Introduction

Niche media have huge advantages: They have unique, exclusive, hard to reach audiences, and technology has made big margins possible for companies run by small super-efficient teams.

However, niches by nature often have limited markets. Their micro teams are also limited by time and resources. They have  long road maps, but restrictions on what they can actually do now. The specificity of each niche also makes it more difficult to “see around the corner.” 

The 2025 Niche Revenue Benchmark Report  is a survey that provides three things:

a. A common set of metrics for publishers with different types of niche media to see how well they are doing 

b. Identification of top revenue sources to adopt or accelerate

c. Strategies from top performers, so publishers can learn from other publishers

Methodology

The research for this was conducted through a variety of surveys from late 2023 to early 2025:

• A primary survey of 82 publishers over 13 months with regular updates
• Supplemental smaller surveys throughout the period
• Multiple on-record interviews with industry leaders
• Additional direct data collection by phone from participating publishers

The survey encompassed a diverse range of niche publishers with varying business models, sizes, and market focus, providing a  overall view of a diverse industry landscape.

Participant Profile

By Media Type

A  variety of media types are included in the survy: print or online-only, B2B and B2C, and local versus National.  The results from the 82 media companies validated out of the initial gropu of 100+ shows that:

• 80% are magazines with a website.
• 20% are online-only publications
• Slightly more B2C publishers, trending towards local in focus
• Slightly fewer B2B publishers, trending toward  national in scope

By Organization Size

The  survey confirmeed that most respondents are small teams punching above their weight. Most respondents operate with fewer than 10 employees. This is especially true of online-only publications.

By revenues

About 8% are solopreneurs with revenues less than $100,000.

Key Performance Metrics: Revenue per FTE

Revenue per FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) is a key component of productivity (FTE is created by taking all hours  worked divided by  40 hours a week regardless of whether the people working are full time, part time or contractors).

Of the 29 companies in this smaller survey, 10 had revenues @ FTE in $200,000 to $350,000 range,  a good target for most niche media companies.  Higher targets can be achieved by adopting new revenue streams, adding titles, or accelerating current programs while using mostly the same staff.

Industry Dive was able to run 26 magazines and $200 million in revenues with a central staff, and 2 dedicated editors per title.

Key Performance Metrics: Revenue per Title

About half the publishers in the study have more than one title. Of those, the most popular number was two (25.5%) or three (10.6%).  On the overall average, revenue per title was $324,000. The highest revenue per title is around $4 to $5 million, in both cases a single title with multiple revenue models.

Diversification of Revenue Sources

Publishers coming into media from other industries with different experiences often led the charge into new revenue models.

Niche publishers responding to the survey showed success at diversifying the number of revenue sources. The average number of revenue sources was 5 to 8. Even taking just print magazines, 30% derived half of their revenues from other sources.

18 Revenue Sources

The survey identified 18 revenue models used by respondents across three primary buckets:

1. Advertising-based models ( ads, content marketing, newsletter sponsorships)
2. Reader revenue models (Subscriptions, memberships, courses, merchandise sales)
3. Both  (Two sided marketplaces, events with ticket sales and sponsors)

Dominant revenue streams

Respondents were asked to show their top three revenue sources. Across all media types the top five revenue sources are as follows:

1. Advertising
2. Subscriptions
3. Content marketing
4. Events
5. Directories and newsletters

For very small companies with fewer then 4 employees, consulting and services also made the list.

Here is a “cheat sheet to look at the top 3 revenue sources as a percentage of the total.

Top opportunities

We also used the survey to identify the top revenue opportunities.

1. Newsletter Monetization

Newsletters represent the most undervalued revenue source across niche publications.

While 73% of publishers sell ads on their newsletters, most  get less than 10% of revenues from this source. Only 14% of publishers sell exclusive sends.

Even so, newsletter advertising was growth segment in 2024 (see the green area in the image to the right), and included more than once in “Best initiatives of 2024.”

What’s different about ads on newsletters from display ads on the website?

