know what’s going on from the first 8 words.
• Humor can also be used in some cases, depending on the topic you’re writing about.

How to Craft the Perfect Title

Use 2 or more of the work-frames below in order to craft the perfect title to capture the attention of any audience:

1. Curiosity (You Won’t Believe…)
2. Negativity (Best Writer Avoid…)
3. Make the heading a List (Top 5…)
4. Use Timeliness (Fix Your SEO in 5 minutes:…)
5. Use Authority (This is How Gary Vaynerchuk Writes his Headlines…)
6. Target Deep Desire (Reach Millions by…)
7. Beginner-Friendly (Best Beginner Tips…)
8. Extreme Scenario (I Climbed Everest Naked…)
9. Reject an Objection (Shampoo isn’t the Best Way to Wash Your Hair…)

Once you’ve chosen 2 of these, combine them and get good results. For example, combining #7 and #3 is quite common in any space. There are many other combinations you could use for great results. Experiment! Here are some cool examples.

Always  A/B Test Blog Titles

Use analytics to compare different versions of your headlines and how they perform. It’s a mystery. Sometimes you write a perfect headline and another one that you didn’t really like performs twice as well.

Don’t underestimate user-friendly and simple headlines, the can often beat complex and smart titles, that not everyone can grasp. After all, we’re trying to reach many people here, come on!

Avoid These Mistakes at all Costs!

There are plenty of things that can go wrong while writing headlines. So, what to avoid when writing headers for blogs?

• Avoid click-baiting people all the way through. If your title is a bit over-enticing, make sure you deliver in the article you are offering.
• Don’t mislead people with inaccurate information to make them click on your blog.
• Never use all caps in headlines or a lot of punctuation.
• Avoid insider language and jargon, that only your readers would know. That limits your audience to your already established fanbase.
• Try to steer clear from writing unclear headlines, which don’t give out the essence of what your blog is about right away.

What Comes Next After Killer Titles?

After you master the trade of writing great titles, there’s another step of the blog optimization journey. It’s called Ad Optimization. Cash flow is essential for any website, and if yours isn’t generating enough, you should seriously start thinking about it. Get a closer look at how easy it is to optimize the Ad placements on your website and increase your revenue with Publir’s solutions.

The post 5 Top Tips and Tricks for Writing Killer Headlines: And Why They Will Increase Your Website Traffic first appeared on Publir.

Understanding SafeFrame and its Functionalities

SafeFrame is an API-enabled iFrame, that allows digital publishers to earn ad revenue without relinquishing control over web page layouts or losing out on data sharing. The IAB or the Interactive Advertising Bureau is all set to overhaul SafeFrame from 2022, hence this is a great time for digital publishers to get familiar with ad protocol. SafeFrame originated in 2013 when some volunteers from the world’s tech giants convened to solve the technical and logistical challenges of iFrame. 

To understand how SafeFrame works it is imperative to understand iFrame. An HTML code that publishers insert into their web page code, the iFrame provides a fixed display window for 3rd-party content like videos or advertisements. Google Maps, YouTube, and Flickr use iFrames. 

Using iFrame has both advantages and disadvantages 

Pros – 

• It isolates and prevents ad code from interacting with page content. 
• It prevents ad content from affecting the rest of the page’s functionality. 
• It prevents ads from collecting sensitive user information. 

Cons – 

• They have intractable dimensions, and prevent user interaction, and are not very flexible in advertising terms. 
• Ad dimensions may be incorrectly displayed. 
• Ads cannot dynamically interact with website visitors. 
• Collecting and viewing performance data is impossible. 

How Do You Overcome These Disadvantages?

Placing JavaScript within the web page code is one way to overcome these limitations, and this is what publishers, working with advertisers, end up doing. Using JavaScript, you can resize an iFrame and make it interactive. There are disadvantages to this though. Once JavaScript is inserted, permission to read and change anything on the host page becomes possible. The publisher and advertiser must maintain the trust that the latter will not purposely or unknowingly serve ad content that goes against the former’s interests. That control could lead to distortion of page layouts while paving the way for door-to-door conflicts that can end in the ad, webpage, or both broken. In such a situation, publisher-side files are used. 

Publisher side files or PSFs are custom JavaScript codes that advertisers create that are used on publishers’ websites. These codes dictate what an iFrame can or cannot access. Using such files you can serve rich media ads while retaining publisher control, protecting sensitive consumer information. Publishers may however find that they have to manage and maintain too many ad-specific pub-side files. In such a case, adopting the IABs SafeFrame method is the best recourse. 

What Is A SafeFrame and How Does It Work?

An open-source technology created and released by a group of volunteers from 21 IAB member companies in 2013, SafeFrame got an update in 2014. Yahoo! And Microsoft executives led the initiative, which had volunteers from Google, Disney, CBS Interactive, AOL, Adtech, and Adobe involved. The standard IAB definition for SafeFrame is a “managed API-enabled iFrame that opens a line of communication between the publisher page and the iFrame-contained ad creative”. So, without risking page security, you can overcome iFrame restrictions on advertising and web page interaction, and take full advantage of rich media ads. Publishers run SafeFrame on a secondary domain, and IAB recommends a CDN (Content Delivery Network) be used for optimum performance and availability. This secondary domain is termed an ‘agnostic processing space’, sitting between a web page and ad server. Advertisers can implement JavaScript code in their ads, sending them to many secondary domains belonging to multiple publishers. From there, these advertisements are then funneled to their respective iFrame. There are some advantages to doing this. 

