Why January is a Chill Month for Publisher Ad Revenue

The drop in publisher ad revenue and CPMs in January, often referred to as the January Slump, has arrived, where once again we face the historically slowest month of the year for publisher ad revenue. While it can feel like revenue performance is “broken,” it’s almost always a market-wide correction after the peak of Q4.

But before you sink into those new-year’s blues, let us explain. We understand and will feel the same pain on our bottom line over the next few weeks. However, January and the rest of Q1 don’t have to be entirely daunting. With the right strategies in place, you can mitigate these losses and turn this traditionally slower period into a time of growth and opportunity for your business!

Why Does This Happen?

To best understand this trend, keep in mind what has just ended – Q4! More ad dollars go to publishers in October through December than at any other time of the year, making January’s CPM drop seem even more drastic. 

1. The “Budget Reset” Effect

Most advertisers operate on a fiscal year that starts in January.

• • Planning vs. Spending: In December, brands are in a “spend it or lose it” mode, exhausting their remaining annual budgets. In January, they start with a clean slate.

Strategy Phase: During the first two weeks of January, marketing teams often finalize their strategies and set up new campaigns rather than run them. This lack of active campaigns significantly reduces the number of bidders in the ad auction, driving CPMs down.

2. Post-Holiday Consumer Exhaustion

Consumer behavior shifts dramatically once the holidays end.

• • Wallet Tightening: After the high-spending period of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas, consumers often tighten their wallets to recover financially or pay off credit card debt.
  • Lower Purchase Intent: As people buy less, advertisers have less incentive to bid aggressively. An impression of a user “just browsing” in January is worth less to an advertiser than an impression of that same user “actively shopping” in December.

3. Supply vs. Demand Imbalance

Economics 101 dictates the price of your ad space.

• • Increased Supply: Many people receive new devices (phones, tablets, laptops) as gifts in late December, resulting in a surge in internet usage and ad inventory.
  • Decreased Demand: Simultaneously, as brands pull back spending, there are fewer dollars chasing that increased inventory. When supply is high and demand is low, the price (CPM) naturally crashes.

4. The “End of Quarter” Drop

Even outside of the New Year, there is a mini-slump at the beginning of every quarter (January, April, July, and October). Advertisers often front-load their spending toward the end of a quarter to hit sales targets. When the new quarter begins, there is a universal “cooldown” period as new quarterly budgets are initialized.

How To Mitigate the Loss

Proactive steps can be taken in January to maximize short-term revenue while laying the groundwork for stronger performance in later months. 

1. Plan Ahead

Every January, publishers express concerns over the drop, but this decline is both predictable and manageable. As you build out annual revenue projections, budgeting for this drop ensures you are prepared, and that will mitigate any panic that this revenue decrease brings.

2. Optimize For Seasonal Content

If applicable to your brand, publish content that aligns with popular January topics like fitness, health, budgeting, organization, and goal-setting. These topics attract advertisers focused on New Year’s resolutions. If more reliant on trending content, use January to create or update evergreen content that can generate consistent traffic throughout the year.

3. Invest in the Long-term

With the stress of Q4 behind us, January can be used for those much-needed A/B tests. Test article headlines, content formats, or layouts to improve user engagement and conversion rates. If you aren’t yet capitalizing on the growing amount of digital video spend, test the video player in Q1. Early adoption gives you plenty of time to optimize the experience and maximize revenue potential well ahead of Q4 2025. According to Google, “Video ads are on average earning 8.9x higher CPMs compared to standard banner ad CPMs on Ad Exchange.”

RELATED: Fewer Ads, Better Outcomes

4. Diversify Revenue Streams

As in most cases, diversification is key. Our core competency may be ad monetization but we regularly consult publishers on revenue opportunities outside of that.   

• • Data monetization
  • Subscription models
  • Content licensing 
  • Affiliate marketing
  • E-commerce 
  • Sponsored partnerships

5. Improve the UX

Since January is a low-revenue month, it is the safest time to perform A/B tests, site redesigns, or technical updates without risking your highest-earning days. Some of the most common issues preventing publishers from brand growth are outdated website designs, unintuitive site navigation, and confusing taxonomies. Newer companies with more modern design and friendlier UX are beating legacy sites that didn’t make the necessary changes. 

6. Direct Sales Strategy

Start building direct relationships with relevant advertisers in your space. You don’t need to hire an expensive sales team, but you can reach out to these advertisers to evangelize your website and inventory.  

Update your media kit, create customized ad packages that align with annual tentpole events, assign pricing to ad units, and find ways to offer interesting things to advertisers. At Freestar, we follow the same pattern. We leverage our SSP and DSP relationships to ensure that our publishers are well represented in the private marketplace, PG and other premium environments. Annual revenue to our publishers from deal-based IDs and curated audiences is up over 50%. We also work directly with brands and agencies, evangelizing segments of high-quality inventory for relevant direct sales campaigns.  

7. Focus On Audience Engagement

As we move into 2026 and beyond, audience success metrics are shifting to prioritize engagement, loyalty, and authentication. Metrics like total pageviews and sessions, once the gold standard, no longer tell the full story. Instead, deeper signals – such as engaged users, repeat visitors, and authenticated traffic – paint a more accurate picture of brand value and monetization potential.

Offer unique and customized ways for your audience to connect with you and with each other. 

• • Leverage short-form video: Create engaging short-form videos that are shareable and captivating. 
  • Optimize your Newsletter: Strengthen your newsletter strategy by offering customized content options, ensuring readers receive the information that is targeted and more relevant to them.
  • Build community spaces: Foster community through social media or forums to encourage audience interaction and connections.

RELATED: 5 Audience Strategies Driving Revenue for Publishers

8. Shake Up the Ad Strategy

Your ad strategy should be looked at again each year to avoid growing stagnant. At Freestar, we pride ourselves on white-glove service and the strategic partnership we provide. We bring new ideas for ad layout, ad products, and optimizations to our publishers throughout the year.   

The amount of ad units per page doesn’t have to be the same year-round. If you typically run a conservative layout, you can afford to increase in January. You can also be strategic about where you increase the number of units. Instead of across the whole site, you can temporarily add units to a segmented group of top content performers.

Hang In There!

We understand the frustration with low CPMs. The January drop occurs every year across all ad networks and providers. If you plan in advance and use this month to complete some outstanding dev tasks or UX improvements, the labor of January can result in even more revenue in later months of the year.