IOL newsletter nominated as finalist at 2024 INMA Global Media Awards

IOL’s newsletter has been nominated in the Best Product Iteration category in the 2024 International News Media Association's Global Media Awards.

IOL is one of 193 finalists who have been nominated for various awards in at least 19 award categories, including the best use of visual journalism, best newsroom innovation, best use of AI in customer-facing products, AI for internal productivity, most creative use of advertising formats and best subscriber onboarding and best subscription experience, among other categories.

IOL is nominated in Category 10: Best Product Iteration in the national brands category.

Other nominees include India's Hindustan Media, OTTplay Product Iteration, Germany’s Der Spiegel, Let’s Debate: How Der Spiegel Created a New Space for User Participation, WeltN24 for Revitalising the Welt Community and Chile's La Tercera, for The Match Project.

The IOL team said the newsletter campaign was fuelled by a multifaceted approach to meet evolving user expectations and capitalise on new opportunities.

“The existing product, though functional, faced challenges in user engagement and personalisation.

“Recognising a growing demand for tailored and relevant content, we identified an opportunity to deepen our connection with audiences through more targeted and relevant newsletters.

“The process began with a thorough problem recognition phase, analysing user feedback, engagement metrics, and industry trends. The goal was to enhance user experience, increase open and click-through rates, and ultimately boost overall reader satisfaction,” said the team in a submission to INMA.

Editorial, marketing and tech collaborated to define the scope and features of the revamped newsletters.

“The iterative process involved brainstorming sessions, wireframing, and user testing to ensure a seamless transition for existing subscribers while attracting new ones.

“The timeline for this transformation spanned three months. Our aims were clear – to deliver newsletters that catered to distinct audience segments, offering content that resonated with their preferences.

“The metrics for success included increased open rates, higher click-through rates, and growing subscribers,” they said.

The IOL team of Faheem Khota, Sikander Abdulla, editor Lance Witten and Zurina Morgan said the implementation of the newsletter has exceeded expectations, though there were technical glitches during the initial rollout, which demanded swift resolution.

“The revamped newsletter campaign yielded remarkable results, surpassing our expectations and solidifying its impact on user engagement. “Subscribers witnessed an impressive increase of more than 200%, indicating heightened interest and receptivity among our audience.

“Click-through rates also experienced a substantial uptick, demonstrating that the personalised content strategy effectively captured readers' attention and encouraged further interaction.

“Our creation of a trending newsletter for the latest news stories also had great success. This approach not only led to a 40% rise in subscriber retention but also attracted new subscribers seeking curated, relevant information.

“Open rates surged by an impressive 25%, signifying a significant improvement in reader receptivity to our content. Additionally, click-through rates experienced a substantial uptick of 20%, demonstrating that the personalised content strategy not only captured attention but also prompted meaningful interactions,” the team said.

Other highlights include that the IOL newsletter grew by over 50,000 subscribers in two months.

One first place, second place, and third place will be awarded for each of the 20 categories within each segment.

In some cases, judges may omit awards or advise additional awards.

Winners will be announced on April 25 at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, while the INMA World Congress of News Media will be held April 22-26.

“This year’s Global Media Awards was highly competitive, with emerging themes focusing on breakthroughs in AI, newsrooms, young readers, and more,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA.

“This class of finalists represent the best in the business of news, and we are proud to champion the mission of outstanding journalism.”