Thus, SafeFrame opens a unified path of communication between ad content and page content. iFrame creates containers around the ad’s content, the API allows interaction between the ad and web page content. 

Benefits of SafeFrame for Publishers 

Greater Control 

SafeFrame isolates the webpage code from the ad code and helps publishers maintain greater control over page layout, also preventing interference from ads. API-enabled SafeFrame also allows publishers to decide what information buyers or third-party vendors can access. 

Greater Efficiency 

Ad units with SafeFrame allow for rich interaction while disabling the page function from breaking due to the ad code. This can boost revenue while keeping down operational costs so you don’t have to outsource this to a developer team. 

User Protection 

Ad slots with SafeFrame enabled to share information with ad content served on API-enabled iFrame. However, it is up to publishers to choose what they want to or don’t want to share. You can withhold sensitive user data like phone numbers or email addresses. 

Enabling SafeFrame in Google Ad Manager 

If you want to reduce the chances of malicious ads being served, activate SafeFrame within the Google Ad Manager. To enable SafeFrames in Google Ad Manager, the ad unit should have the Google Publisher Tag type enabled. 

The four types of ad creatives on offer are 

1. Custom
2. System-defined templates
3. Third-Party
4. User-Defined Templates. 

For 1 and 3, you don’t have to make changes, as for the creatives, SafeFrames are on by default. If you don’t want it you can disable it by checking the box. For 2 and 4, you follow the same method, enabling/disabling the SafeFrame according to your needs. 

The Future of SafeFrame 

Ever since SafeFrame 1.1 was released in 2014, IAB Tech Lab didn’t release anything significant for a couple of years. SafeFrame 2.0 was launched for a 2-month public consultation, sometime in the middle of 2020. IAB has configured SafeFrame 2.0 to include programmatic ad support. While SafeFrame does execute post the header bidding process, wrappers might get shunned because of a lack of support in the programmatic advertising process. IAB is working with programmatic advertisers to bolster features that might be better compatible with SafeFrame. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, SafeFrame is a big step ahead for digital publishers in terms of maximizing web page ad revenue. Publishers need to implement protocols themselves, and doing so can open up fresh revenue chances, bring down maintenance and operational costs, and hike website security. SafeFrame has benefits that can help digital publishers work better with the latest ad technology. For publishers, their primary concern is to ensure the best user experience for site visitors while ensuring that users interact with ads while keeping personal data secure. SafeFrame offers all the benefits and more in doing so. Read our blog on how to strike the balance between ads and user experience to ensure a smooth experience for users on your website.

The post What Is A SafeFrame and How It Helps Publishers first appeared on Publir.

Businesses often have multiple threats to contend with. Cyber attacks are of increasing concern. A zero-day exploit is one of the most serious malware threats. 

A cyber attack can have bad consequences for businesses. Hackers can target data, steal money or intellectual property, and adversely affect operations. No company is immune. Even global giants like Google face at least 22 unforeseen attacks each year. Cyber attacks are inevitable. However, there are certain steps that you can take to protect yourself. Here’s why zero-day exploits are dangerous, and how you can identify and prevent them from happening.

What Is a Zero-Day Exploit? 

Hackers can use a zero-day exploit, a previously undiscovered security flaw in your software or hardware, to breach your system. Also known as zero-hour exploits or day0 exploits, the origin is the same, stressing the depth of the problem. After someone discovers such a vulnerability, developers have no time to fix the problem before it snowballs into something big. Zero-day exploits may also be called zero-day vulnerabilities or zero-day attacks. Each term has its own implications. 

• Zero-Day Exploit – The method hackers use to attack software. 
• Zero-Day Vulnerability – Refers to the undiscovered flaw in the system. 
• Zero-Day Attack – Refers to the action taken by hackers when they take advantage of the vulnerability to breach your system. 

‘Undiscovered’ is a very important term when it comes to zero-day vulnerabilities, as these must be unknown to the system’s creators to be considered as ‘zero-day vulnerability. A security vulnerability stops being a ‘zero-day vulnerability once the developers have knowledge of the problem and release a patch. The people who carry out such attacks may be

• Cybercriminals with a financial motivation. 
• Hacktivists looking to further their political cause or agenda. 
• Corporate hackers looking to get information about the competition. 
• For-profit hackers who locate vulnerabilities to sell to others, instead of exploiting them themselves. 

How Does the Zero Day Attack Work?

Most attacks generally follow a set pattern 

Step 1 – Your developers create a system with a zero-day vulnerability that the former have no clue of. 

Step 2 – After the system goes live, the hacker finds a vulnerability. 

Step 3 – The hacker authors and executes malicious code to exploit the said vulnerability and breach the system.

Step 4 – The public or developers find a problem and fix it with a patch. 

The hacker that finds the zero-day threat and the one that exploits it might be different. Some hackers hawk information to others through the black market, that exists on the dark web, a part of the internet that one cannot reach through normal search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, and can only be accessed through special TOR browsers. Cybersecurity companies also search for exploits to sell information to the system’s owners.

