Hi there.

Recently, I’ve spent time discussing what we know about the shifting referral landscape in the countdown towards Google Zero, which I want to recap and summarise, plus look at the strategic options to stay ahead.

During conversations, newsletters came out as a saviour, but I’m a skeptic, at least for the long term. I will break down why below. 

Thanks for reading,

Jodie

Preparing for Google Zero 

The notion of Google Zero has become a staple in our conversations at the INMA Product & Tech Advisory Council. With organic search traffic in gradual but unmistakable decline, news publishers are bracing for a world where the traditional Google results page is no longer a prominent gateway to our content.

The changing referral landscape

• Search is declining. Multiple factors — from changes in Google’s SERP layout with AIO and “AI Mode,” new answer engines, and evolving user behaviour — are driving down click-through rates on organic listings. I wrote about this in more detail recently here.

• Referral sources in flux. Our Webinar in July presented a chart showing Facebook referrals unexpectedly rising in the U.S. and Australia, bucking the long-term downward trend. Equally striking: For some publishers, ChatGPT has already entered the top 10 referrers list.

• Google Discover holds steady for most. Content that Google deems “authoritative” continues to see stable, or even growing, traffic via Discover. It underscores the premium on quality and expertise in the coming era.

• Answer engines aren’t a replacement. Early data show AI-powered answer engines (think Perplexity, You.com) rarely send substantial traffic back to original sources. The stark traffic drop-off is a reminder that being featured in an AI summary doesn’t guarantee a downstream click. 

Strategic paths forward

1. Double down on direct audiences. Building and maintaining a loyal, first-party audience is non-negotiable. Publishers like Condé Nast report massive year-over-year gains in direct traffic and unique pageviews (UPVs). Key initiatives they presented to us at our New York study tour in May:

• Streamlined UX: Declutter navigation and reduce friction on site.

• Story template standardisation: Consistent layouts across brands improve reader familiarity.

• Performance optimisations: Faster load times and strong Core Web Vitals lift both retention and SEO.

• Brand expression projects: Invest in distinct visual and editorial branding to stand out.

2. Leverage multi-title recirculation. Pooling audiences across sister titles — either within your network or via external partnerships — can create a “super-site” effect.

Some large publishers are starting to think about how they can best do this, which will include on site search and AI answers. And external projects like ProRata’s Gist illustrate how multi-brand recirculation drives deeper engagement and keeps visitors within a cooperative ecosystem.

3. Explore new top-of-funnel channels. The Wall Street Journal has had enormous success with LinkedIn. Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour told me we’re moving away from fishing with a net and need to learn how to spearfish for better results. What channels could we be doing more with? 

4. Off-platform distribution. Owned-and-operated (O&O) channels remain vital, but it’s time to consider other distribution channels. The main consideration here is monetisation as, to date, advertising and sponsorship has not cut it. This could be through licensing content or syndicating to third-party apps and newsletters. Or it could be through subscriptions or premium content deals.

Note: To start discussing, and to sustain, licensing revenue, many publishers are rethinking open-access models. By blocking blanket scraping and selectively allowing approved partners, you preserve leverage in licensing negotiations. After all, users (and bots) are unlikely to pay once they’re accustomed to free access. I explored this approach here. 

Charting your course

There’s no single “silver bullet” for Google Zero. Each publisher’s path will hinge on unique audience behaviours, brand strengths, and resource constraints. The common threads that will lead to success are investing in direct relationships, using smart network-building, and proritising selective distribution.

As Google’s ecosystem evolves, so must our playbooks. I welcome your experiences. What’s worked, what hasn’t, and which emerging channels you’re testing? Share your insights with me at jodie.hopperton@INMA.org, and let’s keep this conversation going.

Date for the diary: Get ready for the future of media, tech, and AI, October 20-24 in San Francisco

From shifts in search and discovery to cutting-edge AI tools, products, skills, and structures, INMA’s Media Tech & AI Week brings together everything you need to navigate and lead in this new era.

This week is designed to give you and your team the insights and practical guidance to shape and execute your AI strategy.

Explore the full programme here — and if you’d like to talk it through, feel free to reach out: jodie.hopperton@inma.org.

Newsletter strategy evolution: Why I think newsletters are a short-term play

Recently at our INMA Product & Tech Advisory Council, we dove into the ever-evolving world of newsletters. It’s clear many have made huge strides on a number of fronts, and it’s paying off. 

Here are some strategies that are working: 

• From pop-ups to inline sign-ups: Seamless signup flows are driving higher opt-in rates.

• Inbox decluttering: Generic campaigns are being reduced in favour of (sometimes personalised) send schedules to respect readers’ attention.

• Higher-quality ads via GAM integration: Better targeting, better yield, and a smoother reader experience.

• Next-gen personalisation experiments: Dynamic content blocks tailored to individual interests are starting to land.

All of these fixes have boosted metrics. Open rates are up, unsubscribe rates are down, and ad RPMs are looking healthier. 

But here’s my British pessimistic side poking through in: I’m not convinced this newsletter renaissance will last beyond the short term.

Here’s why:

Major e-mail platforms like Apple Mail and Gmail increasingly silo newsletters into secondary and tertiary tabs within a user’s inbox. Even a sparklingly relevant e-mail with a killer headline can vanish in that abyss. I’ve written about that before here. And (again) this may be bad for us, but as a consumer it’s incredibly helpful.

In addition to this, three emerging forces are converging to reshape how audiences consume content:

1. Audio: I’m a firm believer that we are moving into an audio-first world. Imagine a  voice-first experience that let readers listen on the go, without inbox overload.

2. Personalisation: A trend that we’re already seeing gives consumers a highly prioritised inbox, not just by the time an e-mail was sent.

3. Summarisation: We don't read every word of every e-mail. Just as summarisation has come for articles, it’s coming for e-mails, too. 

These three are likely to change a user’s experience all the more. In fact, new tools on the market, such as Huxe by the developers of Google’s Notebook LM, are already doing just that.

Together, these trends point toward a future where newsletters as we know them may feel antiquated. Early audio summaries and AI-driven personalisation are still finding their feet, but directionally, they promise a more frictionless, on-demand experience than e-mail ever could.

For now, it makes sense to keep optimising newsletters. But I’d also recommend you start exploring audio summaries, adaptive content feeds, and next-level personalisation. Because while our inboxes remain central today, the inbox of tomorrow could be our ears.

Have you experimented with audio summaries or AI-powered personalisation? I’d love to hear your stories and lessons learned. Drop me a line at jodie.hopperton@INMA.org.

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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