How the FT analyzes data to understand its audience

Lucinda Southern of Digiday writes about how The Financial Times uses and analyzes data about its readers.

Southern writes, “One of the best ways the FT engages existing readers is with FirstFT, the publisher’s morning newsletter for subscribers. It launched in 2014 with 15 to 20 stories, half of which are written by the FT, and its average open rate tops 30 percent, compared to the industry open rate of 23 percent for politics newsletters, according to email provider MailChimp. FirstFT’s click-through rate is 2.5 percent, compared to 2.35 percent, says MailChimp. It works in driving article views, too; each initial click-through leads to an average of two more article views.

“Based on its success, the FT has since launched nine more daily or weekly editorially curated email newsletters: Weekend, Energy Source, LatAm Viva, Free Lunch, Opening Quote, #techFT, UK Politics, Brussels Briefing and White House countdown, the last two of which have just launched this week.

“Betts’ appointment also marks the publisher’s evolution to decentralize its analysts. Before last year, engineers and analysts were separate from the rest of the organization. Now, data analysts are embedded in marketing and editorial.

“The audience engagement team sits in the newsroom so it can work directly with journalists. It includes data analysts, SEO experts, engagement strategists, social media managers and journalists. Its objectives are to get the FT journalism out to more people and evolve the newsroom with digital readers in mind.”

Read more here.