How Do Hackers Breach The System? 

Fuzzing

This is a common method, a brute-force technique used to find system holes. Fuzzing a target includes using software to enter random data into your system’s input boxes. The hacker then observes for crashes, failed assertions, or memory leaks that indicate a code hole. Many fuzzing techniques also focus on filling input boxes with random nonsense. 

Social Engineering

This is a manipulation technique used by hackers to gain access to systems through users. The various types of social engineering include pretexting and phishing. The former tries to fool people by creating a believable scenario, like pretending to be from your IT department, claiming they need your password. Phishing is impersonating someone you know to slyly take important information from you. 

How To Protect Yourself From Zero-Day Exploits? 

Zero-day attacks can be quite stressful, especially because you can’t do anything but sit and watch hackers pilfer money, data, and trade secrets while you wait for developers to patch the hole. The best thing you can do is prepare better. Here are some ways you can protect your system. 

Security Software

Protect your system from viruses, internet-based intrusions, and other threats. While each software offers its own level of protection, most can scan for malware, encrypt data and block unauthorized users. You can also get special software for websites. FOr example, WordPress users have FIM (File Integrity Monitoring) Software, plugins like Astra Web Security and WP fail2ban, and a reliable CDN or Content Delivery Network, as well as general security plugins like Wordfence. 

Regularly Installing New Software Updates

Hackers can find vulnerabilities in outdated code, so update your website, applications, and software so your system remains safe. New updates are good for your system as they have patches for cybersecurity vulnerabilities. They get rid of old or unused program parts that hackers could target. They introduce new cybersecurity measures for user safety and fix bugs that could fall prey to fuzzing. 

Secure Web Hosting

Hackers target hundreds of sites every day. Since they can breach your site through plugins, outdated versions of WordPress, or website themes, protect your organization using a secure hosting provider. Kinsta is one such tool. It protects your website with Encrypted Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) and a Secure Shell connection. It provides a secure connection to Google Cloud.

You get a hack fix guarantee and an IP Deny Tool that allows you to block IP addresses from accessing your site. You get Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) protection, as well as enterprise-level firewall courtesy Cloudflare. There’s also automatic backups every fortnight, as well as a security guarantee.

Firewalls

Digital walls between your system and the outside world, firewalls give you an extra layer of protection that hackers need to breach before they attack your system. From personal, to stateful, web applications, to packet filtering and Next Generation (NGFW), there are many kinds of firewalls to choose from.

The Least Access Rule

According to this rule, people in the organization should only have access to the hardware, software, and data that they require for regular work duties. This creates fewer entry points for hackers who rely on social engineering by limiting the amount of admin access people have to each system. 

Using DevOps Development

This is an approach that relies on a system of constant development to update programs. This helps tighten security against zero-day exploits as you are forced to update and change your system constantly. 

User Security Training

This teaches employees to identify social engineering techniques and threats online. Training employees to spot such cybersecurity threats can help identify attacks, inform the right team quickly, and act without panic and leaving information. 

Use A VPN

If you want to protect your browsing data, IP address, and connection data as you browse the internet, use a VPN. This makes it harder for criminal hackers to hack your system using your web browser as they have less information for use against you. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, zero-day exploits cannot be avoided altogether. However, taking some simple steps like training your staff to spot such attacks, using cybersecurity measures like VPN, firewalls, and security software, and changing your development process regularly can ensure you stay safe. Read our blog on ad injections and how to tackle unauthorized ads inserted into web pages.

The post What Is a Zero-Day Exploit And Why Are They Dangerous? first appeared on Publir.

While it is granted that seasonality trends impact publishers year-round irrespective of industry, keeping your revenue high is possible if you pay attention to certain factors and optimize your website. Seasonality has quite a sizable impact on revenue. Some months, your revenue might increase or decrease noticeably. As a publisher, you may not be in a position to control the onset of seasonality trends, but you can understand them and take steps to safeguard your interests.

 What Causes Seasonal Fluctuations in the AdTech Industry?

Google says that seasonality is any predictable fluctuation or pattern occurring during certain weeks, every year. Some publishers may experience higher CPMs during the holiday season. This might be during Christmas for countries like the US and the UK, or Diwali, in India. Holidays are a cultural aspect that drives seasonality. Apart from this, publishers might also experience higher CPMs due to commercial aspects like the end of the season and Black Friday sales. Nowadays, advertisers are lavishing large amounts of money on their campaigns, while the number of users online on e-commerce and social media websites is burgeoning. Both these factors contribute towards publishers earning a higher revenue than usual. Last year 2020 saw a significant rise in the number of online consumers, primarily due to Covid-19. eMarketer estimates that US consumers spent around $190.47 billion dollars on holiday eCommerce purchases, a whole $50 billion more than 2019 figures.

Publishers benefit quite a lot from ad tech trends, serving an increased amount of ads to an ever-widening audience. The converse is also true. Traffic may trickle down during months like January and July. This might primarily be due to the drop in ad spending, as advertisers get back to the drawing board for planning. User behavior changes too, as people get back to normal routines. Seasonal fluctuations might also occur due to ad-hoc reasons, like a World Cup, Olympic games, or a presidential election. Such seasonal patterns could affect publishers. There’s no escaping them. However, some strategic planning might mitigate the damage. 

