For too long, whenever a publisher has tried to enter into a relationship, there’s been someone else present.
We’ve always brought along a chaperone, someone to make the introduction, break the ice, get their number, tell our stories, take note of their reaction.
We’ve become reliant, needy, not confident enough to spend time alone with our date.
Indeed, after the first date, the chaperone would often continue to see your date behind your back.
That has to change.
The chaperone is no longer welcome. We want time alone.
The need to go one to one with our readers and prospective readers is one of the recurring themes in the January / February issue of InPublishing magazine and the Publishing Partners Guide 2026, which get mailed out next week.
A number of writers emphasise the need for publishers to reset their strategies – to move away from dependency on third parties (the untrustworthy chaperone is, of course, big tech / social media) and to cultivate deep and direct relationships with their readers.
To whet your appetite, here are a few snippets:
- Chris Sherrard: “Direct audience relationships – once seen as an afterthought – are becoming the backbone of sustainable business models.”
- Peter Barr-Watson: “The speculative horizon for 2026 suggests a ‘discover apocalypse’ where zero-click searches become the norm. The only defence against this is a pivot to direct, owned audiences.”
- Sarah Ebner: “Our futures depend on deep, direct and meaningful relationships with our readers: the key is to think of the audience and serve them better.”
- Dominic Lobley: “In a world of algorithm dominated feeds and AI overviews, the opportunity for publishers is to be the trusted space where people go to reconnect with themselves and others.”
- Sajeeda Merali: “The opportunity for 2026 is therefore not just adaptation, but renewal: using this period of disruption to build stronger, more resilient relationships with audiences, anchored in trust and editorial quality.”
- John Barnes: “By 2027, AI will be the invisible bedrock enabling hyper-personalisation, helping publishers reconnect directly with ‘members’ rather than anonymous ‘users’.”
Spending quality time with loved ones is the secret to a happy, productive relationship. Our happily-ever-after is based on the trusted union of publisher and reader, so let’s not let anyone else get in the way.
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
