Lennart Schneider

How to build a referral program that drives subscription growth

Lennart Schneider — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 08:03:08 +0000

Lennart Schneider, founder of Subscribe Now podcast & newsletter, and expert on digital subscription models, interviews Stefan Bader, CEO and Co-founder of Cello, to discuss how to build a referral program that ensures sustained growth.
-> Why visibility is the decisive factor
-> How to choose the right rewards
-> Why fairness wins
-> and how you can reduce the cost risk in customer acquisition

For years, companies have been struggling with the same challenge. Specifically, rising customer acquisition costs are making it increasingly difficult to win new subscribers at affordable prices.

There are many reasons for this – paid marketing is becoming increasingly expensive, SEO has less reach since the spread of LLMs, and social media algorithms play a significant role on who sees which content, and when.

However, there’s one growth lever that’s often overlooked, one that can help decrease dependence on external players… your own users. Satisfied, loyal fans are already recommending you, and if implemented correctly, this can become a valuable and inexpensive acquisition channel.

At least that’s what Stefan Badar, CEO and Co-founder of Cello, and guest on my Subscribe Now podcast shared, and he makes some great arguments. Cello, a company based in Munich, has built a referral software that’s now used by some of the world’s leading tech companies, including Miro, Typeform, and Riverside.

In this article, summarizing my conversation with Stefan, you’ll learn how to build a referral program that ensures sustained growth:

Why visibility is the decisive factor
How to choose the right rewards
Why fairness wins
…and how you can reduce the cost risk in customer acquisition

By the way: You can try out Cello directly. Using my referral link will save you €1,000 and I’ll receive a commission if you become a customer, a great opportunity to support my work.

1. Stop hiding referral programs

The biggest mistake for a referral program is hiding it in a sub-menu. Permanent visibility at the top of the app leads to the strongest user engagement.

The example above, from Neotaste, illustrates this very well. The recommendation program appears on the first screen when you open the app and above the map in the Discover tab.

Stefan gives five tips for optimal visibility:

If the recommendation icon is visible on the first level and not hidden in a submenu, the usage rate increases by 8x.
In addition to a gift symbol, the monetary value of the recommendation should also be displayed. A currency symbol increases performance by 3.3x.
A small animation also draws attention to the referral program – even if we’ve seen a screen many times before and are therefore blind to changes.
Moments of delight: Specifically look for moments when your user has had a positive experience, such as at the end of an article, or after giving a good rating in the NPS survey. These moments are the perfect time for a recommendation.
CRM integration: You should also regularly remind your users about the referral program via email or other push channels.

2. Cash beats most other rewards

A referral program is only as strong as the rewards it offers. There are many options: free months, discounts, raffles, vouchers, gifts, etc. But Stefan has seen that money works best for most customers.

There are several reasons for this:

Money is universally usable and therefore interesting for every user.
Money remains an incentive even after the tenth or twentieth recommendation, while free months eventually lose their appeal. Many users recommend a product not just once, but on average six to seven times. Money is therefore the perfect incentive for heavy recommenders.
Money is attractive even to non-subscribers. In freemium models, roughly 90% of users don’t have a subscription, but that doesn’t mean they won’t recommend the product. A successful referral program mobilizes all users, not just paying ones.
Money also works in the B2B sector: A free month may only benefit the employer who pays for the subscription, whilst a cash bonus goes directly to the employee making recommendations.
Money can be paid out over a longer period. And that brings us to the next point…

3. Rewards grow with lifetime value

Paid subscription advertising always carries a risk: Acquisition costs are incurred when a subscription is signed, but it’s only months later that you see whether a new customer has recouped those costs. That’s why a short payback period and a good ratio of Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) to Lifetime Value (LTV) are so crucial.

A referral program can reduce this risk: The bonus doesn’t have to be paid out as a fixed amount at the start, but is distributed monthly as long as the referred user remains a subscriber. In Miro’s example, as the referrer, I receive 10% of the ongoing subscription fees. When the referred subscription ends, my bonus also ends. This eliminates the risk of spending more on a customer than you earn from them.

These ongoing payouts have another advantage: they remind users every month on their bank statement that the referral program is worthwhile, thus motivating them to make further referrals.

4. Bonuses must be worthwhile for both sides.

Another key to success is fairness: When I recommend a product, I’m investing my social capital. If my friends are disappointed or feel exploited, the relationship and my social standing can suffer. So it’s essential that users feel comfortable with the recommendation.

Rewards should therefore not be one-sided. Opt for a balanced reward rather than a particularly high bonus for the referrer, something that also motivates the receiving party to click through the link and use your product. Ultimately, a large number of invitation links sent out are useless if the offers aren’t redeemed, and an attractive, exclusive discount increases the acceptance rate.

However, you should ensure that the discount is time-limited – ideally for the first three or six months. If you offer an indefinite discount, you risk negatively impacting your ARPU in the long run.

This article was originally published in German on the Subscribe Now website, translated and republished with permission.

The post How to build a referral program that drives subscription growth appeared first on Audiencers.

Subscription price increase: the 7 biggest mistakes to avoid

Lennart Schneider — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 20:15:43 +0000

This article was written by Lennart Schneider, founder of Subscribe Now podcast & newsletter, and expert on digital subscription models.

Everything is getting more and more expensive, including subscriptions. Those who don’t adjust their prices regularly will lose revenue in the long run due to inflation. But of course, with a price increase comes churn risk. So how do you balance the two: increase revenues and retention despite price increase?

To help answer this question, I spoke to pricing expert Florian Bauer in my Subscribe Now podcast where he explained to us when you should increase prices, how to communicate this gently and why you should always offer alternatives.

Here are his 7 biggest mistakes to avoid.

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Subscription models live off habits: lessons from Duolingo’s retention success

Lennart Schneider — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 20:47:12 +0000

Hi, I'm Lennart Schneider, Founder of Subscribe Now, helping decision-makers in the subscription economy attract subscribers and keep them happy.