Quarter Wise Breakdown

Most organizations divide their year into 4 quarters, namely 

Q1, from January to March

Q2, from April to June. 

Q3, from July to September. 

Q4, from October to December. 

The following points can shed light on what these quarters can bring, so publisher trends can be leveraged accordingly. 

Q1 – Most publishers might know what the January Slump is. During the first quarter, as advertisers primarily focus on devising new strategies, they spend less money on campaigns. Moreover, online purchasing trends change as well, because people are less keen after Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, to splurge. It isn’t a stretch to say that this is the worst quarter for publishers, in terms of revenue. Direct sales drop leads to more ad inventory being sold through programmatic channels, which might compensate for a drop in eCPMs. The middle of the quarter might see things return to normal. 

Q2 – This quarter is relatively better for publishers, in terms of revenue generation. After drawing up their plans it’s time to spend those marketing dollars, putting money into different campaigns, focusing on experiments too – all this leading to higher revenue for publishers. Seasonality trends might change however, In Q2 of 2020, global media ad spending fell by around 46%, as compared to the same period in 2019, as businesses suffered because of the pandemic. Q2 is different because many advertisers or ad agencies finish their financial year, and try to spend all their budgets, ensuring nothing is left. For publishers, it’s a great quarter in terms of ad RPMs, as we move towards the end of June. 

Q3 – There is a slump here as well, though not as bad as the one in January. One factor is a decrease in traffic, another is advertisers recalibrating their budgets. Traffic change depends on publisher niches, but when advertisers revise their budgets, everyone is affected. Summer is a quiet season, as people spend more time outdoors, less time online. Advertisers adjust their budgets, devising new strategies. Publishers might see a considerable dip in July, after which CPMs might increase. 

Q4 – This is probably the best quarter for all publishers, as the end of the year sees a spike in online users, thanks to the number of holidays during this time. Brands splash money on ad campaigns, and publishers leverage this to earn higher revenues. For brands, being seen is imperative and competition is higher than ever. Holidays like Thanksgiving Day and Diwali begin in November. There’s also Black Friday and Cyber Monday. CPMs remain high all the way through the winter months in the run-up through Christmas and the New Year. 

How Do You Optimise Revenue In The Face Of Seasonality Trends? 

Q1 – Since earnings in this quarter are quite low, there are certain steps that you can take to ensure your revenue doesn’t drop much. Optimize your ad inventory, and try to experiment with various ad units, placements, and formats. Don’t be afraid to try out innovative ad sizes and layouts, and add them to your inventory. Ensure your content is top-notch, even if your site traffic isn’t much. Good content gives users an incentive to stay on your site, ensuring that your site ranks better in the coming months.

Good quality content aside, website health and keyword optimization should be your goal. Consult ad operational professionals, who can help you monitor your website. Private marketplace deals instead of programmatic auctions might give you results, as you have more control and increase your inventory value. Reducing floor price post Q4 might aid in bagging more deals, increasing the fill rates on your site. February is better for revenue generation, as you can take advantage of events like the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, and the President’s Day Sale.

Q2 – Performance in this quarter might be better than the first. If you were able to sail through the first quarter, you might have noticed a small increase in traffic and user engagement. Try marginally increasing your inventory’s floor price, to bag revenue. If the ad formats you used in the previous quarter are working, then great. However, if ad viewability hasn’t increased, consider a change. In the second quarter, occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Memorial Day might help. Don’t make major website changes on holidays to avoid technical glitches. 

Q3 – Performance this quarter may not be as bad as the first, but publishers might need to implement certain changes to make sure they earn from their sites. During the start of the quarter, you could reduce the floor price a little, then increase it again in the quarter’s middle. Always re-adjust to see what works best. Q3 should also see the groundwork for Q4. Optimize your inventory, by experimenting with different ad placements, formats and units. By the end of Q3, you should figure out what works best. Try PMP deals if you think your inventory isn’t going anywhere using conventional methods. Look out for the 4th of July and Labor Day during this period. 

Q4 – This is the most exciting time for publishers. Make the most of opportunities. Ensure you are aware of all the holidays and events during this quarter, even if they aren’t in your country. Your users may belong to a place where that event is important, so optimize your inventory. As the quarter commences, you should test if all website aspects are working properly. That means an effective traffic strategy, low page latency, keyword research, and website performance on different devices. Your ad viewability should be high. As more people browse and purchase, optimize for ad viewability for better revenue. Increase floor prices for higher returns, and take advantage of dynamic allocation for maximizing revenue. Tools like Google Analytics can help track user engagement and site performance. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, seasonal patterns are inevitable, and if revenue declines in one quarter, it may increase in the next one. Publishers must be aware of what tactics to use so as to make the most of each phase. Prepare for each quarter to ensure you don’t fall prey to seasonality trends. Read our blog on ROAS to understand how to maximize your returns for each dollar spent on advertising.

The post Seasonality Trends in the AdTech Industry – What Should Publishers Do? first appeared on Publir.

