Hi there.

As you may know, we recently held a master class on Building Direct Traffic Audience. As always, it was packed with INMA’s signature blend of strategy and practical case studies. 

The premise of the master class was this: With announcements from OpenAI, Google, and Apple, it is becoming clearer that their AI products are positioning themselves for closer relationships with consumers, and news publishers’ top-of-funnel for discovery is changing.

Knowing that publishers can no longer rely on a future where traffic comes from other platforms, what do they need to do now to move away from driving traffic to building a solid direct audience on their owned platforms?

Over the next couple of newsletters, I want to take you through some of the top line learnings from the modules over two weeks with 13 guest experts and 118 attendees from 90 companies in 31 countries asking smart questions. 

If you have questions, thoughts, alternative views, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me on Slack or at Jodie.hopperton@INMA.org. 

Thanks, Jodie

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Discovery is changing: Are we ready to lead the next era?

We kicked off the Building Direct Traffic Audience master class with a key question: How will consumers discover products and platforms amidst technological change?

Discovery is changing — and fast. I opened the master class with a snapshot of the current landscape: Platforms are everywhere, algorithms are increasingly unpredictable, and organic social traffic is declining at pace. AI is already altering how people search and interact with content, and we can no longer rely on the distribution methods that once fuelled our growth. 

The ground is shifting. And while that might feel unsettling, it also offers an extraordinary opportunity to rebuild, refocus, and reconnect with our audiences in new ways.

Rather than chasing the next trend, we’re being invited to reimagine how journalism shows up — not just on the homepage but everywhere people are. That means more customer-centric thinking, smarter packaging of our products, storytelling that works across formats, and a renewed focus on building direct, meaningful relationships.

Simon Kingsnorth, a U.K.-based marketing expert and best-selling author, captured this shift well when he said, “Preferences are tied to the user, not the platform.” 

It’s a call to anchor ourselves in audience needs rather than platform dynamics — to understand who we’re serving and what they value, regardless of whether we’re reaching them on TikTok, in e-mail, or via search.

Liesbeth Nizet, head of future audiences monetisation at Mediahuis, is actively living this future. 

Her role is dedicated to reaching and monetising younger audiences — not just by adapting legacy brands but by launching new ones built entirely for how Gen Z engages. 

Their new product, SPIL, carries the tagline “Ask the news to change your views,” a striking invitation to interaction and dialogue rather than passive consumption. As she put it, “News is no longer the default, it’s in the mix.” 

It’s been a long time since we were competing just with other publishers. We’re up against everything else on a user’s screen. That requires us to think differently about how we tell stories, how we invite participation, and how we build habit.

Jennifer Hicks, director of audience reach at The Wall Street Journal, brought this to life through her team’s work activating WSJ journalists on LinkedIn. She reminded us that “people gravitate to people,” and showed the power of leaning into authentic, individual voices — particularly those with deep subject matter authority. 

The content that performs best isn’t always what we expect but instead is what feels real and trustworthy. It’s not about chasing virality;  it’s about showing up with value and consistency.

We also heard a provocative, and much needed, talk from Sinead Boucher, CEO and owner of Stuff in New Zealand. 

What if we simply stepped away from platforms entirely? That’s exactly what Stuff did when it left Facebook, and they’ve seen (surprisingly) positive results: more loyalty, more impact, and a stronger sense of brand purpose. Their mantra, “follow no one,” isn’t just about journalism; it’s about discovery, independence, and building a business that isn’t reliant on third-party gatekeepers.

Across all of these examples, a few things became clear:

We need to master multi-format storytelling — not as a future goal but as a present-day imperative. We need to understand and optimise every point of discovery, from newsletters to search to app notifications. And we need to develop thoughtful, platform-specific strategies — while ensuring we’re not beholden to any single one.

It also means rethinking monetisation. The models that worked five years ago may not work today, let alone tomorrow. We have to be open to experimentation — and, just as importantly, we have to be rigorous in how we measure success. Scale alone is not enough. Impact is what matters.