In this article, we look at Duolingo - a leading e-learning app that has mastered the art of habit-forming, something that's essential for subscription success.

Duolingo, a rapidly growing language-learning app with a market capitalization of almost $15 billion, owes a large part of its success to its streak feature. A streak is a count of consecutive days a user has completed at least one exercise. If a user misses a day, their streak resets to zero. This simple feature has made Duolingo one of the apps with the best retention, with an impressive 9 million people maintaining a streak of at least one year.

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Handelsblatt Circles: 6 lessons on community from Chief Growth Officer Jan Kleibrink

Lennart Schneider — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:21:38 +0000

Membership in the Handelsblatt ‘AI Circle’ costs €2,500 per year. In return, members receive access to exclusive events, discussions with experts and the editorial team, a Handelsblatt subscription, and much more.

With ‘Circles’, Handelsblatt, the German-language business newspaper, aims to demonstrate what a media company can be in the 21st century. In addition to the hyped topic of AI, they’re also focusing on exchange and networking among decision-makers at the PULSE women’s network and the upcoming TECH (Technology Experience Convention Heilbronn) conference.

In one of my recent Subscribe Now podcast episodes (in German), Chief Growth Officer Jan Kleibrink explains how they acquire members for their high-priced communities and what their big ambitions for the future look like.

1. What are “Circles”?

Handelsblatt now has a fairly extensive portfolio of memberships for various areas of interest. These have evolved significantly over the past few years, leading to each having their unique business model.

Their ‘Circles’ products were originally intended to keep people connected between major events. Accordingly, membership was initially free, financed through sponsorships and ticket sales.

Shortly after launching the first communities, a pandemic broke out (some will remember) and the demand for virtual networking was huge. This put Circles in a very good position.

Since then, new circles have been launched (Pulse, TECH). Unlike the others, these are packaged as high-value memberships where it’s not sponsors who pay for the content and network access, but the members themselves.

2. Prices depend on company size and number of licenses

The membership itself and their respective prices vary slightly between circles. For instance, Pulse costs €2,000 or €3,000 per year, the AI Circle €2,500, and TECH €20,000 for three members. Startups receive significant discounts, and those who purchase multiple licenses can save up to 20%.

While that sounds like a lot of money at first glance, Jan says that some people believe that such communities should be offered at a much higher price given their value.

3. Memberships and Professional Briefings are two sides of the same coin

In a previous newsletter, I featured Table.Briefings who, interestingly, charge up to €2,388 per year. They’re in the same price range as Circles, and also offer in-depth coverage for highly interested specialist communities.

The big difference is their approach. While Table.Briefings primarily focus on regular and in-depth content, Circles focus on the network. The AI briefing newsletter is even free at Handelsblatt and serves more as a marketing channel for the Circle.

However, Jan can well imagine that both approaches will converge in the coming years – briefing providers could also increasingly rely on events and Circles could perhaps expand their content offerings.

4. Events are the focus

Circles attract the most members around major annual events like the AI Summit. The AI Summit costs between €990 and €1,550 alone and is included for members. A member could therefore estimate that participation in the Summit alone justifies 62% of the membership fee.

Interestingly, there’s hardly any mention of Circles on the AI Summit registration page. Jan explains this by saying that they don’t want to overwhelm or confuse attendees when purchasing an event ticket, but that participants will be made aware of the Circle after purchasing the ticket and during the event.

5. Subscriptions and memberships appeal to different target groups

In 2016, Handelsblatt launched their business club. The hypothesis back then was that subscribers would become members. Live journalism, networking, and exclusive benefits are just as important for subscription as the editorial content.

There is not much left of the Handelsblatt business club (their sister magazine’s club, WirtschaftsWoche, still exists) and membership has moved away from paid content.

The idea is that events often attract guests who don’t have subscriptions, and many subscribers never attend an event. These are two target groups that only partially overlap and also have very different willingness to pay.

At the same time, the Handelsblatt subscription is also an added value for Circle members and part of the bundle, but it is not the main focus.

(I already wrote about the return of memberships in a previous newsletter)

6. TECH: “The largest single initiative the Handelsblatt Media Group has ever launched”

Handelsblatt has big plans for the “Technology Experience Convention Heilbronn.” The event, which will take place for the first time from May 25-27th, aims to establish itself as a “Technology Davos,” where the world’s most important decision-makers come together to discuss Europe’s technological future.

The website already states that it will be more than just a conference, but rather a membership. TECH is intended to combine learnings from previous Circles and expand them into something truly large. Whether this succeeds remains to be seen in the coming years.

If you like this article, you can follow my work in four ways:

Follow me on LinkedIn

Discover my newsletter (in German but easily translatable)

Subscribe to the podcast (in German)

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How to build habits: eight lessons for publishers from Freeletics

Lennart Schneider — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 16:48:33 +0000

17 minutes a day: Most subscription companies can only dream of such engagement. In my “Subscribe Now” podcast episode, I spoke to Ellie Hughes, Marketing Director at Freeletics, where she told me how they keep users motivated throughout the entire subscription journey.

And I guarantee that you can learn something from this, even if you sell news or software instead of fitness.

I summarized my 7 biggest learnings for you in today’s deep dive.

1. Start with why

Freeletics relies on strong emotions throughout the entire user journey. Ellie says:

“You can wrap almost anything up in a nice story because, at the end of the day, it’s emotions that connect us. I can identify much better with an emotion than with a product, which may seem irrelevant at first glance.”

To make this work in practice, she reveals a few tricks:

1. Always ask “why”

Users have very different reasons for wanting to get fit: some want to fit into a wedding dress, some want to be more successful at dating and others want to change their mindset.

If you understand these underlying motivations, you can address the strong emotions in acquisition, but also in churn prevention.

Laddering helps with this. So ask “why?” several times in a row.

Why did you sign up for Freeletics?
“I want a six-pack.”

Why do you want a six-pack?
“Because I’m ashamed of my body in the swimming pool.”

