In the hyper-competitive world of digital media, where attention is a scarce commodity and paywalls are the standard defense, The Kyiv Independent is carving out a different path. Launched in November 2021, just three months before Russia’s full-scale invasion, this English-language newsroom has transformed from a 18-person startup into a globally recognized authority with over 27,000 paying members and 3 million monthly readers.
The secret to their impressive 78% growth in 2025 isn’t a complex algorithm. It’s a commitment to relationship-driven journalism. By treating their audience as a community rather than a series of transactions, they’ve maintained an average monthly churn rate of just 1.64%, significantly lower than the industry average.
Membership Growth Manager, Yana Zhuryk, spoke at Audiencers’ Festival in Hamburg to share some of the relationship-building strategies that the Kyiv Independent uses to build a loyal, high-growth membership community.
You can access Yana’s full presentation at the bottom of this article.
> The Kyiv Independent launched in November 2021, three months before Russia's full-scale invasion, and now has 27,000 paying members and 3 million monthly readers, with monthly churn at 1.64% > They tested a polished promotional acquisition email against a personal one written by a team member. The personal version drove three times the conversions > Membership is positioned as keeping journalism free for everyone rather than unlocking a paywall. Members submit questions the newsroom answers in articles, and the team replies to member emails within 24 hours > Geotargeted appeals turn a global audience into neighbourhoods. One campaign challenged Swedish readers to overtake Danish ones as top per-capita supporters, and paying members can add a pin to a public map > As membership growth manager Yana Zhuryk puts it: "Retention is not only about content. It is about responsiveness and presence"
1. Humanizing the newsroom
Instead of hiding behind a corporate brand, the Kyiv Independent puts its journalists at the center of its marketing. They understand that in an era of disinformation, trust is built between people, not institutions.
The “Authenticity Wins” email strategy: In late 2025, the team tested two types of acquisition emails. A polished, promotional version was pitted against a personal, storytelling email written by a team member. The personal version drove 3x more conversions and saw significantly higher open and click-through rates.
Visible experts: Field reporters like Francis Farrell are the “faces” of the brand, appearing in trench-side YouTube videos and personal newsletters that provide a “behind the scenes” look at reporting under fire.
2. Radical transparency and participation
The Kyiv Independent invites its members into the newsroom’s journey, making them feel like stakeholders in the mission of independent journalism.
Participatory content: Through their “Our readers’ questions” series, members can submit questions that the editorial team then answers in dedicated articles.
A “No-Paywall” community mission: They position membership not as a key to a locked door, but as a way to keep information free for everyone. This value-aligned positioning resonates deeply with their core audience. However, the team doesn’t shy away from campaigns to acquire new members
Direct interaction: The team maintains a Discord community for real-time engagement and commits to answering member emails within 24 hours.
3. Hyper-local geotargeting
Rather than a one-size-fits-all global appeal, they use geotargeted campaigns to create a “neighborhood” feel within their global audience.
Customized appeals: They create country-specific CTAs, such as challenging Swedes to overtake Danes as the top per-capita supporters.
Some of these are built in the Poool Dashboard and targeted based on the user’s location and level of engagement.
Interactive community maps: Paying members can add a pin to a digital map, visually demonstrating the global scale of the collective effort.
Relationships at the heart of the business model
The success of the Kyiv Independent offers a powerful blueprint for the future of sustainable publishing. By achieving a 25,000-member milestone by the end of 2025, they proved that even in a climate of “news fatigue,” audiences will show up for a brand that shows up for them. Their journey suggests that the most valuable metric isn’t just how many people read a story, but how many feel a personal stake in the newsroom’s survival.
As Yana notes: “Retention is not only about content. It is about responsiveness and presence”. For publishers looking to thrive in 2026 and beyond, the lesson is clear: building a loyal community isn’t a marketing side-project, it’s the foundation of the business itself.
Find Yana’s slides (39-49), part of the “Community-building” panel, from our Hamburg Festival here:
