New Study Unveils the "Content over Commerce" Game Changer All Publishers Need to Know

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ – Top B2B Publisher Network, RevResponse, has released startling new findings comparing the impact of "content over commerce" monetization strategies in their latest case study with the authority in online tech education, MakeUseOf. It had become clear that digital publishers were frustrated with running endless irrelevant commerce promotions to their audiences and struggled to find methods of monetization outside the mainstream affiliate networks and paywalls demanding money from their readers; RevResponse sought to prove whether sponsored content could outperform commerce in both earnings and engagement.

As the world's leading destination for educational tech content, ranked among the top 1000 sites and armed with a subscriber base of 400,000+ readers, the MakeUseOf audience made for an ideal test bed for the case study.

According to the case study, "ecommerce promotions forced a constant trade-off between increasing earnings and harming the subscriber's experience. By sending constant ecommerce deals MakeUseOf was asking their readers to open their wallets and buy – everyday. The repetition of daily deal advertisements did not sit well with the MakeUseOf Team, knowing that it could begin to harm their reputation with their audience..."

RevResponse developed a test strategy to diversify MakeUseOf's consistent commerce promotions with highly targeted content campaigns, testing the effectiveness of content over commerce. The three month test replaced mainstream tech deals with free relevant content curated specifically for the MakeUseOf audience.

"The RevResponse content campaigns increased the revenue per email campaign by +126%, doubling the revenue per touch point with the subscriber," detailed the case study. The coveted MakeUseOf subscriber base showed a significant change in engagement as well, "...by looking at the overall request volume per campaign to measure subscriber interest, the data showed that the content campaigns increased the request volume by +613% over deal campaigns."

In a debrief with MakeUseOf CEO Jackson Chung, he explained, "we know that our readers come to MakeUseOf to learn new skills. So by offering the opportunity to download useful and educational tech content for free, they're motivated to stay subscribed to our newsletter. Generally, it's a win-win: our readers gain useful resources at no cost, while we generate revenue."

The RevResponse case study highlights a common misconception among digital publishers today and unveils the power of content. "It's no surprise that highly relevant targeted content could outperform commerce among audience standards; it's the ROI that makes this strategy a game changer for publishers," stated David Fortino, VP Audience Development, NetLine Corporation. By diversifying the MakeUseOf monetization strategy RevResponse was able to accelerate their monthly earnings with fewer promotions and deliver a more native experience for subscribers.

Read the full case study, Content Over Commerce: A Publisher's Strategy to Increase Revenue +126%.
About RevResponse:
RevResponse enables digital Publishers to effectively monetize all forms of B2B traffic via native advertising and the largest inventory of professional content. Touted as the #1 B2B Publisher Network, RevResponse began in 2008 as the Partner arm of the top B2B lead generation company, NetLine Corporation. Today RevResponse has grown to 15,000+ Publishers worldwide across all major industries.

About NetLine Corporation:
NetLine Corporation is the number one content syndication lead generation provider aimed at driving buyer engagement, customer lead acquisition and sales pipeline performance. Its AudienceTargeting™ technology and global multi-channel network of more than 15,000 website properties enable B2B marketers to reach a diverse audience of more than 125 million business professionals across 300 industry sectors. NetLine's multi-channel content delivery model allows for brand customization, content adaptation and flexible market access through publisher websites, expert blogs, email, search engines, social media networks, e-newsletters and mobile. Founded in 1994, NetLine is privately held and headquartered in Los Gatos, California, with operations around the globe. For more information, visit www.netline.com.