The Secrets to Dotdash Meredith's Success

In 2021, Dotdash, a small company based in New York, acquired Iowa-based Meredith, instantly increasing its workforce by around 4,000 people. It's now the largest digital and print publisher in the world, but it experienced some serious operational challenges on the way to becoming an industry juggernaut. Tory explains how the company navigated these choppy waters.

Making the Right Investments

Growth is only possible if you spend your dollars wisely. For Tory, that meant investing in Dotdash Meredith's people and building strong editorial, research, and testing teams.

Next, the company had to create the necessary space to test and review products, so they converted dozens of existing studio spaces into test labs.

Finally, they put money into quality content, which Tory describes as the company's "North Star." Good content was critical to their explosive growth and consistent revenue generation.

Adjusting to a "One Brand" Mindset

Bringing two companies together with their own views on publishing was less difficult than Tory expected. On the other hand, bridging the divide between the digital and print teams was a significant challenge. Although Dotdash Meredith needed to have a digital, mobile-first approach, unifying these teams under "one brand" as collaborators rather than competitors was vital.

This internal alignment also extends to other areas of the business, including the partnership and premium direct sales teams. Tory explains that Dotdash Meredith offers multi-tiered engagements for large retailers that combine affiliate and premium direct components.

Essential Lessons for Commerce Content

No two companies have exactly the same experience, but other publishers can learn a lot by looking at Dotdash Meredith's story. These are some of the biggest takeaways.

Think Strategically About Funding

Affiliates were initially funded by retail gross product margins, but Tory suggests a different approach. Treating affiliate marketing as an acquisition cost and taking funding from marketing budgets unlocks a lot of opportunity and is much more affordable than many other acquisition methods.

Maintain Editorial Integrity

Editors should have the final say on where content lands. To keep this process as honest as possible, Tory recommends a "church and state" separation between the editorial team and the sales, affiliate, or business teams. This ensures editors look at the story behind a product rather than the commission rate when deciding whether to include it.

In addition, publishers should avoid releasing unbalanced, completely positive reviews. As Tory explains, "Being critical is fundamental to being trusted."

Push Boundaries

Another important step in this industry is finding opportunities to experiment. For example, Dotdash Meredith discovered that entertainment can be a commerce space. As a result, publications like People, which are less vertical-specific than some of their other brands, are an excellent place to test different product categories.

In addition, avoid feeling obligated to marry clients to specific brands. Be willing to move them across your portfolio to find the right audience for each particular product.

Ongoing Challenges

Publishers, affiliate marketing companies, and eCommerce businesses will face a lot of hurdles in the coming years. Tory lists a few that she sees as the most prominent and shares what you can do in response:

• Google algorithm changes: Companies have to aim for the top 3 search results rather than the top 10, intensifying the need for quality content and a diversified strategy

• COVID inconsistency: While eCommerce is back on a more consistent growth path, brands need to consider how they'll manage both online and brick-and-mortar sales

• AI uncertainty: The outcome of AI's disruption is impossible to predict, but Dotdash Meredith will only use it as a productivity tool, never to generate content

• The death of cookies: Cookies are on their way out, and Dotdash Meredith will continue to focus on consumer intent rather than past clicks

• Staying relevant: Publishers have to create content that resonates with younger generations, who do much of their shopping on TikTok and Instagram

Like Dotdash Meredith, your ability to work through these and other changes will play a big part in your success moving forward.

Prepare for an Unpredictable Future

We’ve gone straight to the source! We sat down with top publishers like Vox, CNN, and Daily Beast to get the inside scoop on the biggest challenges in Content and Commerce today.

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