Content personalization in marketing has many benefits, and there are some effective strategies you can use. You can tailor your own strategy to boost customer engagement, drive conversion rates and increase revenue. Content personalization can help companies drive the right message to the correct target audience. The content may be adapted to fit newsletters, blogs, or other forms, and may include different headlines, images, CTAs, body copy, etc. Doing this could help improve conversion rates and drive campaign performance, boosting engagement. Called ‘dynamic content’ due to its constantly updating nature, it is all about customer-oriented personalized user experiences. 

How Do Brands Create Such Specific Content? 

How do you know your best friend is feeling sad? It’s because you have observed them, their facial expressions, and can pinpoint either one or more of those expressions as representing sadness. Similarly, brands ‘know their audiences’. They segment user data into 3 buckets. 

Behavioural Data 

When a user visits your website, they leave behind some information. Behavioral analysis can give you the time they spent, the number of visitors, sign-ups, and other metrics. Sources for this data are mobile applications, websites, CRM systems, call centers, helpdesks, billing centers, and marketing automation systems. 

Contextual Data

Providing context to user actions, items, and persons can help marketers gain insights into user intent and patterns. Data comes from social media activity, milestones, location, preferences, and old buying behavior. 

Demographic Data 

This method divides the market into smaller blocks based on demographic factors ranging from age, income, and marital status, to gender, sexual orientation, education level, geography, etc. You can get such data from population censuses, 3rd party databases, and survey records. It is quite useful, knowing how your audience behaves on the internet. 

What Are The Advantages of Content Personalization?

Curate An Interested Audience

Consistently tracking user behavior, information, preferences and more, can help you offer your audience relevant content and consequently products and services that keep their interest buoyed, and their engagement with you for a long time. A bored audience won’t stick around. They’ll leave to engage with similar brands that offer something unique. You can attract new customers, but to have a loyal fan base, requires dedication. Content personalization can help with that. 

Better Lead Nurturing 

There are higher chances of leads being converted into MQLs, or marketing qualified leads, and SQLs, or sales qualified leads if a publisher takes care to curate personalized content. When individual audience members are catered to, established relationships grow stronger, getting you more leads and conversions over time. 

Higher Lead Conversion Chances 

If you manage to reach the right audience at the right time with the right message, your conversion likelihood increases. This is better than when you send customers random irrelevant messages. A personalized curated experience may entice a customer to convert way more than a generic approach. 

Better Revenue 

Different strokes for different folks. Some people prefer Facebook, others Instagram. Staying abreast of everyone’s preferences is important, so you can target your efforts towards those channels to boost purchases. If you have a customer frequently visiting your brand site and social media handles, you could lure them through those channels by personalizing their experience, providing product recommendations whenever they express interests. If your customer sees what you are offering them in terms of user experience and the product is interesting, they may be more likely to return to your site and buy from you. 

An Emotional Touch 

Emotions have always driven purchasing decisions, which is why content personalization is a great differentiation strategy for customer engagement and retention. If you manage to strike an emotional chord with your audience via your content, the impact may be boosted by data-driven personalization. Marketers have managed to break down their audiences on parameters like age, location, and gender, allowing them to customize their marketing message on a deeper level. 

Effective content personalization encompasses a variety of tools, customer data, and new technology, helping marketers study customer journeys to garner more data, giving the customer a bespoke experience, boosting emotional bonds. 

How Do You Build A Content Personalisation Strategy 

User First

Before curating your content, map out your target audience’s needs. Your content, product, or service needs to solve some problem. Your personalization strategy doesn’t need to blow your own trumpet. It should be more about how your product is tailored to audience needs. As a manufacturer, it should be your goal to create something of value for end-users, irrespective of whether you get their business or not. 

Speak To Individuals 

Personalized content is all about the individual. When addressing a potential customer, try to make them feel as if they are your only priority. A human-centric and empathetic approach might help. Interact with your customers as a person, not a company. Lend things a personal touch, and genuine relationships may foster.

Customer Journey Mapping 

A customer journey map helps you curate content that is relevant for each step of the customer’s journey. Such a map should speak to different audiences, aligning your content to each stage of their user journey. This can help you deliver relevant content to a customer during a certain part of their journey, ensuring they move forward to the next step. 

What Can Help You Personalize Content

There are many content personalization tools specifically made for this purpose. 

Customer Data Platforms 

This software clubs customer data across touchpoints, building individual customer profiles after scanning data in real-time. Data from first, second and third-party sources like social media, web forms, site behavior and action, CRM, mail interactions, and other customer transactions, all come together to build quite an accurate customer profile. 

Google Tag Manager 

Working with a data layer variable that triggers personalization, this tool gives marketers data helping them display custom content to different audience members. Google Tag Manager can help publishers provide a seamless personalized experience, boost on-site user experience and conversion rate. 

Data Management Platforms 

Such platforms collect, collate, and activate data from different sources. The data can be a first, second, or third party, and the sources vary from online to mobile, offline, and beyond. 

The above tools have become indispensable for personalized content marketing, helping businesses find new insights about their valued customers. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, content personalization is absolutely essential if you want to feel the pulse of the customer, and relate to them on a deeper level. With a little effort, personalization of content can go a long way in getting you fresh leads, while boosting engagement with your present users. Read our blog about asking customers for reviews, a great starting point for curating a customized content, product, or service experience. 

The post Content Personalization – Why This Can Help You Retain Customers and Win New Ones first appeared on Publir.

Top Podcast Statistics

Podcasts can also be a pretty niche tool if looked at from a marketing perspective. There are many content creators and brands that leverage podcasts for business. You can really build up a large following and that could help your brand. Alternatively, if you are an enthusiast, there are amazing podcasts to tune into. Anyways, whether you are a person who listens to or creates podcasts, here are some interesting podcast statistics that you should know in 2022.

Podcasts Are Available in Over 100 Languages 

There’s literally something for everyone. Even if you are in the US, if you want to tune into something in a foreign language, you can always listen to a podcast. A podcast in another language can be a great way to pick up new linguistic skills. Since all you really need to do in order to create and spread a podcast is to record and advertise it aptly, there are thousands of podcasts in different languages worldwide. 

78% of Americans are Aware of Podcasting

Compare this to back in 2006 when you had just 20% of the adult population in America aware of podcasting, and this number seems significant. The majority of the population today tunes in to something of their choice today.

Over 2 Million Podcasts Exist

There are more than 2 million active podcasts currently, according to these insights. If we went back by about 3 years, there was just a quarter of that figure. Today there are millions of episodes across a wide range of topics to choose from. 

Over 150 Million Americans Have Listened To A Podcast

This data says that around 163 million US citizens older than 12 have listened to a podcast. Compare that to 2006, when the number was just around 11 million.

Podcast Ad Revenue May Exceed 2 Billion in 2023

eMarketer estimates that US marketers may spend more than around $1.3 billion on podcast ads this year. This might exceed the 2 billion dollar mark after 2 years, touching 3 billion USD in 2025.

The US Accounts For The Highest Number of Podcast Listeners Worldwide

The US accounts for 47.9% of all podcast listeners, while the UK ranks way below 6.3% and Canada with around 5%. 

The Podcast Listener Base is Diversifying

If we look at gender and race specifically, data from Edison Research says that podcast listeners are growing diverse, demographically. In 2021, listeners were predominantly white males, but over the recent past, they include females and listeners from South American countries as well. 

Comedy Still Is Priority

This is funny because data from last year says that 22% of podcast listeners in the US prefer comedy as a genre. The news comes a close second, followed by true crime, sports, and health and fitness, amongst others. 

The Best Brand Awareness is by Pandora 

Infinite Dial’s data says that in terms of audio brand awareness, Pandora, a music and podcast delivery platform, leads. More than 80% of all respondents have heard of it. It edges out iHeartRadio, which has 73%, and Spotify, which has 72%. This data says that Spotify might become the best podcast platform in America in 2021.

The Average Listener Tunes In For More Than 6 Hours Weekly

The average listener spends a lot of time listening to podcasts, especially during commute hours. Downloaded to smartphones, podcasts can be heard through car speakers, earphones, or as people choose. 

Podcasts Influence Purchasing Decisions

This data says that around 60% of all podcast listeners have purchased something from a podcast ad, a healthy percentage, head and shoulders above other advertising mediums. 

More Listeners Are Going Mobile

This should come as no surprise. More and more smartphone users are going mobile, with around 78% tuning in from mobile devices in 2019, a jump from around 42% in 2013. 

More Listeners Spend More Time Listening

In 2019, podcast listeners spent a little more than 28% of their time listening to podcasts, leaving behind regular radio, at 24%, and streamed and owned music at 15% and 13% respectively. Podcasting is very engaging. 

61.1 million American Families are Fans of Podcasts

A lot of Americans tune into music podcasts, followed by television and movies, with around 60.5 million households watching or listening to such podcasts regularly. Other major podcast genres are technology, science, arts, politics, games, business, sports, and religion. 

74% of Podcast Users Listen To Learn Something New

Edison Research says around 74% of all listeners listen for educational purposes. Around 60% of US citizens use podcasts to keep abreast with the news, and 51% of listeners say they find podcasts relaxing. 

Podcasts Are 10% of All Content Millenials Listen To 

Millennials are very keen on podcasts because they fit into life’s daily schedule. You can listen to the latest episode regardless of time and space. Popular podcast platforms allow users to stream and download on demand.

Only Half of All Podcast Listeners Listen To Entire Episodes

According to data from Edison Research dated 2019, 52% of podcast consumers listen to the whole audio episode. Americans who use podcast platforms to download episodes are more likely to watch or listen to the entire broadcast, as they are attracted to this kind of broadcasting that gives them whatever information they want whenever they want it. Podcast users develop a kind of relationship with podcasters, interested in what the latter has to say.

Majority of Podcast Consumers Prefer to Tune In From Home

This is ironic because the entire point of a podcast is that you can listen anywhere, anytime. In reality, however, consumers prefer to listen to podcasts at home. Other popular locations amongst American listeners include the car or truck (64%), the gym (43%), work (37%). 

The Best Times To Release A Podcast

Data shows that Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are days consumers are most likely to download podcast episodes, with the number falling to its lowest during the weekends. 

