Barron’s Group’s Almar Latour: Building community is key to subscriptions

For Dow Jones, Barron’s Group — home to Barron’s, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News and Penta — is home to its more niche publications focused on financial decision-making. For many, community is key, Barron’s Group publisher Almar Latour said on this week’s Digiday Podcast.

“They’re really communities of people who are seeking answers to big financial questions,” said Latour. We provide them two things. We provide convening power, connecting them with experts and each other. And we provide expertise when they need it.”

Below are highlights from the episode.

Barron’s has international appeal
“It answers a lot of questions people have in other parts of the world. It’s as important to know how to think of the trade war here as well as other parts of the world. That impact we assess and help you think what actions you should take and which opportunities you might have as an investor or someone in the corporate world. There is a global community, many different types of communities, who want this type of information.”

Barron’s Group brands are about making decisions
“We have a large number of users who have questions about what action they should take in response to what they see on the news. We help provide that answer, whether you’re a beginner or a billionaire.”

A global point of view is necessary
“The trade ware is fundamentally a global story. We have to be international in our approach to cover that well. Capital moves around the world. That’s international by nature. Different economies move at different speeds. Just to cover the U.S. well, we have to have an international perspective. Outside the U.S., people are interested in how to think about what Washington and Wall Street are doing, what’s happening in Silicon Valley and how that impacts their portfolios [and] running their own companies.”

MarketWatch wants to be an accessible financial news brand
“It’s not just beginners. There’s a group of people who are in the middle of their careers, and they have important personal finance decisions to make. Then there are people who are deeply invested in the market and who use MarketWatch as a terminal.”

Journalism is good training for business 
“As a journalist, you’re always asking questions and you’re looking beyond what you’re presented. That is an important element in business, to keep on asking questions, not accepting the status quo and understanding the reality is often much more complex than it appears to be. As a journalist, you have to come at your stories with a level of humility. You don’t have all the answers, you don’t have all the right questions. You’re going to have to be attuned to what’s happening around you, what people are telling you. Humility is a great quality to have in business.”