The InPublishing Podcast is published fortnightly, on Wednesday mornings, throughout the year. You can subscribe via your preferred podcast app, or listen to the episodes below.
We would like to thank our current podcasts sponsor AdvantageCS a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Season 3
Episode 38: Sharon Cooper
James Evelegh talks to Sharon Cooper, chief digital officer at The Economist Intelligence Unit, about: • the nature of organisational change: people want change until they actually have to make the change • why she sees her role as not automating people out of a job, but automating them into a better job • how EIU's new Viewpoint product focuses on the user experience, allowing for both 'deep dive' and 'horizon scan' usage • how expectations of website design have changed: users now expect everything to be as simple as the best B2C experience • why business information providers should avoid getting "too fancy" • how, with clients increasingly being able to access the data themselves, business information providers need to remain laser focused on where they add value • the rise of real-time data and how to avoid data overload • how to embed yourself into a client's workflow without getting in the way • why there's nothing necessarily wrong with legacy tech, just legacy tech that's not looked after • why clients and users are both the biggest threat and the biggest opportunity to business information providers • and much more... (This interview was recorded on 27th May.)
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 37: Ed Walker
James Evelegh talks to Ed Walker, audience and content director (regionals) and editor-in-chief of InYourArea.co.uk, at Reach PLC, about: • what he learned working in some of Reach's regional newsrooms • quickly growing a digital audience in Birmingham • how InYourArea grew exponentially during lockdown • why local journalists shouldn’t always stand back and observe, but offer solutions too • Reach's plans for every county to have a 'Live' site by the end of next year • why we should never stop experimenting; the day we do, we're in trouble • why the best bit about being a journalist is seeing the difference you make • why we should never be complacent; as in Formula 1, we can always make another tweak to enhance performance • why a sustainable future lies through getting closer to your readers and by being relevant • and much more... (This interview was recorded on 13th May.)
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 36: Mike Sewell
James Evelegh talks to Mike Sewell, managing director of CPL, about: • the thinking behind their recent MBO and his plans for the future • the transition from contract publisher to content marketing agency • why storytelling skills, words and pictures are still fundamental • why membership organisations need to work out what their message is before worrying about the channels • why print still has a vital role to play in the content mix • why the hero / hub / hygiene model still applies • how Covid has accelerated pre-existing trends but also given organisations the opportunity to go back to first principles • the challenges of onboarding new staff during a pandemic (10% of CPL's staff have started during lockdown) • the important role the office has to play in the future • and much more... (This interview was recorded on 6th May.)
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 35: Georgina Rushworth
James Evelegh talks to Georgina Rushworth, head of marketing at Pharmaceutical Press, about: • the challenges of setting up a new team • how the world of subs marketing has changed since she first started ("nothing but everything") • how marketing technology underpins everything they do and her hopes for their new soon-to-go-live marketing automation software • how you should never rest on your laurels and never stop looking for better ways of doing things • her approach to management ("articulate a vision and empower the team") • the differences in marketing an academic brand as opposed to a mainstream B2B one • how job satisfaction is found in the numbers, the joy of seeing the impact your idea has had • and more…
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 34: Daniel Pearce
James Evelegh talks to Daniel Pearce, CEO of TTG Media, an independent publisher specialising in the travel sector, about: • how what started as a “big news story on the other side of the world” turned their business upside down, but also led to positive change • their #savetravel and #onetravelindustry campaigning on behalf of the badly hit travel industry • embracing Stoicism and quoting Winston Churchill • switching print frequency from weekly to monthly but why he remains a passionate advocate of print • the thinking behind TTG’s new membership offering and where to position the paywall • how the new subs model has changed everyone’s mindset across the business • the power and freedom of being an independent publisher and able to take risks • why the best businesses are the most diverse businesses • the power of ‘why’ and the importance of having a clear purpose • and much more…
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 33: Marcus Fairs
