A value proposition clearly communicates why a user should consider your product and what benefits it will deliver. Often made up of a single phrase followed by bullet points or a short paragraph, this is your convincer. The reasoning why your user should click through the wall to register or subscribe.
The goal here is to define the customer profile (pains, gains and jobs-to-be-done) before turning to your product and how it fits with the profile.
- Gain creators: how does the product or service meet the customer’s needs and how does it provide them with value?
- Pain reliever: how does the product or service solve the pain and difficulties that a customer may encounter whilst carrying out this task?
- Product or service: what is the product or service that creates value, solves problems and justifies the creation of value for the customer?
To get more inspiration, here are some brilliant value proposition examples from successful publishers, followed by best practices to takeaway.
Focus on supporting users in their daily decision-making (solving a job-to-be-done) and providing trust-worthy news (which is a pain-point for many consumers at the moment).
Trust has been a big focus for digital publishers over recent years and “award-winning” backs up The Time’s self-declaration that it’s a trusted news source.
As impressive as ever, the NYT appeals to our human desire to be part of a shared conversation. Don’t be left out, subscribe to the NYT.
Simple and effective, this publisher highlights the quality of their journalism and the value that this will bring to its audience (oh and you get a tote bag too…).
“Illuminate” is to make something visible by shining a light on it – i.e. the publisher will provide insights that would otherwise be unknown to the reader.
Almost a challenge to the reader, encouraging them to question their perspective, to better inform themselves with the publisher’s analysis (and do so without constraint thanks to flexible benefits and lower prices).
Referring to the eco-system of subscription models – the publisher provides quality journalism, that the reader receives in exchange for money that supports independent journalism and helps The Athletic to continue to publish content.
A value proposition that calls to the reader’s potential empowerment and how they can rely on this journalism to help make important changes in society (it’s this that a user will ‘gain’ by subscribing).
An intelligent start to the day (which also implies the periodicity of the newsletter) and a value that fits the reader’s needs (“that’s right for you”, with the synthetic personalization).
“The story” is both general and specific, implying that the reader needs to be ‘in the know’, whilst ‘every angle’ conveys complete coverage. I.e. the reader will get everything they need from this publisher.
The value is unique (“original perspectives”) whilst also providing extensive coverage (“world events”).
“Subscribe to the publisher than depends solely on you.” – Simultaneously thanking the reader for their support (which allows la diaria to exist) whilst also encouraging them to support further (to help la diaria continue).
A targeted message for US readers, focussing on providing them with an international view of the world (note the use of specific numbers here to emphasize their point).
“The media that belongs to
Alternatives Economiques is an exception to most in the publishing industry: our cooperative belongs to its employees and readers.”
Disclaimer: of course, every publisher is different, with its own value to offer and unique audience to attract. Therefore, we wouldn’t recommend copying these examples but rather being inspired by the structure, angle and wording of these examples.
Best practices to takeaway:
✅ When it comes to defining your value proposition, always start with the customer
✅ Consider the customer gains, pains and jobs-to-be-done. You can then work on how your product will address these (we’d recommend The Value Proposition Canvas, explained in detail here)
✅ Ask yourself Why do you do what you do? – Is it to support quality, independent journalism? To better inform your readers? To provide a unique angle on a particular topic? (note that revenue is the result rather than the why)
✅ Test, test and test again
✅ Use audience segmentation to test different value propositions on different audiences. This could be based on a user’s location, level of engagement or the content type
✅ Your audience should be able to read and understand your value proposition in about 5 seconds
✅ Include images to support comprehension
