Monetization – if you haven’t monetized your publication’s content yet, you’ve probably thought about it at some point. Or maybe you’re green with envy hearing about what an influencer is getting from their podcasts.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could monetize your content in a way that supports your brand and keeps your audience happy?
ASBPE’s 2022 conference in Cleveland kicked off with a keynote entitled “Should You Monetize Your Publication? How to Tell if You’re Ready” from Amanda Todorovich, the executive director of content marketing at Cleveland Clinic. Todorovich shared about her passion for content marketing, Cleveland Clinic’s journey to monetized content, and how she pursues her content strategy in a way that’s consistent with Cleveland Clinic’s mission.
Content marketing – she told her session audience – doesn’t require a hidden formula. “Most of content marketing excellence isn’t a secret, it’s just not necessarily practiced…Make audience your universe. Know them. Help them. Provide value. Listen to them.”
Todororich added that Cleveland Clinic has seen consistent organic growth in their web traffic and content performance during her tenure. Since 2021, her team has hired more than 50 people and has an SEO staff of 17 – grown from a content team of three employees. As she revamped the organization’s strategy, Cleveland Clinic’s website traffic increased from 200,000 visitors per month to three million per month. Today, their Health Essentials brand sees nearly 13 million visits per month and the entire Cleveland Clinic website has two million visits per day. With these numbers, the organization garners interest from advertisers and cultivates partnerships that provide revenue and support the Cleveland Clinic brand.
Content marketing, she said, can meet journalistic standards and make a positive impact by pushing back against misinformation. Framing her approach as “data-driven” and entrepreneurial, Todororich showed how organizations can plan great content, experiment to find their brand’s voice, and follow cues from readers to build strong online brands, all while upholding their publication’s ethics and responsibility to audiences.
For organizations venturing into monetization for the first time, Todororich suggests building a conversation with readers – forming a feedback loop of “create, distribute, measure, optimize, repeat” that evolves and adapts the content strategy based on data and results. The secret, according to Todororich, is doing the hard work and investing in being more relevant. “Every data point is a patient telling us something,” she noted.
Cleveland Clinic’s health library transitioned from a primarily educational culture to a journalistic culture, including expert interviews in every piece. Instead of focusing primarily on social media promotion of their content, Cleveland Clinic emphasized what internet user search data showed about readers’ questions, interests and intent.
“How am I supposed to lean in and let consumers know that I am not like the misinformation they see online? Be there. Be there when they search. Have your hand outstretched.”
Now, Todororich says her new goal for 2022 is one billion visits to the Cleveland Clinic website. One article at a time.
ASBPE plans to feature more great educational sessions at its 2023 National Conference, which will take place May 11-12, 2023. The location is to be announced. Stay tuned to ASBPE.org and ASBPE’s social channels to keep up to date.