Insights, tools and research to advance journalism
Revenue that comes directly from readers in the form of subscriptions, memberships, donations, events and more is crucial for the long-term sustainability of news organizations — especially those serving local communities.
To help create that future, the American Press Institute maintains this Reader Revenue Toolkit — practical guides and resources to help publishers get started or go to the next level with their reader revenue strategies.
The Toolkit contains API’s subscription-related research and in-depth guides. We also are creating collections of posts that address key challenges that we have found most pressing for publishers, starting with potential ways to acquire new subscriptions.
You can sign up here for Reader Revenue Toolkit notifications about new resources.
This Reader Revenue Toolkit will continue to grow over time as more resources are added. Question you need answered? Something missing? Are your own reader revenue initiatives and projects proving successful and you want to share? Reach out to readerrevenue@pressinstitute.org.
While publishers should seize on the opportunities offered by email marketing, they should not view email — or any single approach — as the magic bullet to gaining subscribers. Wherever possible, news organizations should be using multiple touch points to connect with prospective subscribers, both on and offline. Email campaigns, while effective, rely on having […]
Published
Nothing is more important to the brave new world of building subscriptions than the relatively old world of email. An email address gives publishers ways to target and connect with potential subscribers that are much more effective than metrics like “unique visitors,” a potentially misleading number due to the fact that the same person may […]
Published
Launching a paywall is easy. Pivoting a whole business from an advertising-centric mindset to one focused on reader revenue is not. Despite 10 years of experimentation and increasing attention, the news industry still needs to develop some of the attitudes, technology and skills needed to sustain exceptional membership and subscription programs. To succeed with reader […]
Published
Revenue that comes directly from readers in the form of subscriptions, memberships, donations, events and more is crucial for the long-term sustainability of news organizations — especially those serving local communities. To help create that future, the American Press Institute maintains the Reader Revenue Toolkit — practical guides and resources to help publishers get started […]
Published
This study may be the largest study ever undertaken of people who have recently subscribed to newspapers. It surveyed people who subscribed in the last three months to 90 local newspapers across the country. The survey of more than 4,100 recent newspaper subscribers captures their motives and mindsets at the time of the decision. The […]
