Caption for above image: Nordot is able to match publishers to multiple content distributors. It also benefits re-publishers with vetting, screening and revenue distribution and a technical feed solution.
By Ng Mei Yan
From ensuring decent site traffic and optimising advertising to launching subscription models, newsrooms the world over are busy racing towards financially sustainable journalism. Content syndication is yet another box to be checked for revenue diversification, and doing it the smart way can help news companies maximise returns.
At the Asian Media Leaders Summit 2022, general knowledge website Factinate.com shared how partnering up with Nordot, a syndication and sourcing platform, helped speedily expand the reach of their content while opening up another revenue stream.
“We’ve always wanted to get into content syndication. We were knocking on doors of certain syndication partners but just having one partner [like Nordot] that can distribute our content to a number of different channels seemed appealing. It was a good place for us to start,” shared Jeff Myers, co-founder of Factinate.com, a leading website within its niche.
The session was hosted by Nordot and moderated by Chris Pfaff, Chief Executive Officer of Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC.
Syndication made efficient
Aya Uryu, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Nordot, likens the company to a matchmaker between content providers (currently numbering at more 2,000) and content distributors.
The platform brings both parties together based on how relevant, complementary and sharable content is, Uryu said. “And we bring monetisation along the way when the delivery happens,” she added.
Most recently in May 2022, Nordot was named an official content delivery partner for Microsoft Start (formerly known as MSN). It was reported that between 1 March 2021 and 28 February 2022, over a 100 Nordot publishers garnered more than 1 billion page views on Microsoft Start.
Such a partnership is particularly useful for smaller publishers, shared Uryu, as Nordot becomes the passage through which they can get their content to Microsoft Start’s wider audience and gain revenue.
Myers was struck by the speed at which results showed, with Factinate increasing its reach within the first month of syndication. “We started to gain a lot of traction on MSN (Microsoft Start) really quickly. I think from that, we were able to look at what’s working and try to start pushing out more content that’s similar to that, and we’re continuing to scale up,” he said.
Smart syndication for sustainable journalism
Both Myers and Aryu agreed that being smart boils down to acting on data. “It doesn’t have to be super complicated. Smart syndication is track-and-evaluate,” said Aryu.
Myers added, “You always want to have everything tracked as granularly as possible so you can start picking things apart and finding the trends.” He also pointed out that content that works for one re-publisher may not be the case for another, so it is vital to tailor content accordingly.
“We work towards what would work on different channels. This is what we do as a team,” said Aryu.
Myers conceded that the nature of Factinate.com meant they were able to go against the grain in certain instances. For example, unlike news sites that rush to publish breaking news, the Factinate team are able to continually edit evergreen articles based on performance and traction.
“We’re not in that kind of race. We’re able to do the database edit and really polish every piece,” he said.
Factinate.com is a leading website in its niche (general knowledge). Its users spend an average of 12.5 minutes per visit.
While video consumption is on the rise, Myers and Aryu are adamant that there will always be a market for text articles. What matters more, stressed Myers, is understanding how people are using the internet.
“How do people consume content? People don’t want to go to different websites. The easiest way to get your content out there is through feeds. You want to get on as many feeds as possible,” he said.
Myers added, “I think of it as an airport. You want as many direct flights as possible going to your destination. And when it comes to syndication, the fact that I can just plug into Nordot and be distributed to so many different platforms, that’s a big win.”
About the writer: Ng Mei Yan is a freelance journalist who writes for a variety of clients including government agencies, healthcare institutions and lifestyle businesses. In recent years, she has covered digital transformation stories of organisations in various industries ranging from retail to maritime.
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