TheSkimm, BDG, the NYT Capitalize on Parenting Content

When the first wave of digitally native publishers launched in the early aughts, they initially aimed to attract an audience of millennials by creating content—cat videos, adulting fails, life hacks—that resonated with young adults of the era. Now, more than a decade later, much of that millennial audience has found itself in an entirely new stage of their lives: navigating marriage, parenting and personal finance against the backdrop of a pandemic, social unrest and faltering economy. Millennials now make up one of every five parents in the U.S., according to Pew Research, and they take up the task while facing a novel set of challenges. As a result, rates of stress among mothers, specifically, have reached worrisome highs, as 68% say they are experiencing anxiety and 35% labeled their anxiety severe, according to an October survey conducted by Everyday Health Group's Pregnancy and Parenting division. In response to these shifts, a number of pioneering publishers have introduced or increased their production of parenting content, motivated by both a growing reader demand for reliable information and a commercial opportunity. Some, such as The New York Times, Vox and New York Magazine’s The Cut, have created newsletters in the last year specifically targeting parents. Others, including Bustle Digital Group, theSkimm and Wild Sky Media, have expanded their presence in the space through acquisition, investment or a mix of both. In doing so, each aims to tap into the massive, incredibly engaged and digitally fluent audience of millennial parents, a cohort whose modes of consumption and chief concerns differ radically from prior generations, said Emma Rosenblum, chief content officer at BDG. “In the past 10 years, rather than buying What to Expect When You’re Expecting, the parenting community and the advice available to them has all gone online,” Rosenblum said. “Everybody who grew up online is now in their 30s or 40s, having kids and still online.” By introducing content designed to attract this nascent audience, publishers hope to unlock new advertising categories and revenue opportunities, an especially attractive premise, given the purchasing power of parents. The strategy also ensures that lifestyle publishers like BDG and theSkimm can retain their loyal audience while simultaneously appealing to a rising Gen Z readership. "For millennials, being a parent is interwoven into their larger identity," said Whitney Fishman Zember, group director of consumer insights and innovation at GroupM. "So the brands that resonate with parents will be the ones that can tell stories that integrate their whole person, that don't make them feel like they have to separate out the facets of their life that make them them." Newsletters for aggregating parenting readership For The New York Times, Vox and The Cut, publishers whose reporting reaches a relatively broad audience, newsletters offer an elegant means of funneling parenting readership into a specific product. The Times launched its Parenting section in 2019, but in December 2021 transitioned its Parenting newsletter into a subscriber-only offering. In May, The Cut launched Brooding, a newsletter exploring the intersection of digital culture and parenting, and in July, Vox launched Extra Curricula, a newsletter that explores parenting and modern families. Launching parenting newsletters allows for general-interest publishers to more effectively engage and monetize their existing audience of parents, as email creates a niche, contextually aligned space. The strategy also serves as a low-cost litmus test for demand, enabling publishers to gauge their readers’ interest in the subject, data they can then use to either ramp up or retire the offering. Bolstering parent content via acquisition At BDG, which launched Romper in 2015, a July 2021 acquisition of Some Spider Studios netted the media company a stable of popular parenting brands, including Scary Mommy, Fatherly and The Dad. The new titles have helped BDG boost its child-rearing readership, and the media company saw a 58% increase in parent readers following the acquisition, according to the publisher. As a result, BDG now has 41 million social followers across its parenting titles, while its newsletters from the same portfolio have grown 32% year over year. Owing mostly to branded social content across its parenting channels, the publisher projects earnings from the division to account for 27% of its annual revenue. “Parenting is a fantastic category,” said BDG chief executive Bryan Goldberg. “In terms of engagement, there is nothing people are more passionate about than their children.” Educating with a side of activism At theSkimm, where more than half its readership identifies as parents, the publisher has taken a different approach. Historically, the newsletter-based media company has woven parenting content into its preexisting coverage, such as recommending maternity clothing in its affiliate programs. But it has also recently unveiled specific initiatives designed to appeal to its growing audience of parents, including a special Parenting Today edition of its educational program, SkimmU, in October. The virtual event was sponsored by Danone, a food and beverage company that worked to combat the baby formula shortage that struck the U.S. this summer. The publisher also pioneered an initiative called #ShowUsYourLeave in February, prompted in part by an Instagram post from co-founder and new mother Danielle Weisberg, to draw attention to the lack of transparency around companies’ parental leave policies. The effort, which theSkimm has translated into a free database, spurred nearly 600 brands, including General Motors and Zoom, to publicly share their offerings. “We talk about theSkimm as a brand that was created to onboard our readers into adulthood,” said Julie Alvin, svp of content at theSkimm. “Now, 10 years later, 50% of our audience are parents with another 10% planning to become parents, and we want to help them prepare for that.” Targeting moms with audio offerings Publisher Wild Sky Media, which was acquired by holding company Bright Mountain Media in June 2020, has taken another approach to the sector, one that showcases the diversity of the audience. Four of its properties—CafeMom, Mom.com, Mamás Latinas and Little Things—all cater specifically to moms, though they target their readership on separate social platforms, with distinct content and sometimes a different language. Wild Sky Media, whose first property, CafeMom, launched in 2008, brings nearly 15 years of experience to the sector, and has recently seen an uptick in appetite for its content, said Matt Drinkwater, CEO of Bright Mountain Media. In the first half of the year, sessions for its titles rose 32% year over year, revenue jumped 135% and its newsletter base increased 15%, according to the publisher. It has monetized its audience in a number of original ways, several of which prioritize audio so moms can consume content while attending to their children, said Yuliana Delgado, vp of content at Wild Sky Media. The publisher has three podcasts, including one in Spanish, with a fourth on the way. It also produces two smart speaker series—Mom Tips and Mamá Dice—designed to provide daily 60-second tips to moms. Wild Sky Media also unveiled a new offering, called its Mom Index, in October. To better understand the interests, preoccupations and habits of moms, the publisher collects survey responses from between 5,000-10,000 members of its audience. It then shares these insights with brands looking to inform their advertising strategy, adding a crucial advantage to its growing direct advertising business. “Part of our responsibility is knowing what moms really want, which the Mom Index allows us to do,” Drinkwater said. “We get responses from general market and Latina moms, which we can share with our sales team and use to guide our editorial strategy.” A new chapter for parenthood Just as millennials shaped the early internet, their legacy as parents will now help define what child-rearing looks like in the digital age. For publishers, the challenge remains to create content that engenders trust and fits into the contours of their readers’ lives. “Parenting is having a moment,” Rosenblum said. “The pandemic stretched parents to their wit’s end, and they turned to the internet to find solace, joy and community. But even after that, we continue to see an increase in parental engagement online.”

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Publishers Expand Parenting Content to Entice Child-Rearing Millennials

The land grab to reach digitally native parents has begun.

Mark Stenberg

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