Around 39% of Small and Medium Business Owners Are Podcast Users  

Around 65% of these owners listen to podcasts weekly, according to podcast listenership statistics from 2018. Around 70-72% of business owners with around 100-500 employees listen to podcasts.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, podcasts are all the rage, and their popularity shall only continue to grow. In no particular order, here are some amazing podcasts that you can tune into, from across various topics as listed by the New York Times. If you are a marketer and want to tap into the potential of podcast advertising, read our blog on how to do so. Our blog on the unique features of podcasting for marketing and brand building can help you use this tool to reach your audience in a big way. 

The post 20 Podcast Statistics You Should Know in 2022 first appeared on Publir.

However, since 2021 YouTube has started to withhold tax from U.S.-based revenue. This has made calculating taxes for content creators around the world a bit more complicated.

How Taxation Varies from Country to Country

Let’s review a couple of cases to illustrate how much the process varies from country to country.

Quebec

French-speaking vlogs are becoming very popular all around the world. Quebec YouTuber Catherine Francoeur, for example, creates videos about her everyday life, and her daily vlogs are so successful that they average between 50,000 and 100,000 views.

At the very least, Quebec creators like her will have to pay 15% in taxes based on their worldwide earnings. However, according to Canadian law, they can deduct part of their taxes from filming and computer expenses.

Calculating the exact amount can be a bit overwhelming, which is why it is best to use a tax calculator specific to Quebec. This will allow you to avoid any costly mistakes, and ensure that the rest of your finances from YouTube are properly accounted for.

Los Angeles

Many talented L.A. residents have been able to steer their careers towards content creation. Emma Chamberlain has 11.1 million subscribers, and her vlogs and DIY videos pull in a whopping 3 million views per upload.

In Los Angeles, content creators’ taxes are not withheld by YouTube, as they already have to make their tax declaration locally. California state taxes increase progressively though. For example, a married creator with an annual income between $66,842 and $92,788 has to pay $1,648 + 6% of the excess. Consequently, the process gets a little more complicated in a different way, and content creators in the area will need to read up a little more on state tax laws.

Cape Town

In Cape Town, YouTubers earn approximately 1$ per 1,000 videos, making it a highly profitable endeavor if you upload frequently. The pair of artists known as Yolandi and Ninja has around 3.2 million subscribers and some of their most popular surreal music videos have gotten more than 100 million views.

Tax in South Africa, starts at 18%, increasing to 26% if the income climbs between R205,901 – R321,600. There’s also a 15% VAT tax that may have to be paid for some online or offline purchases necessary to start making videos. Sadly, there is no income tax convention between the U.S. and South Africa, meaning that double taxation is an unfortunate possibility.

New Delhi

Of the more than thousands of Indian YouTube channels, some of the most successful reside in New Delhi. Comedian and streamer CarryMinati, for example, has 29 million subscribers, with view counts ranging from 40 to 200 million depending on the video.

YouTubers must pay a tax of 18% of their income, but this may vary depending on where the content was made. In the case of YouTube revenue, if the entity that receives the service is outside of India, then no taxes have to be paid on it as it is considered an export. There is a dual taxation treaty between the U.S. and India, but specific conditions must be analyzed carefully to see if this applies to online content revenue.

Final Thoughts – Careful Content Creation

Taxation is a complex matter, especially if we consider YouTube’s new policies. Content creators have to calculate both their local and U.S. taxes, consider deductions and double taxation treaties. However, with the help of professional assistance and online calculators, the task can be a bit more bearable and precise.

If you are looking at reading more such articles, visit Publir’s Blog!

The post How Content Creators Get Taxed All Over the World first appeared on Publir.

However, consumer tastes are constantly shifting and standards always evolving. It is hence tough to stay on top of affiliate marketing trends. Thankfully, studying past trends and knowing what customers value can help you predict the most effective affiliate marketing trends for the coming year. This can help you stay ahead of the pack, giving your partners an advantage when it comes to promoting their goods and services, and getting you a good commission.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Any product or service sells well if it is recommended by a trusted source. Affiliate marketing is less expensive and gives results. Those who want to earn an income through affiliate marketing need to be creative and adapt to new technology trends and ideas. When you identify the proper people for advertising, you boost your chances of generating sales.

More businesses than ever are depending on affiliate marketing as a cost-effective way of reaching target audiences. Annual spending in this industry might reach $8.2 billion by 2022, in America alone (source). Technology and marketing tools are helping sellers and affiliates learn about consumer behavior and purchase preferences. With more of these tools now available, marketers can stay abreast better. Affiliate marketing can be a great way to minimize costs while maximizing brand awareness.

Trends for Affiliate Marketing Verticals in 2021

Ecommerce

Online shopping has become the primary way to purchase goods and services seeing as the pandemic has forced everyone indoors. The eCommerce industry has been growing steadily, with US non-store sales growing by 31% from November 2019 (source). In 2021, this trend kept going with this data showing that e-commerce grew steadily through the first and second half of the current year. Seasonal sales are also a factor in pushing this number up especially during the winter months. 

Sweepstakes

This is a very famous channel and it will only keep expanding. People are always eager to win freebies, either gadgets or money. Gift cards and vouchers are popular too. Keep your eyes peeled for offers with good prizes. People would rather have the latest iPhone than the latest microwave, for instance. 