Why are you ashamed of your body?
“Because others might think I lack discipline”

2. User Generated Content

Freeletics’ advertising relies primarily on content from real users. They work with impressive transformations, i.e. before and after videos.

The idea behind it is: “If Peter can do it, then I can do it too.”

These videos are sometimes sent in by users without being asked, but sometimes they are also professionally produced, for example as part of a boot camp lasting several weeks, where the participants are accompanied by camera teams.

Ellie says: “Many people are actually very proud to be Freeletics users because it has a certain meaning in terms of consistency and effort.”

3. Show relevant success stories

These success stories work particularly well when they are highly personalized. As a woman, you are more likely to be attracted to a female success story than to a man who has trained himself to have a six-pack.

But it gets even more granular. Since Freeletics wants to appeal to as diverse a target group as possible, they also have videos with trans people and other minorities so that they too feel represented.

This personalization begins with targeting on the advertising channels, but also continues through to engagement and retention. The CRM campaigns, for example, always contain motivational stories that are tailored as well as possible to the user.

2. Personalization in onboarding

Most successful apps now start onboarding with a questionnaire.

This questionnaire has two functions:

Based on your answers, the appropriate subscription benefits can be displayed to increase your conversion from free to paid
Your answers are the first step to personalization

With Freeletics, you start by choosing a training plan that suits your preferences. The better the app knows you, the better the plan fits your lifestyle and the more likely you are to stick with it.

Ellie says that the training plan meets 85% of the needs in the first week and then becomes more personalized from workout to workout.

> Publisher onboarding benchmarks and best practices

3. Streaks keep daily engagement high

One day without using Duolingo and the streak is gone. Ouch!

Freeletics has also started using the popular streak-strategy. In order to not lose the streak, you have to exercise for at least 17 minutes a day, otherwise the counter drops back to zero.

Ellie emphasizes that these streaks are not relevant for every user, but some even write to support if the streak didn’t work because of a different time zone while on vacation! It shows how much they want the workout to be recognized.

The email tool that I use for my newsletter proves that streaks work outside of sports and languages. I write this newsletter in beehiiv and if I don’t publish a newsletter within four days at the latest, my weekly streak expires.

By the way, Ellie is currently at 309 days in Duolingo. Respect!

4. Understand the conversion killers – and address them openly

It’s not enough to understand why someone wants to use the app. It’s just as important to understand why not?

At Freeletics, they realized early on that many people don’t have much space to train at home. So they developed special workouts that can work in small spaces. Other users have neighbors who complain about the noise, so they need quiet workouts.

If you understand these conversion killers, you can address them openly and offer solutions. That’s why such restrictions are asked about directly in the onboarding process. This is where Freeletics can show that they understand your concerns and take the limitations into account when personalizing.

5. Activate the community with challenges

70,000 people took part in the Freeletics Summer Challenge. This surprised even Ellie and her team. The goal is to make the challenge even bigger and better this January.

The challenge shows that the best way to motivate one another is for people to share a common goal and unite over this.

6. Newsletter as MVP

12 years ago, three students sent training plans as PDFs via email. That was the birth of Freeletics.

This example shows once again that a newsletter is often the best minimum viable product to find out, without much effort, whether people want your product.

If a significant number of people give you their email address, you have a first positive signal. But even more important is what happens when you take the newsletter away from them.

When the founders stopped the newsletter, users wrote to them: “Here are my PayPal credentials, take whatever you want, but please keep sending me my training plan.”

7. A letter to yourself

This feature does not exist yet, but Ellie dreams of introducing it! Anyone who registers for the app can write a letter to themselves and make a commitment in it.

When your motivation wanes after a few weeks, this letter appears again and you are reminded of the big dreams you started with.

You will find out if this feature is really coming when you install the app…

If you like this article, you can help me in four ways:

Follow me on LinkedIn

Recommend the newsletter

Subscribe to the podcast

Send me topic suggestions

The post How to build habits: eight lessons for publishers from Freeletics appeared first on Audiencers.

How to analyze your subscription data

Lennart Schneider — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 07:37:50 +0000

Today it’s all about data. I probably don’t need to explain to you how important it is for subscription success, but data is often still a specialist topic that many people are afraid of.

So that you can feel a little smarter in your next conversation with data colleagues, I’ve summarized three insights from an interview on my podcast, Subscribe Now, with data specialist Ana Moya (ex. Handelsblatt Media Group and Funke).

1. Find the right analytics method for your question

AI is being applied to many problems today, often as the default. However, this approach often doesn’t make sense. In many cases, a simpler analysis method—such as a basic hypothesis test or descriptive statistics—is sufficient. These traditional techniques can be more appropriate and effective for many analytical tasks.

Ana therefore recommends considering these four types of analysis for each question, considering what level of complexity is appropriate for the question:

Descriptive statistics: What’s happening in my business?
Exploratory statistics: Why is it happening?
Predictive statistics: What’s likely to happen?
Prescriptive statistics: What should I do now?

4 types of analysis: value and complexity in the context of knowledge discovery

Important: All of these analyses only work if they are based on a solid data foundation. Otherwise, the old rule applies: Sh*t in, sh*t out!

> Also by Lennart: Handelsblatt Circles: 6 lessons on community from Chief Growth Officer Jan Kleibrink

2. To reduce churn, you need models that explain why users cancel

Many companies are currently introducing prediction scores to analyze which users are particularly likely to take out a subscription, accept a subscription upgrade, or cancel their subscription in the next X months.

There are two ways to build these models:

Pre-trained models that have already been optimized with subscription data and are often already integrated into tools, such as Piano
Self-trained models that you develop in-house and feed with your own data

Although the latter is much more complex and requires a lot of know-how in the data science team, Ana recommends this approach.

She sees two advantages in this:

You are tool-agnostic, so you can use these analyses independently of the systems used for subscription management and the like and combine data from different sources.
These models provide a more precise understanding of how individual variables affect the probability of termination.

Pre-trained models are quicker to use and can often be implemented by laypeople, but they often remain a black box. That is, each user is assigned a value between 0 and 100, but it is not possible to understand exactly why.

If you work with such a black box, you can test a measure (e.g. an email campaign) and see whether it reduces the likelihood of cancellation.

However, it is better if you understand that, for example, payment by invoice has a major impact on the likelihood of cancellation. Then you can test measures to steer users to another payment method with a lower churn rate.

The success of this measure can then be measured in two steps:

Were fewer subscriptions ordered on account?
Did users in this test group cancel less often?

So you should try to improve the input variables rather than focusing on the output like a churn score.

A statistical model is particularly useful if it helps you understand the patterns behind the terminations, because then you can develop and prioritize targeted hypotheses and measures.

3. The difference between a CDP, a CRM, a data warehouse and a data lake

When it comes to data, you come across these terms all the time and it helps to understand the differences. to put it simply, they’re different ways of storing and structuring data.

A data lake collects data from different sources in different formats. This includes data where it is not yet known whether and how it will be used and often the data is not yet finally structured and cleaned.
In contrast, a data warehouse has a clearer structure. The data is (symbolically speaking) already stored in labeled boxes on pallets on a shelf in a warehouse. Imagine it like an Ikea warehouse, where you always know where to find the Billy shelf and how many of them are still in stock.
A customer data platform (CPD) organizes the data around the customer. While the data warehouse contains all possible data, the CDP bundles different sources and all touchpoints with your users in order to understand exactly what a customer is interested in, what they last bought and when they last visited the website.

In addition, a CDP offers operational functions, such as personalization and campaign management, in order to implement marketing and communication measures based on data.
A customer relationship management (CRM) system manages the interactions between you and your customers. In contrast to the CDP, however, the CRM usually has a more limited view of interactions within certain systems and does not yet contain the data from all touchpoints.

Each of these systems has its advantages and disadvantages, so it always depends on the area of application what you need. However, it is important that the data is properly compared so that you have a single source of truth and no contradictory information that then leads to chaos.

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Newsletter landing page: 9 essentials for a successful acquisition strategy

Lennart Schneider — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 07:11:19 +0000

I’ve subscribed to over 2,000 newsletters over the last few years. Most of them had terrible landing pages, but a few were excellent.

What sets them apart? They focus on 9 core messages. I have summarized them for you in the deep dive.

Have fun while reading.

PS: The tips don’t just apply to newsletters, but can be applied to almost all landing pages.

1. The motivation

Why should I read you? This will arouse your visitor’s interest. What do I get out of it? What goal will I achieve with it?

In the USA, a fairly simple formula has been adopted: “Get smart (about XY) in X Minutes”.

It combines three promises: fast, simple, effective!

Morning Brew: Become smarter in just 5 minutes
The Hustle: Get Smarter on Business and Tech
Smart Nonsense: Get smart about nonsense

Other newsletters promise you a good start to the day:

The Newsette: Make good mornings even better.

Nice News: Wake up with a more optimistic mindset and start your day inspired.

Others help you understand the world:

Daily Skimm: Get caught up on the top stories and information you need to start your day. We filter the noise so you don’t have to — all in a well-rounded read.
1440: Feed your curiosity & expand your knowledge.
intrigue: Know what’s going on in the world, and why

And others promise you success in your career:

Creator Wizard: Find & Negotiate your Dream Sponsorships
girlboss daily: Finally, an email you’ll actually look forward to. Join 250,000 ambitious women who are finding success on their own terms.
Startup Insider Daily: Be one step ahead and actively shape your success story in the emerging startup ecosystem.
Techpresso: Keep up with Tech in 5 minutes. Save time, become more productive and boost your career.
SmartBrief: We make it easy for business leaders to stay up to date on their industry’s most important topics.

Personally, I like the newsletters that just make you a better person:

Rocca News: Become the most interesting person at Happy Hour

Arnold’s Pump Club: The positive Corner of the Internet. The daily email that makes it easier to live a healthier, happier life without all the confusion and stress.
Crooked: Put an end to doomscrolling forever

Tips:

Here you should stimulate the imagination of your users: The motivation can either be a positive vision of their future, a problem that the newsletter solves for them, or a concrete task that it takes on for them.
It’s best to repeat this mission statement at the top of every newsletter issue. This will remind your readers every time why your newsletter is worth it and it will be your obligation to always live up to this promise.

2. The solution

Here you have to prove that you have the right content, categories and formats to fulfill this motivation. It is best to be very specific here and describe content that makes you unique and arouses desire.

Examples:

The Newsette: With shopping recs, lifestyle tips, inspiring interviews, and the news you need to know.
1440: We scour 100+ sources so you don’t have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and more—all in a five-minute read.
TLDR: Get the free daily email with summaries of the most interesting stories in startups , tech , and programming !
Startup Insider Daily: Get curated summaries of the latest startup and tech news delivered daily at 7am.
Blazer: We source through hundreds of publications and social media accounts every day to find the best articles, photos, and inspiration from around the web. Then we package it all into a simple and brief email once a week and deliver it right to your inbox.
The Daily Upside: Delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets.
Semafor Flagship: The biggest stories across the globe in 100 words or less.
chartr: Data-driven insights into business, tech, entertainment and society.
Axios Media Trends: The trends reshaping the digital media ecosystem, by Sara Fischer.
intrigue: Craving apolitical, jargon-free news and analysis from around the world? You’re in luck!
Nice News: News, but only the good stuff. Nice News sends a daily digest to your inbox every morning with only positive news stories.

Crooked: Get more pithy analysis of the world we live in including what’s happening, why it matters, and what you can do about it.
Bits & Pieces (scalable Capital): Your weekly dose of financial news in 5 minutes. The most important things about markets, stocks, ETFs & Co
Arnold’s Pump Club: Arnold’s Pump Club is a daily newsletter by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Simplify nutrition, fitness, and wellness with Arnold’s email every day.
Smart Nonsense: Get our daily comic explaining nerdy stuff like you’re 5.

Tips:

It is best to list the three most important points as bullet points.
You should keep it as short as possible on the first screen, but below the fold you can explain in more detail what this content is about.

> Also by Lennart: Lock-in effects: How to make your subscription irreplaceable

3. The target group

Who is your newsletter aimed at? The more specific the target group, the faster the visitor will recognize whether the newsletter is intended for them.

Examples:

The Hustle: innovators
1440: intellectually curious individuals
Blazers: men who care about how they look
The Peak: Canadians

Bits & Pieces (scalable Capital): Investors
The Diff: industry professionals and curious generalists
girlboss daily: ambitious women
TLDR: busy techies
chartr: visual thinkers and data-driven professionals

Tips:

Always ask yourself: Is this a target group that people would like to identify with?
You can define the target group, for example, through a common goal, socio-demographics, professional groups, etc.
The target group is often mentioned in the value proposition or social proof and should be described in a maximum of three words.
The best target groups also make it clear who the newsletter is not for . You don’t want to be everything for everyone, but the right solution for certain people.

4. The social proof

You can claim a lot, but is your newsletter really that great? User numbers or opinions from readers or experts build trust and make you seem relevant.

There are many possible forms, for example:

User quotes
Expert opinions
Star ratings
User numbers
Logos of media in which you were mentioned
Celebrities who recommend the newsletter
Companies where your readers work

Examples:

Techpresso: Join 100,000+ free daily readers / Read by professionals from Apple, OpenAI, Nvidia, and more
Bits & Pieces (scalable Capital): Over 700,000 investors
Smart Nonsense: Read by nerds from …
The Diff: Join 50,000+ industry professionals and curious generalists
girlboss daily: Join 250,000 ambitious women
The Hustle: Trusted by 2.5m+ Readers
Daily Skimm: The morning newsletter that millions wake up to
1440: 3,666,461 Readers today (updated every second)
TLDR: Join 1,250,000 readers

The Gist: Join 900,000+ readers. As seen in Forbes, goop, TechCrunch
chartr: Join 500,000+ visual thinkers and data-driven professionals…
intrigue: designed by former diplomats. Trusted by Professionals at Microsoft, Meta, McKinsey, …

Tips:

The testimonials should express different aspects of your value proposition in readers’ words
The more reputable your testimonials are in your target group, the better

5. Address concerns

Most users are initially hesitant about whether they should really enter their email address. Make them feel comfortable by openly addressing their concerns and signaling that they can trust you.

First and foremost, they have three concerns:

Can I simply unsubscribe?
Am I getting spam?
Do I have to pay anything?

Examples:

intrigue: 100% FREE. NO SPAM. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME.
TheFutureParty: It’s free!
girlboss daily: No spam. No junk. Only the most curated content, we promise!
chartr: completely free … PS No spam. Ever.
The Gist: 100% free.
1440: 100% free, unsubscribe anytime.

Tip:

These points should be close to the call to action, e.g. in small print above or below.

6. The frequency

The best newsletters become a regular habit that readers integrate into their daily lives. Some are read in bed in the morning, others on the way to work or home, and some on the toilet.

So when they register, show them what ritual they will develop with you.

Examples:

Rocca News: 11 AM ET on weekdays.
Daily Skimm: SEVEN DAYS A WEEK
TLDR: one daily email
Quartz Daily Brief: delivered every weekday morning

Startup Insider Daily: daily at 7am
The Gist: every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday morning
Semafor Flagship: twice daily
Axios Media Trends: Weekly – Tuesdays
Nice News: daily digest / every morning
Crooked: free nightly newsletter
DTC: five times a week
Techpresso: daily readers
TheFutureParty: 5-min daily newsletter
Arnold’s Pump Club: Arnold’s email every day
girlboss daily: Monday to Friday.

Tip:

Precise time specifications seem binding. If you promise that your email will be in their inbox every morning at 7 a.m., prospective customers will immediately see that they can rely on you.

7. The length

I admit: This newsletter is way too long again. Most readers don’t want any waffling, they’ll give you a maximum of 5 minutes of their time. So it’s no wonder that so many newsletters are optimized for exactly this reading time (or at least promise it).

Examples:

The Hustle: 5-minute newsletter
Rocca News: in 5 minutes or less
The Gist: in less than 5 minutes
chartr: takes 5 minutes to read
The Peak: in one 5-minute email
intrigue: 5-minute newsletter
TheFutureParty: 5-min daily newsletter
Morning Brew: just 5 minutes

TLDR: in 5 minutes
Semafor Flagship: in 100 words or less
finish: three minutes

Tips:

Remember that most newsletters are skimmed rather than read, so you can set aside time for a cursory reading.
The best newsletters are respectful of their readers’ time. To underline this, Axios lists the exact word count and reading time at the beginning of each email: “Today’s AI+ is 1,214 words, a 4.5-minute read.”
If you can’t estimate the reading time, copy your newsletter here and let us calculate it. This issue will take you 8:11 minutes.

8. The Call to Action

It’s just a small thing, but you can also tell a story on the registration button:

“Join” suggests a community
“Try it out” lowers the hurdle
“Sign up for free” alleviates a worry
and “Wake up happy” promises me a better life.

Examples:

Axios: Sign Up
finimize: Join Free
Blazers: Join
Semafor Flagship: Sign up for free
The Peak: Try It
intrigue: Try it out
Nice News: Wake up happy
Bits & Pieces (scalable capital): Get started now
Creator Wizard: SEND ME SPONSORSHIPS ➤

Tips:

Maximum three words.

9. The product

The same applies to newsletters: show, don’t tell! A meaningful screenshot of your newsletter says more than 1,000 words.

Tips:

Some newsletters show the inbox as well as the email. This allows you to see the subject lines and the topics that await you.
The screenshot can be animated or scrollable and thus serves directly as a reading sample.
It doesn’t have to be a real screenshot. Feel free to shorten text or summarize sections to show more on one screen. Above all, it should give a feel for your product.

Speak German? You HAVE to sign up to Lennart’s newsletter, an essential read for anyone in the publishing industry!

The post Newsletter landing page: 9 essentials for a successful acquisition strategy appeared first on Audiencers.

NZZ: How do you inspire people in the first 100 days?

Lennart Schneider — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 19:47:30 +0000

100 days. During this time, you have to convince new users that your subscription is worthwhile for them.

One of the latest guests on my Subscribe Now podcast has been thinking for years about how to best use this time to build trust and routines.

Alban Mazrekaj is the Lead Product Manager at NZZ, responsible for the ‘Discover’ mission, i.e. the part of the subscription journey from the first contact with the brand, through registration and onboarding, which should then lead to subscription.

In the podcast, he reveals which actions have the greatest effect on propensity to subscribe and the role that personalization algorithms play in this.

Here are four things you can learn from the NZZ:

1. Four Mission Teams along the Subscriber Journey

The NZZ works in four cross-functional mission teams that are organized along the subscriber journey: Discover, Subscribe, Engage and Delve deeper.

So the first step is to create a positive first contact with the NZZ for as many people as possible, then to bring them closer to the brand through registrations, podcasts and newsletters convert them to a subscription and finally build loyalty and increase ARPU through additional offers and upgrades such as the premium subscription “PRO Global”.

The missions are intended to break down silos and bring product, UX design, technology, marketing, data and editorial teams closely together. Each mission consists of a core team from three disciplines (product, design, technology), which draws support from adjacent teams depending on the project.

Aligning the customer journey means that there are clear responsibilities and each team has KPIs that are easy to measure. But Alban also sees challenges in that users are not accompanied from start to finish and there are sometimes dependencies between teams that make the work more difficult.

That’s why he’s currently working on revising the team structure as part of his leadership program at Columbia University. Because, just like product development, organizational development should be driven forward iteratively and learnings implemented efficiently.

2. From registration to subscription

Alban’s team is responsible for discovery, which roughly means from the first contact with the brand to registration and subsequent onboarding.

They are currently experimenting with registration walls and when this makes more sense than a paywall to build up a pool of interested users.

After registration, he considers the first 100 days to be crucial, because if you don’t take out a subscription by then, in most cases you won’t do so again.

The most important product to get started with is the daily NZZ Briefing. Readers receive this automatically after registering and it is designed to build a habit of reading NZZ journalism.

But it is also important for them to ensure that their offerings are used as widely as possible. That’s why podcasts and videos are also recommended to registered readers, even if they are usually available for free. It’s about building a relationship with the brand in a variety of ways, developing loyalty and trust.

3. Using personalization to combat the filter bubble

Personalization plays a major role on NZZ, especially in the newsletter, “My NZZ”, and in reading recommendations below articles.

However, one should pay attention to the users’ needs and concerns. They fear missing out on important topics because they don’t match their profile or because they sink deeper and deeper into their own bubble.

That’s why the personalized NZZ products are designed so that you always see the most important news whilst also getting targeted inspiration for topics that broaden your horizons.

To do this, the internal data team develops models based, for example, on users with similar profiles.

The homepage and the NZZ Briefing are not yet personalized. Alban hasn’t ruled this out, but they would like to use more editorial expertise in this area and curate topics that are relevant to readers.

He generally sees personalization as a retention rather than acquisition tool. On the one hand, the data to give good recommendations is (still) missing at the acquisition moment, but on the other hand, the reading recommendations are only valuable if you have a subscription in order to access the articles.

4. Develop new markets with verticals

NZZ, for example, has set up verticals with “Planet A” for climate journalism and “Well-Being” to attract users in new subject areas.

The verticals often start with a newsletter or podcast, but are then expanded to other areas.

They are managed by editors who serve as the face of the brand and work closely with the product team. This is also one of the big differences to departments, because verticals can work like small startups within the company, pursuing their own goals and being developed by cross-functional teams.

Even if the verticals open up new topics, they must always have a connection to the core product, because only then can readers be transferred to the core subscription. Depending on how much they already offer for these target groups, Alban recommends different strategies.

What he advises against: cheap subscriptions for individual verticals. They should continue to contribute to the core business and not shift the focus away from the normal NZZ subscription.

Find more of Lennart’s work on Subscribe Now.

The post NZZ: How do you inspire people in the first 100 days? appeared first on Audiencers.

Lennart’s road trip: 6 learnings from German subscription businesses

Lennart Schneider — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 00:56:09 +0000

Figma, ZEIT, Babbel, Table.Briefings, Fortune and The Pioneer... The Subscribe Now tour, in partnership with Deutsche Fachpresse this March, meant visiting a variety of international subscription businesses around Berlin, learning from their success in monetizing their readers online. Didn't make it? Don't fret, I've written a short summary for you here so that you can enjoy the tour even if you weren't there.

And maybe I'll see you next time?

1st stop, Figma: Digital products should also be fun

Figma is one of the leading tools for UX and UI designers, and with FigJam and the new Developer Mode, they map the entire product development process from brainstorming and prototyping to design for front-end development.

Mareike Busche, Senior Director DACH & CEE, talked about how they involve their community in product development, among other things. What I remember most (apart from the fact that there are Figma fans who even have tattoos of the company logo!) is her belief that software should also be fun.

Some features like stamps and emojis in FigJam were not at the top of her users’ wish list, but one developer championed the idea and today they are among the most popular features.

So when developing products, don’t always think about rational benefits for subscribers, but also develop lovely gimmicks that are simply fun.

2. DIE ZEIT: The 5 levers of subscription marketing

DIE ZEIT is Germany’s largest newspaper. With a paid circulation of 602,000 copies per week, they have grown significantly in recent years, especially with the Z+ paywall on ZEIT ONLINE.

Jannick Weißel, Marketing Director, not only presented how they recently organized their teams into missions, but also showed his 5C model for the most important levers in subscription marketing: Content, Creative, Conversion, Churn and Collaboration.