The email list is the media’s owned audience, and thus more engaged than search traffic which may not have extensive loyalty to the brand.

An advertiser on the newsletter receive 100% of the open rate, which are the most engaged part of the audience. It can also receive 100% of the views of the subject line, if the media chooses to place the advertiser in the subject line.

Advertisers also know most niche media primarily through their newsletter, so they are more aware and willing to buy that marketing product.

In fact, newsletter only models such as Podnews.net, have dropped the concept that the. newsletter exists to drive the audience to the website where ads are placed against content, in favor of this much simpler model.

Still, only about 32% of niche publishers get more than 10% of revenues from their newsletter.

One over-performer, the online-only  RainCross Gazette, has a newsletter first model, that sells annual contracts in blocks, priced in three from $5000 to $30,000, with exclusivity by category at the second tier, and monthly content marketing added in the third tier. Ads run on a 10,000 subscriber, 3 day a week newsletter. Since last October, web traffic is also bundledin.

B2B publisher Insightful Accountant, has a similar model with a 5 day newsletter, with 11,000 to 16,000 subscribers depending on the day, aimed at CPAs and bookeepers. It sells newsletter takeovers, one advertiser per day, for $3500 to $5000, also bundling in web traffic.

Tips from over-performers

• Build to at least 10,000 subscribers (30,000-60,000 ideal) and continue to build the owned list by gating content. Gardner media has moved to gating all content for this purpose without significant drop in traffic. The secondary value of this  is to make the company less dependent on big tech for traffic, as audiences move towards finding answers on AI and algorythms change.
• Sell exclusivity in Blocks.
• Offer subject line mentions to provide the entire number of  “views”
• Create exclusivity by limit ingthe inventory on the newsletters and selling out
• Add exclusive sends if frequency is <daily.
• Consider more frequency to maximize revenue potential
• Add  vendor logos to the end of the newsletter on recurring revenue model using Patreon or another platform.
• Continue to build the email list by gating content

Podnews.net generates $600,000 annually from newsletter operations alone with these three revenue streams:

• Sponsorships (around $5,000 per placement) are limited to three, including a more expensive top placement.
• Classified ads ($50 daily/$250 weekly) are priced in tiers so that the first ad sold is the least expense, the next is more, and limited to 5 ads to create urgency.
• Patreon support: The product is a simple logo at the bottom of the newsletter, that acts as a ‘badge”. Podnews has sold 80 of them.

2. Opportunities in Content Marketing

Content marketing is another growth area, but not always the type of content marketing publishers may be familiar with.

This is a growing category, but only 43% included it as a top three revenue source.

Advertisers are especially interested in content marketing and  skillset to create content is already available inhouse.

Online-only ParentsCanada,  (case study here) is unique in that mnade content marketing the core revenue source.

When the owner decided to sell in 2014, an employee, Jane Bradley,  bought the  company with her severance pay, closed the print edition and doubled down on an exclusively content marketing model.

With a huge email list of 60,000 and sizeable web traffic of 500,000, plus 50,00o monthly social media views, she sold three tiers to  national brands (media kit here). 

They range from $7,900 to $17,000 for a “hub” on the site, but top proposals for a channel can top $40,000 a year.   Video creation, in partnership with a local company, has increased the spend even further (video media kit here), produced efficiently by partnering with a video company, crafting 4 video products, using the publishers posh living room as the studio, and tapping an editorial product reviewer as the video host.

Other publishers in the survey had succcess with unique products, such as client-owned content, now responsible for 40% of Industry Dive’s sales, and white papers that require an email to access (lead gen)  using a tool such as Jotform.

The publisher of SpaceNews has another take on content marketing: They created a self-serve form so companies and both create press releases. Advertisers pay $799 to $5999 to post their press release on SpaceNews, and reach the email list, 3 days on the home page of the website, LinkedIn and be included in the RSS feeds.

Tips from over-performs

• Leverage insights using audience data from email opens, social posts and Google analaytics to inform client content strategies
• Start with skills the company already has, such as writing, social or video
• Expand beyond traditional publishing to client-owned content development (blogs, white papers)
• Develop lead generation programs
• Consider adding self-serve press releases, or other DIY structured content marketing

3. Custom Publishing

For magazine publishers an important but often overlooked revenue source is custom publishing.

The contribution to the bottom line, can be substantial, as some respondents in the survey noted. One large regional publication reported making $1 million of its $4 million in revenues from custom publishing.

One publisher, Jaunt Media, picked up five new custom publishing clients in 2024 with minimal effort (media kit here).  Another local magazine picked up two chamber magazines last year – the second one attracted by the first.

Tips from over-performers

• The publisher is the sales person.
• Look for opportunities with key relationships such as associations, development agencies, and brands.
• Charge by the hour with a base number of hours required.

4. Buyers guides and Marketplaces

Only 16% of respondents said they had some kind of directory or marketplace set up, but about half of those who did got at least 10 to 30% of revenues from this source/

While buyers guides and marketplaces are mostly an tangential revenue stream, there are good reasons to add this platform.

• Buyers guides are an easy way to be “better than Google.” Whether the audience are parents looking for local activities for children, parking lot operators looking for the best new technology, or landlords looking for contractors that specifically work with mult–family housing, the niche media is a more trusted and better source of vetted companies.

• Typically, the information in the buyers guide is already in existing editorial content. Feed the content to an AI engine to extract a trusted list.
• Most CMS systems have a free to premium self-serve ad buy built in, and if not, many  platforms are available.
• Built-in upsell products for directories are expanding. They now include the ability for advertisers to email anyone who has even hovered over their profile – or a competitors. Publisher can add links to the press release the advertiser bought,  or  the publisher’s next trade show where they purchase a booth with the booth number.
• Buyer’s guide and marketplaces are great lead generators. Have a sales person validate the free listing with a phone call and sell them virtually any product from print ads to content marketing or video.

Joe Spector, of the Local Palate, the  food and culture magazine of the South sells food products online.  If readers spend $50, the credit goes towards the purchase of a subscription (case study here).

Tips from over-performers

• Look for buyers guides that readers find valuable

•Use companies mentioned in articles as a base

•Add DIY upsells and other content marketing such as video, or a press release

4. Reader revenues: Beyond the subscription

Tips from over performers:  

• Create a new premium tier with added benefits
• Integration with event access
• Provide exclusive merchandise or content
• Create course offerings from existing content

5. Digital Advertising

Most niche publishers responding cracked the code for selling digital advertising in 2024. 57% showed increases, the highest of any revenue category. Overperformer LBM Journal shared the model that increased digital ad revenues from <5% to 36% in five years in this case study.

Tips from out-performers:

• Move away from CPM models,
• Selling exclusive blocks with exciting minimum guarantees
• Create long term contracts with exclusivity and first right of refusal agreements
• Provide premium ads formats along with positions

Events

Events is now a major reveue source for about half of the niche publishers in the survey. While some publishers are struggling to breath new life into events, others are innovating their models.  A few examples  include:

• Building the audience-to-vendor ratio 
• Reverse expo adds $40,000 in new revenues to event
• Ryan Dohrn’s tips on building a world class B2B event

AI Integration

The survey also asked how many publishers have an AI policy, to check on the state of the industry when it comes to AI which will be a major disruptor and holds much promise for the workflow.

Approximately 50% of employees already use AI tools, although only about a third of Niche media respondents said they have an AI policy. See all the prompts and examples of an AI policy in the AI prompt library.

Tips:

• Communicate clear AI usage policies
• Use AI tools that can incorporate your proprietary content rather than generative
• Use paid AI services to protect content integrity
• Example policy available from Rough Draft Atlanta in the AI library

Conclusion

Successful publishers focus on how various business models can work together synergistically with their own strategies rather than viewing them as separate revenue streams. Those who understand how to integrate these models effectively demonstrate consistently higher performance across all metrics.

This report is based on survey data collected from 83 niche media companies over a 13-month period. For more research and supporting materials, visit newspublisher.biz/reports.