As the economics of journalism continue to evolve, a defining question about the future is whether the news media can create content that consumers are willing to pay for or donate to directly. Central to answering that question is understanding the behavior of what many publishers call the next generation of news audiences, those Americans […]

Asking audiences to make a donation to support journalism may not have been something many local news organizations — apart from public media newsrooms, that is — had experience (or comfort) doing. The coronavirus pandemic helped change that. Thrown into severe financial distress at the onset of the pandemic, some news organizations started asking for […]

With advertising becoming a less reliable source of revenue for the embattled journalism industry, more news outlets are turning toward sources of consumer revenue to shore up their coffers. This rise of subscription and membership models has dovetailed with the rise of audience engagement in recent years, as newsrooms seek to build stronger relationships with […]

More than a year after the global pandemic became official, local journalism still grapples with the fallout — not only from the coronavirus but also by an intense nationwide racial reckoning, regional disasters including fires and storms, and ever-present gun violence and mass shootings. The flood of news events over the past year also exacerbated […]

Worldwide, the lives of most journalists have been consumed over the past 12 months by cataclysmic events both anticipated and unexpected. But no media organization has been battered more than the local newsroom. Journalists in America’s towns and small cities were the first responders to massive COVID-19 outbreaks, police shootings, protests, violent demonstrations, fractious political […]

As the future of the news focuses more on reader revenue as its economic model, retention of subscribers and members is becoming more critical. It is one thing to get users to subscribe, particularly with discounted introductory offers. It becomes essential to keep those consumers. To continue growing net revenue, publishers need help to evaluate […]

Many news organizations with paid subscriptions are removing barriers to their coronavirus coverage as a public service, and putting that content in front of their meter or paywall. Pairing messaging about the free coverage with a subscription offer is a great way to remind readers the value of journalism while prompting them to support their […]

A reader has paid for a subscription. Now what needs to happen? This is a critical moment to shape the experience of subscribers and influence their sense of attachment to your organization. You want them to embrace you as a valued part of their daily lives, not stop the subscription as soon as the initial […]

Say you’ve implemented a well-designed program to onboard new customers. It’s getting them to look back favorably on their decision to subscribe, and to learn how they like to interact with your content. What’s your next priority? At this point, the goal should be to deepen the relationship — to build loyalty and make them […]

Well-constructed offer pages are vital to the goal of increasing reader revenue. They can influence a user’s entire perception of your publication and service — for better or worse. Each detail deserves careful thought and planning. Yet just like registration pages, their importance is often overlooked. When readers land on a subscription offer page, they […]