Why SFGATE launched an app instead of a paywall, and called it “Friends”
Rather than add a paywall on their site, SFGATE built something separate: a paid app called Friends of SFGATE, designed with lasting reader relationships in mind
Inspirations
Def. Content to inspire. Think benchmarks, use cases, deep dives into successful strategies and even simple screenshots to save you time and bring together the best in the business.
150 posts
Inside The Observer’s first digital subscription: one tier, one price and a lot of self-discipline
Why the 233-year-old title launched with a single umbrella subscription rather than tiers, and why the hardest part has been saying no
Why 1.4 million people pay The Guardian for something they could read for free
Emilie Harkin, SVP of Growth at The Guardian, broke down what actually motivates readers to give money to a publication with no paywall.
Information fatigue: why Les Echos are betting on « La Sélection » rather than unlimited access
Faced with French readers' information fatigue, Les Echos answer with La Sélection: a €9.90 a month offer that bets on editorial curation rather than unlimited access.
Project Syndicate’s registration strategy: refreshing the value proposition to engage and convert
how transitioning from an aggressive friction model to an open, communication-first strategy revitalized user engagement and subscription conversion.
Inside Le Monde in English: Four Years in and already profitable
Why an English version of Le Monde? Why now? And how? Director of Diversification Arnaud Aubron explains at Audiencers' Festival London
Broadsheet’s path from reader to subscriber: The registration flywheel in action
At Broadsheet, implementing a registration wall served as the cornerstone for a highly resilient digital subscription model.
Inside WAN-IFRA Marseille 2026: the deals, the data, and the fight for what journalism is worth
What does AI mean for the value, and future of journalism? Conversations from WAN-IFRA's World News Media Congress 2026
Sun Club at One: what The Sun learned from a year of freemium
What lessons have the team behind The Sun Club taken away a year after launching their subscription model?
Steal this strategy: examples of publishers building relationships with readers (and how to replicate them)
Case studies to build lasting relationships with readers: what's working, lessons to take away and articles to dive in deeper.