More than ever, publishers are looking for new ways to strengthen and diversify their content. Today we’ll explore how podcasts can allow them to do this. Over the last year, podcasts entered the mainstream world in a big way, with a whopping 73 million Americans - about 26% of the US population, listening every month! With podcasts being around for significantly longer than a year, it’s only natural to ask, why are they only taking off now? In this post we will walk through why publishers are investing in this form of content, as well as provide some examples of how publishers are utilizing podcasts to diversify their strategy.

When used correctly, social media can be one of the most powerful forms of marketing and one of the most effective ways to grow your audience. For publishers, social media offers an opportunity to distribute content, reach new readers, and engage with their audiences. In this post we dig into what each of these channels can do for your business and offer some goals/guidelines for each one.

Whether you want to add social proof to your content or support your article with real life examples, embedding content from your comments section can add a ton of value to your website. If used and placed correctly, your comments can become part of your content itself, providing context, depth, and real-life examples/opinions to your articles! 😱 Additionally, when readers see that their comment was featured or integrated into your piece, it highlights the direct influence they have on the content they are consuming. Readers become more committed to the success of your site if they see that they’re valued and heard. They will also be more willing to take actions that grow your engagement, such as sharing your articles, initiating more discussions, and consistently coming back for more!

We have news! Today we are announcing a change to how we display comments within long threads. We call it Collapsed Replies, and you may have already seen it either here on our blog or across sites that use Disqus.

In 2018, we saw a variety of emerging trends coming from the Digital Publishing world. We witnessed many publishers go back to basics with increased investments to SEO, which is a more stable and predictable traffic generation strategy-- versus Facebook, for example. Additionally, publishers explored the next frontier: AI, to help deliver more relevant and engaging experiences for their readers. This is a fairly new area for publishers, and if done well, it can create a serious competitive advantage. For example, the New York Times utilized data science and machine learning to determine the optimal time to show subscription prompts to readers thus increasing their subscription-based revenue . Many digital publishers made subscriptions their main priority, which is an effective strategy since it is an owned and operated monetization and distribution strategy. In addition to these traditional tactics, new website redesigns, increasing partnerships, podcasting, and networking events all contributed to the success of digital publishers in 2018 🎉.

Hard as it is to believe, 2018 is now coming to an end, and it was a rollercoaster year for digital publishers. From dealing with the fallout of Facebook's dramatic Newsfeed changes, which resulted in significantly reduced reach for most, to navigating the complex path to GDPR compliance and the ensuing changes--  publishers faced several new challenges in 2018. And while a constantly shifting digital landscape can be hard to navigate, it also opens the door for new opportunities to evolve and grow. Throughout 2018 we saw publishers give alternative platforms a fresh look, leverage new technologies, and adapt their strategies in order to grow their audiences and businesses.

Strong relationships with our publishers and users are essential. A critical part of these relationships is establishing trust and confidence, which is why privacy has always been a priority. Over the last several years we made regular updates, geared towards respecting users’ privacy and ensuring a safe experience on Disqus.

Today we have some big news to share: Disqus is now part of Zeta Global, a marketing technology company that helps leading brands acquire, retain and grow customer relationships.

This post is about the latest going-ons with Disqus. A lot has been happening over here, and they all can be somewhat represented with numbers. So, this post is also about the numbers of Disqus.