This is what you get when a former Google executive runs a media company.
Business Insider has published a leaked copy of what it said is AOLa4ぎa4г new a4ぎAmaster plan,a4ぎ a presentation outlining the companya4ぎa4г goals and processes for the next few months. What comes across is an intense focus on numbers. And hey, that makes sense for a business document, but there is something both beautiful and scary about the way AOL is trying to streamline its entire a4ぎAcontent generationa4ぎ process (or, as I like to call it, a4ぎAwriting and editinga4ぎ) for maximum profitability.
So what are AOLa4ぎa4г goals Basically, to turn every blog post into a serious moneymaker. Specifically, by the end of March, AOL aims to increase the total number of articles published each month from 31,500 to 40,000, and to grow the median number of pageviews per article from 1,500 to 7,000. Meanwhile, the average cost of creating an article should fall from $99 to $84, and the profit margin on each article should increase from 35 percent to 50 percent.
When deciding what topic to cover, the AOL Way apparently involves weighing issues like traffic potential, revenue/profit, turnaround time, and editorial quality. Again, these are considerations that any for-profit publication is probably weighing, but whata4ぎa4г impressive is how specific AOLa4ぎa4г guidelines are &8212' for example, therea4ぎa4г a a4ぎADemand Toola4ぎ that might, for example, predict that an article will earn $500, so under AOL&'s guidelines a website can spend up to $250 for that piece of content.
The document also mentions a new a4ぎASEO Checkera4ぎ that is supposed to be used on virtually all of AOLa4ぎa4г content, giving writers and editors guidelines on how to customize their articles to show up prominently in search engines.
AOL, of course, is in the middle of what is hopefully a turnaround. Tim Armstrong (pictured), formerly an executive at Google (a company famous for its focus on quantifying everything), took over as CEO about two years ago and led the company in a spinoff from Time Warner. Last November, Armstrong reported earnings that beat analyst estimates for the first time, although ad revenue was still down. (AOL will release its next earnings report tomorrow.) On the tech side, AOL&'s properties include Engadget and TechCrunch.
Business Insider reports that some of AOLa4ぎa4г writers and editors commented positively on the changes, while another declared, a4ぎAAOL is the most fucked up, bullshit company on Earth.a4ぎ
Not surprisingly, this document has provoked a lot of comments from the VentureBeat editorial team. A couple of writers are dancing a happy dance that wea4ぎa4вe not working at AOL or an organization with similarly straitlaced guidelines. But my boss Owen Thomas reports that hea4ぎa4г taking copious notes.
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Companies: aol
People: Tim Armstrong
Companies: aol
People: Tim Armstrong
Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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