Apple has been working hard to make iAd a major source of revenue for the company. Apparently part of their strategy is to try very hard to do to the online news publishing industry what they did to the music industry with iTunes.

Steps to monetize as an Apple News publisher

1. Enroll in the Apple Developer Program
2. Enable iTunes content with your developer ID
3. Register
4. upload logo
5. Choose how to publish: RSS or Apple News
6. Choose the article creation method
7. Send sample content
8. publish articles
9. Monetize with Apple iAd

What is AppleNews?

If you publish content that qualifies as news, you should already be familiar with Google News. There’s an extensive guide to Google News and how to get it, and why you should. If you can, that is.

In the fall of 2015, Apple introduced its News app as part of iOS 9. It rolled out to the majority of iPhone and iPad users, and according to Apple, around 40 million of them use it.

This publishing platform aims to bring personalized news and content to iOS users while combining the look of the home brand with Apple’s sleek design. Obviously, the monetization engine is Apple’s own iAd, until now mainly used by iOS app developers for app monetization.

The news about Apple News

Apple quietly ended the beta period and opened the doors for all publishers. So now the Apple News format news publishing platform is open to everyone. Yes, even you, and it’s free to join.

So before we tell you how to get your posts in that feed and in front of 80 million eyes (that’s 40 million peers, in case you were wondering), let’s talk about whether you should bother investing the time and effort.

The good, the bad and the potential

Google did it with YouTube, Facebook recently introduced Instant Articles, and Amazon brought its power in the book market to the digital world with e-books and self-publishing. So it’s no surprise that Apple wants to jump on the bandwagon and keep content close to the corporate branding chest like everyone else in the field.

However, some of the premium publishers that were early adopters of the format and Apple’s News platform were not ashamed of their disappointment with the system. Some publishers have also reported poor compliance rates with iAd on News.

Apple has since launched a new analytics dashboard for publishers, but it’s clear it’s going to take quite a bit of audience education to get people to opt for Apple News.

(Use Apple News or Ronda Rousey will beat you up!)

Should I get on the Apple News train early and get on now? The answer to this question largely depends on your mobile publishing strategy, your content niche, and the devices your audience chooses.

It is important to note that if your content is not in English, you are out of luck. Unlike Google, Apple is all about the English-speaking citizens of the world, at least right now.

Getting into Apple’s News Feed: Do’s and Don’ts

To get started, you’ll need an Apple ID to sign up for the News Publisher web app. Now, if you want to monetize your content as well (and you do), you’ll need to enable the iTunes connection with your Developer ID.

Apple News for Publishers: A step-by-step guide

1. Sign up

2. Upload a logo

The dimensions of the logo must be the following:

General

• The logo can include only text (no images).
• The file type must be PNG.
• The logo must be horizontal and on a single line, with no stacked text.
• The area around the text should be cropped or cropped to remove the extra space (padding is applied automatically).

color and transparency

• Use all colour.
• Use a transparent background (no fill): A mask is applied to some views.
• Text placed against the color must be transparent.
• Outlined text must be transparent (no color fill).

Size

• Height: at least 256px
• Width: at least 256 pixels; Maximum of 2560 pixels (some scaling occurs on logos at maximum width)
• Aspect Ratio: 10:1 max.
• File size: 2 MB maximum

restrictions

Do not include any of the following elements in your logo:

• Copyright or trademark symbols
• Photos
• Promotional text or URL
• White text against transparency

Logo Specification Implementation Examples

Scale your logo to fit the required height, if necessary.

Scale your logo to fit the recommended width, if necessary.

Place a logo mark next to the text, not above or below it.

The characters in a logo mark must be transparent.

If possible, abbreviate or shorten the long logo text.

What to avoid

Avoid using a solid background color. In some views, a mask is applied to your logo and a solid background does not produce good results.

Avoid wide logos, which can be difficult to read when reduced.

Avoid stacked logos, which can be hard to read when scaled down.

Avoid using a color fill on characters or shapes within logo marks. Text and shapes placed against other elements or colors must be transparent.

Avoid color fills in outlined text. A filled outline will not produce good results when a mask is applied. Outlined text must be transparent.

3. Choose how to publish

You can choose between an RSS feed and the Apple-style post.

4. After approval

Choose a method for creating articles.

5. Submit Sample Content

Pick a few articles that represent your content, then submit them to Apple for approval.

There are two ways to submit content:

1. Through a CMS: A complete guide on how to connect your CMS with Apple News.
2. Create an article directly in News Publisher. Apple also created a comprehensive guide on that.

6. Publish Articles

Articles are posted shortly after posting.

7. Start monetizing

You can run ad-free but you can also start monetizing with App iAd.

betting on the apple tree

I don’t need to tell you that Apple News can’t be your only mobile monetization tool. It may be one of them, if Apple manages to push it to its (mostly) compliant users. With so much competition in mobile content delivery, Apple News will have to fight hard to attract publishers and readers alike.