Creating epic content takes a lot of time.
Sometimes it takes a lot of money.
And sometimes it takes a lot of both.
But even if you create something that goes viral overnight and gets shared thousands of times, it won’t necessarily guarantee a positive return on investment (ROI).
Here’s an example: Let’s say you created the world’s greatest digital magazine for hummus lovers (because everyone loves hummus and you’re weird if you don’t). Let’s also say it cost you around $5,000 to make.
The bad news is that your magazine very likely WON’T be making you anywhere near that amount of money back. That, unfortunately, is the cold and harsh reality of ROI.
But fret not, my friend. That’s a worst-case scenario, and these days fantastic digital magazines can be created for free. That’s not all; digital content also offers plenty of advantages over print. One of the most important ones is access to content analytics.
Why getting reliable data should matter to marketers, salespeople, and publishers
Recent research conducted by Gartner found that businesses attribute poor data quality to an average loss of $15 million per year. That’s...not good.
Obtaining reliable data not only lends more credibility to your company, but also feeds into calculating the ROI of various business strategies (like content marketing and paid advertising). Quality data arms publishers and marketers with the information they need to make the right decisions, like which customers to appeal to and how. Readily available data also enables marketers to execute their plans with more confidence because they’ll know what attracts, engages, and ultimately converts customers.
Using Joomag’s analytics to maximize the ROI of your digital content
FACT: Developing content by leveraging insights from readers increases engagement and generates a notably higher return on investment.
ALSO FACT: Joomag offers a variety of analytics to help publishers squeeze more value from their content. Leverage them all to maximize the ROI of your digital publications! Here’s how you can:
New Readers
What it does: filters reader accounts that viewed your publication for the first time.
Why it’s useful: New visitors usually find your content from 2 sources: search engine results and/or blogs that feature links to your publication. Either way, having a high number of new readers is a good indication that the ROI of your SEO strategy is strong. Create coupons and offer them to visitors who subscribe to your content for the first time. Or use a CRM that lets you segment subscribers and deliver relevant content to different email lists.
Returning Readers
What it does: filters reader accounts that were created before the specified time range (set by you) and viewed your publication after.
Why it’s useful: Online content tends to attract more new visitors than returning ones, yet the latter engage more with it. They also view more pages per session, bounce less, and stay with content longer. But here’s the best part: Repeat visitors are strong indicators of purchase intents (source). Readers who return to your content are much more likely to have higher conversion rates, contribute to sales, and produce a net positive ROI.
Avg. Time Spent per Page
What it does: represents the average time readers spent viewing a specific page.
Why it’s useful: If a page is supposed to take 5 minutes to read but viewers are getting through it in 1, it’s time to make your content more engaging. A longer average time means your content is working and resonating with your intended audience. Find pages that readers are spending the most and least time on. Then isolate popular topics and tweak them so that your content finds the right audience.
Pageviews
What it does: calculates the total number of pages viewed by readers during a specified timeframe. Repeated views of a single page are counted.
Why it’s useful: Knowing which pages readers spend the most time on is important for a number of reasons. You can optimize your content for search, follow user trends more closely, and segment your audience by their unique interests (allowing for a more individualized follow-up strategy). Chasing sales for your business? Use integrated marketing automation software to assign readers to different sales teams based on the topics they’re focusing on.
Pages/Reader
What it does: calculates the average number of pages viewed by readers. Repeated views of a single page are counted.
Why it’s useful: A high number of viewed pages means readers are engaged and actively exploring your publication. They’re looking around and are interested in what you’ve got. A higher number here is always better if you’re a business; you want to do your best and keep new visitors committed to your content If you’re spending a lot of time and money attracting them to it.
Link Clicks
What it does: tracks how many times embedded links within your publication are clicked on.
Why it’s useful: It’s important to know which links are most attractive to your readers, especially If your publication contains links to external websites where visitors can purchase items (like landing pages and ecommerce shops). Knowing which ones are popular—and which ones aren’t—lets you test different types of links and optimize your ROI at different touchpoints. If a link on one page isn’t performing well, try moving it to another, more relevant one.
Downloads
What it does: records how many times readers download an offline PDF version of your publication.
Why it’s useful: PDF content does not include interactive elements. It’s static and doesn’t really invite engagement. That doesn’t mean it’s entirely useless though; offline content can still provide useful, downloadable information and help you run A/B tests for different CTAs. Use the Downloads metric to gauge and compare the ROI of different content strategies you’re using. That’s helpful information to know!
In the world of digital content marketing, data is your most valuable asset. By leveraging the comprehensive analytics tools available through platforms like Joomag, you can gain deep insights into your audience's behavior and preferences. This knowledge allows you to create more engaging, relevant, and ultimately profitable content.
Remember, the goal isn't just to create epic content; it's to create content that drives tangible results. With the right analytics at your fingertips, you're well-equipped to make data-driven decisions that elevate your content marketing strategy and maximize ROI.
Encourage your readers to not just collect data, but to actively use it as the foundation of their content strategy. This not only ensures their content is aligned with audience interests but also paves the way for continuous improvement and success in their content marketing efforts.
By focusing on these actionable insights and continuously refining your strategy based on data, you can ensure that your content not only reaches but also engages your target audience, driving both immediate and long-term ROI.
A: Look for patterns in engagement, such as which content types are most viewed and the average time spent per page, to adjust your content accordingly.
A: Use data on page views and link clicks to refine your content's focus, and leverage information on new vs. returning readers to tailor marketing efforts.
A: Analyze metrics like average time spent, page views, and link clicks to understand what captures and holds your audience's interest, guiding content creation.