So yes, the landscape is chaotic. Yes, the rules are changing. But this is our moment to lead with creativity, with courage, and with a relentless focus on our audiences. If we’re willing to rethink the way we tell stories, how we invite people into them, and how we build direct, meaningful relationships, we’ll come out stronger.

Because in the end, the platforms may change. But the mission of journalism — to inform, to challenge, to connect — remains the same. The opportunity now is to meet that mission in new ways for a new era.

Building habits: the quiet power behind sustainable engagement

If discovery is changing fast, then habit is our anchor. 

I began the second module of the Building Direct Traffic Audience master class with a simple premise: Habit matters. 

Why? Because audiences who form habits are less likely to churn, more likely to engage, and — perhaps most importantly — more likely to bring others with them.

But building habit is not just about repetition. It’s about relevance, timing, and context. We looked at real user journeys and explored when, where, and how people connect with content. Whether it’s checking headlines during the breakfast routine or doing a daily crossword on the train, a stable context — consistent time, device, and mindset — can be a powerful ally in creating stickiness.

And then there’s emotion. Samuel Salzer, an expert in AI and behavioural science, challenged us to move beyond traditional models like the Hooked model and instead focus on what really works: remove pain, add fun, create delight, and introduce variability. 

In other words, habit is emotional — not just functional. We must reduce friction while increasing the joy or value our products deliver.

Games might be the clearest example of this in action. 

Jonathan Knight, head of games at The New York Times, showed how their approach — arguably the most successful in the business — builds both habit and community. Wordle, in particular, is a shared experience: everyone solving the same puzzle at the same time with social elements layered in through forums, stats, and streaks. 

That community layer not only fuels engagement, it opens up new monetisation opportunities, especially around advertising. Games don’t just retain users; they create editorial moments, daily rituals, and social chatter.

But the story doesn’t stop at games. From newsletters to horoscopes, from alerts to podcasts, we explored a whole ecosystem of habit-driving features.

What stood out is not just the variety but the different modes they serve: quick check-ins, immersive exploration, shared experiences, background listening. The most successful news organisations are offering a mix — not relying on one magic feature but understanding the breadth and depth of content their audiences want.

We can also learn from other industries. 

Nicolas Larsson and Måns Palmqvist from Bonnier News highlighted how family sharing, borrowed from streaming platforms, can boost retention by 20%. It’s a simple but powerful idea: Shared use creates shared value. Meanwhile, personalisation, especially when actively controlled by the user, continues to be one of the strongest tools for driving return visits.

And finally, we saw how journalism itself can drive habit. Christoph Zimmer, CPO at Der Spiegel, discussed Spiegel Extra, a new layer of service journalism that has quickly shown high engagement, strong conversion, and excellent retention, particularly among younger audiences.

Importantly, it hasn’t cannibalised existing products or click-throughs within the homepage. Instead, it reinforces the brand’s core mission: offering value through journalism that fits into people’s daily lives.

Across all these examples, one thing became clear: There is no single habit loop. Instead, we should be thinking about a portfolio of touchpoints — designed for different moments, mindsets, and motivations. The best habits are built not through hacks but through deep understanding of our audiences and consistent delivery of value.

In a world of algorithm shifts, platform fragmentation, and AI disruption, habit might just be our most powerful — and most overlooked — strategy. Not flashy. Not always fast. But deeply effective.

Let’s keep asking: How do we fit into people’s lives, not just their feeds? 

About this newsletter 

Today’s newsletter is written by Jodie Hopperton, based in Los Angeles and lead for the INMA Product and Tech Initiative. Jodie will share research, case studies, and thought leadership on the topic of global news media product.

This newsletter is a public face of the Product and Tech Initiative by INMA, outlined here. E-mail Jodie at jodie.hopperton@inma.org with thoughts, suggestions, and questions. Sign up to our Slack channel.

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