At the recent Audiencers’ Festival in Hamburg, Paywall Strategist at NTM, Daniel Loebjer, shared a radical success story that had the room talking (and asking lots of questions on access restrictions based on age!). In just one year, Sweden’s second-largest local news publisher managed to increase their young subscriber base by 500%.
The secret to their success? A bold decision that many publishers fear: They made it free.
> NTM, Sweden's second-largest local news publisher, had 125,000 digital subscriptions but only 4,000 readers under 25. Making the product free for 18 to 24 year olds grew its young subscriber base 500% in a year > The structural move is collecting card details at signup even though the tier is free. Age is verified by social security number, so when a reader turns 25 the shift to paid needs no new decision > They began by emailing 25-year-olds to ask whether they wanted to start paying, which converted at 30%. Switching to opt-out renewal, with the card already on file, removed that friction entirely > Two numbers answered the internal objections: only 3% of free subscribers had switched from an existing paid account, and 88% had no prior relationship with any NTM brand > Reporters got dashboards filtered to readers under 50 and were told to write for a 30-year-old. Reporter-led Instagram and TikTok content lifted followers 43% across 16 titles and video reach 180%
Demographic challenges
In January 2025, NTM faced a stark reality. While they held 125,000 digital subscriptions, growth among younger subscribers was slow. Only 4,000 of those subscribers were under the age of 25. To ensure long-term viability, NTM set an ambitious goal to double digital subscriptions to 250,000 by 2028, with a specific focus on tripling their target audience of younger readers.
Cross-functional model for change
Daniel explained that reaching this audience required more than just a price change; it required a total shift in editorial focus, relationship-building, and commercial offering.
- Editorial focus: NTM gave all reporters a personal dashboard that filtered engagement data to show only readers under the age of 50. Reporters were encouraged to write specifically for a 30-year-old target audience.
- Relationship building: The publisher transformed its reporters into local “influencers” on Instagram and TikTok, producing accessible, reporter-led content. This led to a 43% increase in Instagram followers across their 16 titles and a 180% increase in reach from video content.
- The commercial pivot: After realizing that standard 1-, 3-, or 6-month free trials weren’t creating long-term habits, NTM decided to offer the product for free to anyone aged 18–24 in the hope that it would build engagement to invest in a future subscriber base.
This was first tested on 2 of NTM’s titles between June and August 2025.
The offering:
> 18-25 year olds: Free, including access to the website and app, with one session per user
> 25-29 year olds: 50% off, including access to the website and app, with one session per user, plus membership discounts
>30 year olds: Full price, all of the above plus multiple sessions per user
The marketing:
- They went to where the target group was: via physical ads, prints and handouts across universities, concerts and graduation ceremonies.
- They also put (young) reporters front and center of a video campaign on Instagram and TikTok, highlighting relevant examples from local journalism in a friendly, trustworthy and light-hearted manner.
The user journey & signup workflow:
The signup process was designed to be rigorous enough to ensure data integrity while providing a smooth transition to paid status. Although NTM acknowledged the six-step process was longer than they ideally liked, it served two critical strategic functions: foolproof age verification and long-term billing preparation.
- Offer Discovery: Users encounter the offer via a custom paywall for social/search traffic or through the main subscription landing page.
- Identity & Age Verification: Users must enter their email and social security number. This allows NTM to verify the user is between 18 and 24 years old.
- Mandatory Payment Info: Even though the initial tier is free, users are required to provide credit card or billing information (such as Klarna) upfront.
The pivot from opt-in to opt-out:
One of the most significant changes in the “how” was how NTM handled users who “outgrew” their age bracket.
- Initial strategy (Opt-In): Originally, when a user turned 25, NTM used an opt-in renewal. They sent an email asking the user if they would like to start paying. This resulted in a 30% conversion rate.
- Current strategy (Opt-Out): To increase conversion, NTM switched to an opt-out renewal. Because payment information is collected at the very beginning of the journey (age 18), the system now automatically transitions the user to a paid subscription when they hit the age threshold unless the user manually cancels.
NTM addressed internal concerns about “undue access” (older people pretending to be young) and revenue loss by sticking to high-friction verification.
- Limited cannibalization: Despite fears of losing paying customers, only 3% of free subscribers actually switched from a pre-existing paid account.
All in all – a (surprisingly) successful strategy to attract new readers
The most surprising outcome from this strategy was how easily and rapidly this attracted completely new readers. 88% of the new readers had no earlier customer relationship with NTM’s brands. This was unexpected, since even a completely free product does not guarantee interest, especially among those with no prior brand-relationship.
Lessons learned and the road ahead
NTM’s approach utilizes a “foolproof” age verification system via social security numbers during sign-up. Crucially, they collect payment information at the start, which allows for a frictionless transition to a paid tier (now moved to an opt-out renewal model) once the user turns 25.
As they look toward 2027, NTM is targeting 25,000 free subscribers with a 40% conversion rate. By proving that young readers will engage with local news if the barriers are removed, NTM is providing a blueprint for the future of local journalism.
Thank you so much to Daniel for speaking at the Festival, and to Henrik Ekwall-Larson for working on the slides (he sadly couldn’t make the event last minute!).
Find the full event slides below:
