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
Subscription
Paywall and subscription strategies for digital media, analyzed by experts at The Audiencers, the go-to community for publishing professionals.
122 posts
The Economist’s push to get closer to readers with audio- and video-only subscription
How The Economist has spent the last few years developing products and offers that foster deeper, more human relationships with readers
Designing a more accurate subscription funnel for news media
Lennart maps the different stages a subscriber can move through over the course of their lifecycle in a revised funnel
3 acquisition tactics from Foreign Policy, a publication offering near-to-zero free articles
Foreign Policy's Corinne Osnos shares three low-effort, high-impact tactics her team uses to bring in readers despite running one of the strictest paywalls in media.
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
Before you bundle: how to find out what your subscribers actually want
How do you package subscriptions to drive business growth without alienating the very audience that keeps you alive? Insights from Montréal
The Washington Post tests flexible access models, addressing the gap between willingness to pay and willingness to commit
WP's shift towards a broader monetisation strategy centered on flexible access, shifting the way value is captured
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
Knowing the value of our users: Ringier combines revenue from readers and advertising to calculate holistic Customer Lifetime Value
For the first time, Ringier has the hard data to prove that investing heavily in deep, direct user relationships is entirely worth the effort.
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?