Creating next, together

In 2023, the world met Raptive—which means the world met 5,000 of the best creators on the internet and the vibrant businesses they’ve created. 

And Raptive met our creators where they are. We expanded the ways we serve creators, from monetizing websites with the highest-paying ads to helping creators get to the next level with solutions for audience, revenue, and business goals.

While 2023 started bleak with low ad spending across the industry and a down economy, the market rebounded and Raptive creators saw significantly higher RPMs than the previous year. By December, our various improvements and hard work helped Raptive creators see over 37% higher revenue above and beyond seasonal and market trends!

But at the same time, 2023 really illuminated how challenging it is to be a creator. Running an online business on an ever-changing internet feels like trying to run on quicksand, doesn’t it? 

This year, creators are up against monumental changes: generative AI continues to evolve at breakneck speed, and the advertising industry is undergoing its largest-ever shift away from relying on third-party cookies. Our own proprietary research shows that if Google rolls out the search experience they’ve been testing, it could result in up to 66% search traffic loss to creators. 

2024 will be challenging in many ways, and we’re hearing a lot of concern from creators about the future.

But that’s why we’re here. We’ve weathered storms alongside creators since the beginning of blogging, and it’s why we’ve spent years investing in the right technology, team, and business structure to make sure our creators succeed in the future. We are stronger and better equipped than ever to navigate all the changes coming.

We are the strategic partner for the best creators who dare to dream they can make an impact on the internet despite all the hard things happening in the world. 

Raptive’s 2024 strategy

We have a chance to reimagine an internet where helpful, creative, authentic, trustworthy, and engaging content meets a world that’s hungry for it—and where the creators of that content receive the reward and recognition they deserve.

It will look different from the internet of 2023—for example, changes to search may shift how we all think about traffic acquisition—but what won’t change is the unique advantage Raptive creators have when it comes to trust and authenticity. And we’re here to propel you further, faster.

In 2024, we have the opportunity to create next, together. When we look at the things we build and the services we offer at Raptive, we’re doubling down in the areas we know we can have the most impact.

• Revenue: Cash in on your passion. Make more with the world’s best ad management. Explore new revenue streams.
• Audience: Captivate bigger audiences. Keep them coming back for more. Share your content with the world.
• Business: Strengthen your strategies. Make moves. Get expert guidance and support to keep your team growing and your business thriving. 

Three themes driving what’s next

Cutting across those areas, we see three critical themes to focus on and solve in 2024.

1. Creators need a partner and identity solution they can count on when third-party cookies go away. 

Your success relies on working with someone who has been preparing for years for this moment. At Raptive, we know there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this. It’s an amalgamation of privacy-first ways to identify readers and collect email addresses, smarter contextual advertising, a suite of options to connect with your audience, an amazing direct sales team, and thousands of hours spent with Google and other industry partners making sure creators’ needs are considered.

We’re ready for it!

Our data shows that when a site visitor is identified through our identity and email engagement systems, earnings are up to 45% higher. We’re helping creators massively grow the value of their readers.

2. The greatest threat creators are up against this year is AI. Updating and posting high-quality content is crucial. 

It’s not just large language models churning out quick, cheap content; there’s also the question of how it impacts SEO. Raptive creators represent tens of millions of top-ranking search keywords. But what happens when AI-powered algorithms shrink the pool of opportunity for all creators?

Through our products and solutions like Topic and Content Optimization, Raptive can help you create unique, deeply helpful, and engaging content that provides the most complete and useful coverage of the topic you choose, and puts people first. 

While search traffic as a whole may look different in 2024 and beyond, we can help you capture more of it. Content created and updated using Topic and our SEO solutions generate 35% more pageviews! Inevitably there will be winners and losers but Raptive creators are best positioned to win through it all.

The best part? We’re making all of those products and solutions even better in 2024. 

3. Creators need support in their businesses to be smarter and more efficient than ever before

With these changes coming, creators building for a lasting future are thinking about diversifying their revenue, building authentic, loyal connections with their audience, and adapting to and staying aware of industry trends.

Through it all, you can count on us as an extension of your team, empowering you with the insights you need and representing the voices and interests of creators in the industry decisions that drive the future.

Raptive creators will have support in all aspects of their businesses, with new monetization streams like affiliate, a team advocating for them on AI, and the solutions we’ve built and acquired to make content creation easier so you can focus on what matters. 

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While 2024 is going to be a challenging year to say the least, Raptive creators have the best opportunity to succeed and defy the odds.

In our next post, our Chief Customer Officer Emily Burt shares the highlights on our roadmap for the year.  

To those who aren’t with us (yet), we’re here to help you navigate this changing landscape and we’d love to hear from you about how we can best support your business.

It’s a pivotal moment in the world of online content, and we’re convinced that the best team and the best community of creators can join forces to create next, together.