Publishing has never been an easy business. But for more than three decades, the fundamental formula for how publishers earned a profit has been clear: build a website, attract an audience, sell ads, optimize the yield and consumer experience.
Social media gave rise to atomizing content and distributing it everywhere that it made sense. And yes, publishers have adapted to a changing landscape with a combination of advertising, subscriptions and inventive monetization and storytelling strategies. But fundamentally, the money was made mostly on your own property or within your domain.
All of that is being rewritten right before our eyes.
Predictive, generative and agentic AI call into question where and how people discover and consume information, and who profits from it.
An exploding creator economy changes the rules about who can be a publisher and how monetization works.
All of these factors are exacerbated by a harrowing erosion of consumer trust and changing consumer expectations.
What we need now are solutions. What do we do going forward?
Marshall Goldsmith’s book “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There” explains that habits and behaviors that were critical to achieving initial success can become limiting factors later.
IAB sees four imperatives for facing the future of publishing.
Don’t go it alone
This impacts all publishers, and everyone’s in it together, no matter what.
Hunkering down is a losing strategy. I can promise that the answers will not be found by retreating and isolating yourself. What you need is stimulation, and as many interesting ideas as possible.
Go have coffee or something stronger with your fellow publishers – ideally, those who aren’t direct competitors and those with an entirely different perspective. Ask what they’ve tried. Ask them what’s working. Ask what sort of works, and what doesn’t work at all.
Ask them to challenge your thinking. What would they do in your shoes? Do the same for them and be generous with your time. You’ll get back more than you give.
Think bigger
There may be times when you think an idea might really work, but you’d need a lot of other publishers to participate. This is exactly the kind of thing that industry trade associations exist to facilitate.
If you have a big idea, the best way to make it bigger is to talk to everybody. Look for allies who can help. You will find they are everywhere, and they are all willing to pitch in if you just ask.
Don’t ignore technical standards
Throughout the history of publishing, standards have always driven growth by making it easier for buyers to buy.
For example, IAB Tech Lab recently announced its LLM Content Ingest API initiative designed to empower content owners in an era of AI. The framework incorporates mechanisms that enable publishers/brands to control how their content is integrated into LLMs and AI agent services. This effort focuses on supporting a fair value exchange between content owners and LLM developers.
But this is just the beginning. More new standards, frameworks and protocols will be needed. Participate – don’t sit on the sidelines and wait for someone else to figure out what they should be.
Standards are an important key to the industry’s survival. We need to all work together to make it easy for legitimate transactions to take place and reduce the friction in the system.
Public policy means more than ever
Whether it is general data privacy laws, kids’ privacy, copyright (and fair use) laws, AI-bias, content moderation or the Video Privacy Protection Act, ongoing education and lobbying are critical to ensure that publishers are match-fit for the future.
Bad policy is hard to reverse, which is why advocating for good public policy is so vital. We are in the early days of AI policy, where the industry’s voice can make a difference. Do not let antiquated constructs limit your ability to drive technological innovation and growth.
Always insist on finding the silver lining
The factor you have the most control over is how you choose to react to events. We all know that we are in an incredibly interesting and challenging time. Opportunity knocks more softly than we wish, and harsh business realities are talked about nonstop. But we can choose to be optimists. Stay open to the idea that even wrenching change can sometimes lead to opportunities we never could have imagined when the changes started.
While the rules for the next era of the commercial Internet get written, those who are active industry participants will have the opportunity to shape that future.
Survival and success are not spectator sports. Your ability to build a successful business depends on your willingness to engage everywhere that you can.
Remember, what got us here won’t get us there. Experiment, test, learn and deploy. Keep seeking out reinvention opportunities.
