As Digital Media Falters, Betches Hits Its Stride, Expanding Headcount and Revenue Streams

Lifestyle and comedy publisher Betches, which chronicles dating and pop culture for a predominantly female audience, introduced digital advertising to its newly redesigned website in late July, part of a broader effort to diversify its business and signal a new chapter for the digital media company. Created and still wholly owned by its three cofounders, Betches has seen its revenue grow 40% every year since 2020, and it has been profitable since its inception in 2011, according to chief revenue officer David Spiegel. Now an eight-figure operation, Betches has parlayed its distinctive editorial tone—a blend of irreverence and relatability—into a robust brand partnership business, with 80% of its revenue related to social media sponsorship. How Vice Media Went Bankrupt Consumer revenue, mostly from product licensing, commerce and affiliate marketing, makes up 15% of its balance sheet, with podcast subscriptions and events revenue comprising the remaining 5%, according to Spiegel. “The founders built the business without having to take outside funding, which can lead to problems,” said chief content officer Kate Ward, the founding editor in chief of Bustle. “They have been measured and smart about it, and now we can scale the company intelligently.” Its stability and commercial success come as many of its peers, including BuzzFeed Inc. and Vice Media, have struggled to find their footing amid a rapidly shifting digital media landscape. By growing slowly and leaning into its on-platform audience, Betches has cultivated a loyal following that it now has the opportunity—and challenge—to monetize in new ways. “They are signaling that they are ready to do more and turn on new revenue streams,” said Eunice Shin, partner at the digital strategy firm Prophet. “The biggest challenge now is choosing what to do and how to do it—how do they chart a trajectory for growth that remains sustainable?” A new website to woo larger budgets Betches has operated without ads on its website since 2019, in part because of its limited reach: The domain attracts roughly 55,000 readers per month, according to Comscore. While the addition of ads to the website is unlikely to generate significant revenue, the strategy could help Betches sell larger direct buys to advertisers, packaging together its social audience, newsletter readership, podcast listenership and web traffic. The publisher plans to pursue mostly direct-sold ad buys, and it has expanded its sales team to a headcount of roughly 20. According to Brandon Marshall, a director of digital investments at Havas who has worked with Betches on behalf of a financial services client, the new website inventory clearly complements its valuable social audience. After Cutting Open-Market Programmatic, Bloomberg Media Sees Efficiency Gains, Revenue Losses As part of three campaigns Marshall has run with Betches since September, the multichannel buys included branded social content, newsletter placements and host-read ads. Given his client’s objective of increasing brand awareness for a new product, adding another touchpoint to reach the target audience would be a welcome add-on, said Marshall. Although a distant second behind its social partnership business, podcasting has also become a critical revenue driver for the publisher. Across its 13 podcasts, Betches generates 50 million monthly downloads, according to the company. Three of them—U Up?, Oversharing and Diet Starts Tomorrow—also generate subscription revenue by gating access to exclusive content. The publisher also offers a suite of eight newsletters, a fledgling channel but one that Betches hopes to cultivate as both a source of first-party data and direct readership. Moving beyond brand partnerships Spiegel and Ward both joined Betches last year with a remit to expand the editorial and commercial footprint of the business, and they come as part of a broader wave of hires. Betches has expanded from roughly 49 to 65 staff in the last year and is actively hiring. As part of its bid to diversify beyond social media, Betches is also increasing its affiliate, commerce, events and entertainment businesses. Its events business and talent development ventures form a virtuous cycle. For instance, in March the publisher began hosting a monthly comedy showcase called Betches Night Out, whose last iteration sold out and has prompted the publisher to move to a larger venue. Building on its authority in the comedy space, Betches also recently executive produced a comedy special starring one of its podcast talents, the comedian Jared Freid. As Betches expands its talent pipeline, it is actively seeking ways to nurture new creators and help monetize their production, according to Spiegel. “Can we be a place that elevates comedic voices? That is something we are excited about,” Spiegel said. “It’s a revenue stream, yes, but it also brings value to our audience and the people we want to be associated with.”

Digital Transformation

As Digital Media Falters, Betches Hits Its Stride, Expanding Headcount and Revenue Streams

After reintroducing website ads, the publisher is expanding headcount and growing revenue

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg