In September 2020 I was made redundant from my nice, well-paid Big Media Job and decided to take a run at building Zee Feed into a legit business. With the payout and my own savings buffer, I had one year to make it happen… Now, 15 months later I can safely say “We did it, Joe!”
Does that mean this website is now a million-dollar business? Not even close. While Zee Feed hasn’t achieved financial sustainability (more on that below) I think we’ve been able to prove that there is a desperate need for smart, in-depth and context-driven news for young people in Australia. The fact that Zee Feed reached almost 400,000 people in October alone is proof that we’re filling an important gap in the Australian media landscape.
Transparency and media literacy has always been important on this platform. With that in mind, here’s what it felt like to build an independent digital media brand in 2021.
The Success:
Slowing Down: A lil secret of the digital publishing industry: sites that make money through advertising (almost all of them) have to increase the traffic to make more money. The most straightforward way to increase traffic is simply to publish more stuff! Which is why we’re now being inundated with content, much of it unhelpful. It’s too much.
Zee Feed can’t compete with the volume of mainstream publishers, and we don’t want to. Making the decision to only do three, well-researched articles a week felt risky, but it’s paying off. Our audience has grown steadily in 2021 and November was our biggest month ever. When we published the article on the viral Plant a Tree Co scam a week after it happened (a lifetime on the Internet) I was sure we’d missed the boat. Every outlet had already run a piece including the PR-friendly statement from the company. But it ended up being Zee Feed’s biggest story of the year because we waited to have all the details.
In our recent audience survey, readers also said they are happy to wait for our articles on complex stories. That’s how I know Zee Feed is having an impact, despite our smaller size.
Say Hi to Simran: In September, Simran Pasricha came on board as a part-time Digital Content Producer. On top of writing great articles, because Simran is much younger and funnier than me she is behind all our TikTok content. We’ve already gone viral twice thanks to her platform-savvy: once on TikTok for a video about Dominic Perrottet, and then on Instagram Reels for a joke about the tree-planting story. Social engagement isn’t the be-all of publishing, but the Reel now has 3.5 million views and that’s pretty fucking cool.
Complaints: Not saying when and not saying who, but this year one Big Business with a capital B called because they were unhappy with a story we published. It was sorted out quickly and easily, but I’m counting it as a ‘Success’ because it proves a) people are watching, and b) they think Zee Feed has some influence. Which we do. After a microsecond of panic, I was pretty flattered!
DMs and Emails: On a similar note, every email and DM I received this year from readers saying how much they value our stories made me cry. My fiancé can confirm this. Each reader message is worth one million corporate complaints!
The Struggles:
Finances: I won’t lie to you, the media business is tough. The business made some money in 2021, but not enough to plan more than another year in advance. I can’t say that Zee Feed is financially sustainable yet – it’s still a month-to-month scramble. I probably haven’t prioritized revenue the way that a new business should.
The slow business growth sometimes gets me down. Bootstrapping sucks, but it doesn’t make sense to take on investment. Is that a bad call? Not sure. Is it slowing me down? Definitely. But the media biz doesn’t generate returns like tech or ecommerce businesses. Investors expect decision-making that maximises profits – I’m not sure that fits how I want to run this business. If I ever change my mind I’ll let you know.
Algorithmic Woes: Every time Instagram makes a tweak to how the app works, Zee Feed takes a hit. The switch from ‘Swipe Up’ to Link Stickers mid-year tanked traffic to the site for a bit. I freaked out, but I’ve known all along that it is a Very Bad Idea to build your business on a platform that you don’t own. It’s one of the most important things I learned working at mainstream publishers. It is not possible for Zee Feed to be an “Instagram” or “YouTube” business, because we don’t control anything about those environments. As we all saw in February, if Facebook wants to kick you off their platform they will do it. We only really control this website and our subscriber list – I need to remember that in 2022.
Doing it Solo: I was operating Zee Feed entirely solo for more than half the year, and I would not recommend it. Hiring Simran was a game changer, but even still I’m finishing the year burnt out, mentally blocked and feeling like I’ll never have an interesting idea ever again. Baby needs a break! So for the first time in over a year, I’ll be disconnecting from the business entirely for a couple of weeks. The site and socials will be left in Simran’s capable hands (who will be taking her break in January). See you on the other side, with a refreshed brain ready for a massive 2022!
What’s coming in 2022:
A tiny preview of what’s coming to Zee Feed in 2022:
- Memberships: We’re launching reader memberships in January. Expect perks and space for smart discussion, at a very affordable price point
- Re-positioning: Saying that Zee Feed publishes ‘Explainers’ no longer represents what we really do. You’ll notice some updated branding soon with our new positioning, which is all about context and critical thinking. This opens up the door to publishing opinion pieces too.
- Bigger Investigations: By popular demand, we are currently working on some bigger, investigative-style stories led by some of Australia’s best young journalists. Stay tuned!
- Election: There will be an election hub! We’re doing policy explainers, comparisons, fact-checking and weekly recaps to help you make your decision.
- Video: This year I was awarded a grant from Google to produce independent journalism on YouTube. I’ll be doing this under the Zee Feed banner, so you can expect video versions of a lot of our content next year.
Top Five Stories of 2021:
- This Is the Big Lesson For Us All in the Viral Plant A Tree Co Drama
- What Does the Attorney-General Actually Do? Is He Powerful?
- Who is Dominic Perrottet? Your 6-Minute Guide to The Man Who Just Became NSW Premier
- Why the ‘Mid-Size Bodies’ Trend on Social Media Isn’t As Body Positive As It Seems
- 5 Australian Defamation Cases to Keep Your Eye On in 2021
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