3rd, Babbel: A scoring model decides who gets offered an upgrade

With over 10 million subscriptions sold, Babbel is one of the most widely used language learning apps in the world. In addition to the app for independent learning, they’ve also been offering online lessons in small groups for a few years now.

Their new live offer is an upgrade that they want to make visible and attractive to as many of their existing subscribers as possible for upsell potential. But, at the same time, there’s a risk of annoying subscribers with too many advertising campaigns and, in the worst case, even losing an email opt-in if a user unsubscribes.

To reduce this risk, Wenke Jehmlich, Senior CRM Manager, showed us a scoring model that uses machine learning to calculate which users are most likely to be interested in an upgrade. This allowed them to automate processes, reduce unsubscribes and increase ARPU through more subscription upgrades.

Incidentally, these 5 factors also had the greatest effect on the likelihood of upgrading:

Long subscription term
Higher spending in the previous subscription
Subscription ending soon
High quantity of lessons and courses completed
Frequent use of the app

4th stop, Table.Briefings: Decision-makers read differently

Table.Briefings is a pioneer in the field of professional briefings and informs decision-makers in politics and business with newsletters and podcasts. It now reaches 200,000 people with its publications on political Berlin, China, Europe, Africa, education, sustainability and other topics.

Founded in 2020 by former Tagesspiegel editor Sebastian Turner, they want their “deep journalism” to stand for a new kind of quality journalism.

Managing Director Simon Kretschmer explained that their services are aimed very specifically at the top decision-makers in their 10 subject areas. They saw a gap in the market for differentiated reporting with in-depth domain expertise.

It was exciting to see that this focus not only affects the content, but also the usage situation: unlike most other briefings, the Berlin briefing is not published in the morning, but in the evening, because decision-makers are scheduled during the day to prepare for the next day between 9 and 10 p.m. and Table gives them an information advantage.

This is also reflected in the figures: 2/3 of bosses read the briefings before they come into the office.

5th stop, Fortune: Optimally monetize every page view

Fortune Media is an almost 100-year-old business magazine that still sees itself as a startup. In Germany, they are probably known to many through the Fortune 500 and other lists, but they also run a successful paid content model, host various conferences and organize communities for decision-makers.

Selma Stern, Chief Customer Officer, emphasized in her presentation how important it is to find the perfect individual business model for each user. Most website visitors will never take out a subscription, but they may be willing to register, buy a recommended product or at least be monetized through advertising.

At Fortune, they work on models to predict as accurately as possible which offer is optimal in which situation. To do this, they use factors such as source of traffic or device type. People who come to the website for the first time from social media on a smartphone, for example, have such a low probability of taking out a subscription that the paywall is automatically opened and the page view is monetized through advertising.

The lesson behind this: it’s not the type of content that determines whether a subscription is taken out, but the type of user.

6. The Pioneer: Simplifying the paywall

Media Pioneer is probably one of the most exciting German media start-ups of recent years. Launched in 2018 by former Handelsblatt editor-in-chief Gabor Steingart as Morning Briefing, it is now a company with around 70 employees, a collection of newsletters, podcasts, events, an app … and a boat. From Pioneer One, their newsletter reaches over 200,000 people every day, and the podcasts are streamed over 1 million times a week.

Moritz Klein, Head of Memberships, and Paul Horlacher, Director of Commercial Strategy, presented their Guided Paywall. After originally wanting to offer the perfect subscription at the perfect price for every user group, they reduced their four subscription packages to just one in a test.

The results were clear: the simpler paywall led to significantly more conversions and a higher ARPU.

This example shows once again that every additional decision at the paywall decreases conversion rates and that users should not be overloaded with information.

Are you a German publisher? Lennart is running another road trip on November 19th in Hamburg! Secure your ticket today.

The post Lennart’s road trip: 6 learnings from German subscription businesses appeared first on Audiencers.

Don’t feel like subscribing? 12 examples of alternatives to increase ARPU

Lennart Schneider — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 22:01:10 +0000

I'm guessing that you're a fan of subscriptions, otherwise you're in the wrong place. But, unfortunately, not all of our users and readers are as enthusiastic about this model. Some are frustrated by all the paywalls and want alternatives. Luckily for us, there are providers who want to target these people in particular. Below I have collected a few examples for you , providing an overview of when it is worth thinking about alternatives.

When I tell strangers that I produce a podcast about subscriptions (“Subscribe Now” for those who don’t know me), I often hear the reaction: “I don’t want a subscription, I want to be able to buy individual items.”

Of course, I then answer that micropayments in journalism have been tried a thousand times and have failed just as many times. This also explains these survey results from the Reuters Institute:

But I always feel a bit unimaginative when it comes to the answer, because in times of rising subscription prices and subscriptions for every area of life, many are carefully checking which subscriptions are really worth it.

That’s why today I’ve collected examples for you of how different providers want to reach a target group that simply doesn’t want to subscribe.

12 alternatives for those who don’t want to subscribe

1/ Stiftung Warentest: Individual purchase

You have to search a bit until you find a relevant portal that still offers individual purchases. Stiftung Warentest, the traditional german product review institution, is of course well positioned here, because if I’m specifically looking for the best frozen fries, then €4.90 is a good investment. Or do you want to eat fries that taste like soggy cardboard for the rest of your life?

Alternatively, engaged users can also take out the flat rate, which seems more attractive at €3.33 per month – but due to the minimum term contract of 12 months, it’s only worth it if I want to read at least 8 tests.

2/ Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: Coins

This is probably one of the most ambitious and experimental approaches in recent years. Micropayments often fail because the effort is too great for a few cents per item, which is why KStA allows you to buy several items at once. To do this, you load a wallet with coins and gradually spend them on individual items. Basically like a rechargeable card for buses and trains.

3/ Spotify India: Day Pass

I find this model very charming: If you can’t or don’t want to purchase a monthly subscription in India, you can buy a day pass for the equivalent of 8 cents and listen to up to 30 songs. Maybe you’ll get a taste for it and want to subscribe after.

What’s interesting is that one-time payments seem to be fairly successful in India, as you can also buy a 2-month package.

