Jerry Li, founder of Gradual and the Engineering Leadership Community, shares how community is becoming the new infrastructure for business growth, powering everything from product influence to GTM strategy.

Registration walls can make or break your growth strategy. This blog explores the four main types of walls, what content to gate, and how to optimize conversion without scaring off users. You’ll also learn how data-driven strategies support revenue through ads, subscriptions, and insights in a privacy-first world.

Media companies are facing a new disruption: AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google Gemini are cutting off top-of-funnel traffic, threatening ad revenue, subscriptions, and event sign-ups. This shift isn’t just an SEO issue—it’s a fundamental change in audience behavior. To adapt, publishers must own their audience data, optimize conversion-focused journeys, protect and monetize high-value content, and diversify revenue beyond ads. The upcoming Revenue Room™ Audience Accelerator Bootcamp will equip leaders with strategies to thrive in this AI-first era.

This blog outlines how publishers can turn website readers into paid event registrants using a push-pull customer journey. By detecting and qualifying prospects in real time, delivering value before selling, personalizing event offers, and using micro-conversions, companies can bridge the gap between content engagement and event sign-ups. The strategy requires a unified tech stack, cross-functional collaboration, and audience intelligence to create predictable registration pipelines. The Revenue Room™ Audience Accelerator Bootcamp will guide teams in building this integrated approach.

In this episode of Revenue Room™, Heather Holst-Knudsen sits down with Pete Pachal, founder of The Media Copilot, veteran tech journalist, and former Chief of Staff at CoinDesk. Together, they unpack how AI is not just transforming media operations—but redefining the business models behind them. Pete shares why the real disruption of AI isn’t flashy tools, but ruthless transparency. As generative AI becomes more adept at surfacing, ranking, summarizing, and even creating content, the question for media companies becomes: do you offer real brand value, or are you just content? They dive into a revealing case study of Reuters vs. Dotdash Meredith—one respected for its journalism, the other engineered for performance. The contrast reveals a fundamental truth: AI will reward content that performs, not just content that’s credible. Heather and Pete also explore: -How AI forces media brands to clarify their strategic value -The tension between editorial integrity and search-driven survival -The future role of human editors in an AI-curated media ecosystem -Why brands need to lead with distinctiveness, not volume This is a must-listen for media executives, content strategists, and revenue leaders rethinking their competitive edge in an AI-first world.

In this episode of The Revenue Room™ podcast, Pete Pachal, Founder of The Media Copilot, joins Heather Holst-Knudsen to unpack how AI is disrupting media discovery and exposing which brands truly deliver value. They explore why trust, originality, and editorial depth, not just reach, will determine who gets surfaced and who gets buried in an AI-driven future.

In this episode of *Revenue Room™, Samantha Skey, CEO of She Media, shares her bold, human-centered take on leadership, AI disruption, and the future of digital publishing. From reframing imposter syndrome as a systemic issue to building a diversified media model grounded in authenticity, Samantha offers a masterclass in leading with courage, clarity, and purpose in a time of massive change. Key Topics Discussed: -How Samantha approaches leadership with a focus on ethics, empathy, and long-term impact—not just short-term performance. -The tension between AI as an operational asset vs. existential threat to publishers. -Her prediction of a new industry for authenticity verification in content. -Samantha redefined imposter syndrome as a systemic issue, not a personal flaw. -A call to redesign environments to be more inclusive of non-traditional leaders. -She Media’s three-pronged business model: owned brands, creator monetization, and immersive brand partnerships. -The importance of leveraging both quantitative and qualitative inputs to drive business decisions. About Samantha Skey Samantha Skey is CEO of SHE Media, a top 10 media company reaching 80 million monthly unique visitors through brands like SheKnows, Flow Space, StyleCaster, Soaps, and TVLine. Acquired by Penske Media Corporation in 2018, SHE Media also operates one of the largest networks of independent lifestyle publishers and creators in the U.S. via the SHE Media Collective, which Skey launched in 2016 to support underrepresented voices. The Collective contributes millions in revenue annually to women- and minority-led publishers. In 2021, Skey launched Meaningful Marketplaces (MMP), enabling advertisers to scale media buys across the Collective while directly supporting premium independent media. That commitment to equity continued with the 2023 launch of Flow Space, a digital and live media platform focused on women’s health, which won both Anthem and Viddy Gold Awards. Skey also led the debut of the SHE Media Co-Lab Whole Life Health at SXSW, earning accolades from Fierce Pharma and the Anthem Awards. With over 25 years in digital media and tech, Skey previously held leadership roles at CNET, Disney, and RecycleBank, and joined SheKnows in 2013. She’s been recognized with numerous industry honors, including Ad Age’s “Women to Watch,” Folio’s “Corporate Visionary Award,” and DM News’ “Hall of Femme.” Skey serves on the boards of The Ad Council, World Surf League, and Acast, and is an advisor to Digital Ascendant and Let’s Talk Menopause. She lives in Princeton with her husband and two children and coaches girls’ lacrosse on weekends.

Ditch vanity metrics. Learn how to focus on high-impact KPIs that align with revenue and drive smarter, faster decisions.