Verst delivers simple monetization, homepage customization and easy content migration in vibrant new publishing platform

Verst, the intelligent, all-in-one website platform that helps content creators build incredible brands and businesses, today announced new product enhancements, details on customer success, and a partnership with SendGrid. The rapid innovation and adoption of the publishing platform demonstrates significant interest in a new solution that levels the playing field for all publishers.

One of the most powerful effects of ubiquitous internet access is the plethora of outlets for expression and communication. However, this abundance of channels has come at a cost, as managing and monetizing content, improving performance, and developing deeper audience relationships is now increasingly difficult, time-consuming and often requires technical expertise. Whether the goal is financial independence or to share a passion and make money doing it, content creators need a powerful hub for their digital presence. To meet the demands of their audience and their business, creators must look beyond cobbled-together toolsets and leverage the same first-class tools and insights that make major media brands successful. This is what Verst delivers, out of the box.

“I’m super excited about this release because of the emerging paradigm shift towards subscription revenue and other forms of direct monetization as a core component of all content creators' businesses,” said AJ Frank, CEO of Verst. “Our vision is to democratize these powerful monetization mechanisms by radically simplifying the setup and management involved. Ultimately, we want to empower creators to focus on what they do best: growing and differentiating their brands by creating compelling content.”

NEW FEATURES

● Paid Content Subscriptions. A turnkey way for any creator to activate a subscription offering and get paid for the value they create. By simply flipping a switch, Verst publishers can start delineating specific posts as premium content that sits behind a paywall. While advertising rewards quantity over quality, this type of monetization aligns the interests of publishers and consumers by minimizing reliance on third parties and creating a better user experience.

● Homepages. Verst makes it simple for creators to add a fully customized and professionally designed homepage to the front of their site. Creators pick the modules, content, and design they love.

● New pricing tier. Newer creators who don’t yet have the audience size for monetization and optimization can now take advantage of an entry-level pricing tier. Users can leverage Verst’s unparalleled simplicity to get their media business started with all the personalized branding they require for just $12/month.

● Content migration. Creators seeking to evolve beyond an outdated WordPress site or expand beyond Medium can keep their existing domain and Verst will import all of the content, ensuring every link to the old site lands in the right place. Creators can establish a fresh redesign, own their audience, boost their SEO score, and cure their publishing pain points by making the switch.

● SendGrid partnership. Email remains the number one communication method to keep people engaged. With this partnership Verst creators can integrate with SendGrid’s award-winning email delivery platform so they can master this fundamental touchpoint. And SendGrid customers can easily migrate their current website to Verst, gaining aesthetics and sophistication to rival the web’s top media brands.

Verst levels the playing field for publishers of all sizes. In a cacophonous landscape of clickbait, filtered photos, and ad-covered pages, creators deserve a clean, beautiful, manageable platform to call home. With Verst, the creators of today and tomorrow get the same tech that powers BuzzFeed and the New York Times, right out of the box.

CUSTOMERS TELL THE STORY

● Ian Capstick: Social entrepreneur, political analyst, builds his brand, drives community

Ian is one of Canada's best known political pundits, technologists and social activists. He is using Verst to actively generate speaking opportunities, aggregate his media appearances, and develop community with his fans/followers who can set up 1:1 conversations with him directly through his site. “Verst enables and empowers me to be one of the most connected and interactive political analysts in my field. A lot of political commentators hide behind the scenes. Love me or hate me, you’ll be able to access me,” said Ian. “Through optimization, A/B testing, CTAs, Verst gives me a better understanding of my audience. I need to know what they care about and why. In turn, Verst also gives my audience access to me, in a manageable way.”

● Shout!: Building a Gen Z global citizen media business

After visiting refugee camps in Iraq and Syria in 2015 and 2016, Flavius Mihaies created Shout! to share global stories that Americans should take note of that are often ignored by mainstream media outlets, from the perspective of those who are living the reality. The content is created by a combination of aspiring Gen Z and established (Al Jazeera, Reuters, Politico, et al.) reporters and commentators. “Our goal with Verst will be to engage with the audience in a more direct way than we’ve been able to do on Facebook,” said Flavius. “We want to develop interaction directly between our audience and our journalists and we’re very excited about the upcoming paid subscription feature to solidify our place as a legitimate, growing, global media brand.”

● Stigma: From #1 mental health app to community, content, and monetization online

In order to generate new users, Stigma needed a marketing channel that went beyond organic App Store growth. “The biggest testament is that we recently closed a partnership with one of the largest resources for health information, and I don’t think we could’ve done that without Verst,” said Dan Seider, founder, Stigma. “The site represents our brand, and the quality of it speaks to our high standards as a company. I love how Verst allows us to help inspire people and promote social good.”

ABOUT VERST

Verst is an intelligent, all-in-one website platform that helps content creators build incredible brands and businesses. With paid subscriptions, analytics, A/B testing, and more built right in, Verst allows modern creators, entrepreneurs, makers, and thought-leaders to deliver valuable content, engage their audience, and convert them into paying customers. Verst is headquartered in New York City. To learn more, please visit www.verst.co.