4/ GeneratePress: Lifetime package

I recently spent a lot of time looking for suitable plugins for my new WordPress website (advertising: www.subscribe-now.de ) and noticed that the large template builders often offer a lifetime option.

It’s interesting that Generate Press’s package is relatively expensive with a payback period of 4.22 years, but it probably has to be in order to achieve a comparable customer lifetime value and cover the costs of lifelong updates and support.

By the way, I decided to subscribe. But that won’t surprise you.

5/ Rabbit R1: Purchase individually

Have you ever seen that little orange box? At the beginning of January, the Rabbit R1 was one of the most discussed gadgets at CES in Las Vegas.

The developers promise nothing less than the successor to the smartphone – based on AI, of course.

Even though I find the device a bit nonsensical, I noticed that they explicitly advertise that, unlike ChatGPT and the like, you have no ongoing costs. In fact you can make AI requests every day for a one-time fee of $199 until the device breaks.

Incidentally, this did not contribute to the credibility of the business model, as the server costs could become expensive in the long run.

6/ Fortnite: Season Passes and In-App Purchases

Fortnite has made over $20 billion in revenue in the last 6 years, despite the game being free. There is an industry trend behind this that has to do with DLC (Downloadable Content) and in-game currencies.

Because, if you want cool outfits for your character and special rewards, you need V-Bucks. And they cost real money, e.g. €8.99 for 1000 Bucks. Once exchanged, the player loses the concept of money and willingly spends the new currency on knick-knacks.

There are also packages for longer periods of time. Video games are often time-limited season passes that give you access to certain content and benefits within the current season. There are two levels of this in Fortnite: The Battle Pass and Fortnite Crew.

7/ Affinity Designer: Individual purchase

We learned in my very first podcast episode that Adobe is very successful with the Creative Cloud . But at the same time, with their consistent shift to the subscription model, they’ve left a gap in the market that providers like Affinity want to close. Their software is positioned as a clear alternative to Photoshop and the like, but with a different (more user-friendly?) business model.

8/ Babbel: Lifetime

Language learning is a life’s work. And if you’re serious about it, there’s Babbel Lifetime. Compared to the basic subscription (€9.99 per month), the Lifetime package pays for itself after 30 months and, in contrast to the normal packages, you’re not limited to one language, but can continue using the platform for any other languages in the future.

9/ Challenges: Advertising

Surprise, you can also finance journalism through advertising. The older ones among us even remember a time when this was the standard (and hardly sustainable for most).

For a long time, Challenges offered frustrated users an advertising-financed alternative to paid journalism.

10/ RND: only €36.60 once

Finally, two examples that are actually not a real alternative to a subscription – but (in my opinion) that’s how they should sound. RND advertises annual access that costs €36.60 as a “one-time” payment.

You can see on the next page that this is not actually a one-off, but is automatically extended afterwards and costs €7.99 per month.

I don’t want to say that customers are being deceived here, at least that’s clear to see, but I still find it striking that the offer doesn’t sound like a subscription at first.

11/ SZ: Monthly pass

The SZ also works with an interesting formulation: I don’t buy a subscription there, but rather a monthly pass that is “valid for at least 30 days” and is then automatically extended. In the small print it is also called subscription.

If anyone from the SZ is reading here: How does this formulation perform in your AB tests?

12/ The Pioneer: Lifetime status

€5,000 for a subscription? What probably started as a gag at the editorial conference turned out to be a surprise success in December.

The promotion, which was limited to 100 places, was sold out after a short time and there is now even a waiting list for the next drop.

At least at that price you don’t have to worry about the CLV and I’m glad that the days are over when you could have gotten an NFT for such an offer.

Bonus 13/ The Guardian, Correctiv & NPR: Donations

Donations are, of course, an important option. Publishers with a public mission and, for example, uncover grievances with their investigative research, can often rely on the goodwill of the public.

If readers are told transparently and convincingly why their contribution is important, people are willing to donate to journalism.

The most sustainable option is to convince readers to support you directly in the long term instead of making a one-off donation. It’s basically like a subscription, except that readers aren’t paying for an exclusive offer, but instead supporting content that should be available for free to the general public.

And a collection of publishers who have run into difficulties have also mobilized their fanbase (like a form of crowdfunding) to avoid imminent bankruptcy, such as the satirical magazine Titanic or Katapult.

In both cases, donations were not tax-deductible, but fans were prepared to buy overpriced fan products such as T-shirts and mugs via the store in order to help the publisher’s survival.

While Correctiv only relies on donations, the Guardian and NPR model is an alternative to subscription, where you not only get a good feeling, but also exclusive offers.

Conclusion: When is a subscription alternative worth it?

Even after this research, I remain convinced that regular subscription is the more convincing model in most cases. There are just too many arguments in favor of it, including:

Long-term predictable revenue that can be invested in products and customer service
High customer lifetime value in relation to customer acquisition costs
Simple user experience
Motivation to keep customers satisfied in the long term with a good product
Valuable customer data
Brand loyalty
…

Nevertheless, in some cases it may be worthwhile to offer customers an alternative…

If you have a lot of occasional visitors who have a unique interest (e.g. reading a specific test result from Stiftung Warentest)
If you have high abandonment rates at the paywall and high churn rates that you can’t get under control despite your efforts
If you have strong incentives for customers to spend a lot of money through micropayments (e.g. Fortnite)
If you have fans with deep pockets who are willing to pay for special status (e.g. The Pioneer)
If you consciously want to differentiate yourself from competitors (e.g. Affinity)

But there are also risks that you should be aware of:

Lower customer lifetime value due to decreasing ARPU and/or a shorter customer relationship
Poor conversion due to too much choice and confusion on the paywall if you offer both options

Which alternatives to subscriptions convinced you? Or do you think that subscriptions have become established and it is no longer worth testing alternatives? Message me on LinkedIn.

The post Don’t feel like subscribing? 12 examples of alternatives to increase ARPU appeared first on Audiencers.