Dating 

This vertical is quite strong, among the affiliate marketing trends. Dating offers always attract people who like going out. With the pandemic easing off, and people starting to come out of the house again, dating offers are a crowd-pleaser. 

Non-Mainstream Firms and Entertainment

Video on demand sites is making a lot more money. While the pandemic situation may not be as dire as earlier, some people are still loath to leave home. Combine that with the incredible VOD offers, and you have a winner. Classic banner ads on popular websites are a great way of attracting your audience. Be careful, however, of choosing the website correctly. For example, PornHub has seen a considerable spike in traffic, but do you want to use that website as a place for ads? 

Travel

The travel and tourism industry was the worst hit by the pandemic. Worldwide, a lot of nations sealed off their borders, and people were reluctant to use airlines. That resulted in an 80% fall in tourism. However, domestic tourism has seen an increase in some places, like the EU. Local travel offers may be specific and demanding in terms of targeting and optimization skills, but if you can make money off them, good for you. 

Gambling and Betting

Gambling has been doing really well. People have always wanted to try their fortunes online, and sitting at home during the pandemic only spurred them to do so even more. The online gambling market may register a CAGR of 11% during the focus period of 2021 to 2026. Sports betting is very popular as well, with wagers placed on SuperBowl matches and UFC fights throughout this year. 

Subscriptions

People sitting at home have nothing to do but entertain themselves. People have been purchasing Amazon Prime and Netflix accounts by the dozen, and those offers can get good profits for affiliates. 

Utilities/VPN/Antivirus

Offers on the above have been growing steadily over the past few years. Last year, this became one of the major channels of conversions, with the trend here to stay. People while working indoors mostly use desktops or laptops, which means that offers for proxy servers and antivirus ads may do well. Mobile traffic is also rising, and people are striving for safer and more private browsing. A lot of offers are being showcased by VPN providers on Google’s Play Store and the Apple app store. 

Binary and Crypto

Cryptocurrency has been in focus for quite some time now, and those who haven’t invested have been left wondering why. CPA crypto offers might soar in 2021. People might be more selective, however. While promoting crypto and binary offers, focus on landing and pre-landing pages, so they are credible, unambiguous, and have a clear CTA. 

Online Education and Business Courses

Apart from working from home, people are also upskilling. The rise of websites like UpGrad has also helped. Online education platforms are only getting stronger. There are also ads that claim people can ‘make money online’ or ‘start their business online. Now, with so many people losing traditional jobs, they are getting willing to learn and earn. 

Affiliate Marketing Ad Formats – Trends in 2021

While banners and pop-unders may form the majority of affiliate marketing channels, users might turn more to mobile applications, so advertising strategies may need some changes. Here are the 3 main affiliate marketing trends for 2021 in terms of ad formats.

Web Push Replaced By In-Page Push

In-page push ads are becoming very popular because they don’t require subscriptions, and are effective against AdBlock. Moreover, you can be assured of a wider reach because this ad format is available across all devices, including desktop and mobile. 

Native Ads, Not Limited To Banners

While native advertising isn’t new, native ads that blend into content without disrupting user experience are the norm. Being responsive, staging visible but being non-intrusive, and blending in with the interface is paramount. There will be a spike in ads that look like Insta Stories or chat messages in the near future.

Landings+High Pop Unders Creatives

Pop-up ads will be prevalent in affiliate marketing trends this year and the next. The vast audience outreach, the potential for billions of impressions plus the great format have made it a favorite. The sophistication and credibility of the pops should be in tune with the audience. People are still willing to take chances but are more cautious nowadays. If you are running a pop campaign for 2021, do focus on its benefits and credibility as well as appeal to your target audience. The offer must be worded accordingly as well. 

Affiliate Marketing Insights for 2021

Here are some changes in user behavior, technology, and content consumption that shall make a big difference when it comes to attracting leads.

Personalization of Ads to Beat Rivals

An ad needs to be relevant to the user. What can be done to make them as personal as possible? Special tags that make your creating more targeted specifically to a city, language or country, should replace pieces of text. Native ad formats that don’t ruin the browsing experience are preferred. Finally, add some personalization and live communication elements. 

Growth of Mobile Broadband Traffic

Now, the shift from 4G to 5G is going to ensure even more users are going to depend on their smartphones for their daily activities online. Around half of all internet traffic is by mobile phone users, and there are billions of smartphone users around the globe, a big part of them in the US. 

Customized and Interactive Ad Creatives

People like personalized content, as well as personalized, unusual ads. For instance, a spinning wheel of fortune appeals more than a simple banner. An engaging advertising creative can go a long way in winning a customer. 

Increased Social Traffic  

One amazing affiliate marketing trend for this year was the growing social traffic demand. Publishers streaming social traffic can get good payouts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many affiliate marketing trends for 2021 to increase conversions, with more being added daily. The world of marketing is very dynamic, and trends can catch you off guard. Always gauge and track them so you are prepared. Keep trying new methods and evolve as a successful marketer. Read our blog on integrated marketing to learn how advertising affects your brand’s customers.

The post Affiliate Marketing Trends for 2022 to Grab All Conversions first appeared on Publir.