James Evelegh talks to Marcus Fairs, founder and editor-in-chief of architecture and design magazine Dezeen about: • how getting fired led to launching Dezeen • his global aspirations and $20 initial investment • how Kanye West gave him his first big break • why it's important to have a moral compass • why journalism is undervalued but is something worth standing up for • how they coped with Covid when their business model was collapsing all around them • why he had to mend fences with the Italians • why a design-led website has kept essentially the same design for the last 14 years • why, despite predictions, advertising is still their biggest revenue stream • their MVP approach to NPD • why new owners JP/Politikens are such a good fit • what the future holds for Dezeen • and much more…
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 32: Emma Callaghan
James Evelegh talks to Emma Callaghan, sales & invention director at Reach Solutions, about: • how the "digital ecosystem has changed everything for publishers" although brand loyalty to newspaper brands still exists • Reach's strategy of increasing engagement with, and understanding of, their audience through their successful registration programme • why the close working relationship between editorial and commercial teams is a central part of their pitch to advertising partners • how the Team Nation initiative showed what can be achieved when rival newspapers work together • how their new Mantis brand safety tool is unlocking previously blocked content on their sites • how they've simplified their extensive and complicated portfolio of 9 national newspapers, 110 regional newspapers and 70 online brands into easy-to-understand packages for advertisers • why the industry must commit itself to real change when it comes to diversity and inclusion and not fall back on tick box exercises • how Reach's customer value strategy has provided an energising focus across the entire business • why print is still important, whilst acknowledging that, for younger readers, the route into Reach's brands will be via digital • why she's so keen to get back into the office • and much more... (This interview was recorded on 4th March.)
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 31: Loma-Ann Marks
James Evelegh talks to Loma-Ann Marks, editor-in-chief at interiors magazine Reclaim, about why the recycling and repurposing that is at the heart of her magazine is now in vogue, how Instagram has been central to her community building efforts and why she makes a point of responding to every comment, why “finding your voice” is the secret to successful magazine publishing, why she always likes to put a window on her front covers, how the tone of coverlines has evolved since lockdown started, why BLM has prompted her to take a more proactive approach to diversity and the positive impact this has had on the magazine, why micro-managing talent is counter-productive, and why, certainly for aesthetically-led subjects like interiors and fashion, print is here to stay (even though she’s got loads of digital plans), and much more… (This interview was recorded on 25th February.)
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 30: Ivor Eisenstadt
James Evelegh talks to Ivor Eisenstadt, managing director of healthcare publisher MGP, about why 2020, despite being a “horrific” year in so many ways, was a year of great progress for many publishers, how a successful brother tempted him to switch from a career in pharmaceuticals to one in publishing, the benefits of having a business partner (in his case, his wife Rosie) with complementary skill sets, how MGP managed to convert a free event into a paid-for one, his top tips for putting on virtual events and why they are here to stay, the plusses and minuses for his business of having everyone working from home, why he puts great store on a “no-blame” company culture, why there’s such a huge opportunity for B2B in publishing trustworthy and insightful content, the imperative of employing bright, committed and adaptable people, the identify of his favourite all-time Spurs player, and much more… (This interview was recorded on 18th February.)
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.
Episode 29: Esther Newman
Ciar Byrne talks to Esther Newman, editor of Women's Running, about why editing Women’s Running is a “massive responsibility and a huge privilege”, why ‘production’ is a great starting place for editors, why achieving publishing success is much harder for women, why her title is all about kindness and support and not losing five pounds (“we’re not telling women that they look wrong”), her views on the “poisonous messaging” women are often exposed to and why her aim is to “make sure every woman feels great”, why improving inclusion and diversity is so important (“you don’t need to be a particular type of woman to run”), why the print magazine is the bedrock, but web and social is where the excitement is, how Covid has proved a “tough but good learning curve”, how the Women’s Running’s podcast series (“my little baby”) came about and much more… (This interview was recorded on 15th December.)
Thank you to AdvantageCS for sponsoring this podcast. AdvantageCS is a specialist provider of subscription and membership management software.