8
trends help publishers get, keep digital subscribers
By
The latest trends and tactics
in digital subscriptions are helping many publishers grow their subscriptions
through increased acquisitions and lower churn rates. Analytics to identify
subscription propensity, churn risk, and price elasticity can help optimise
these tactics. Testing of price points, offer design, and targeting can further
improve performance.
Less free content: More publishers are lowering their metres or increasing
the percentage of content designated as premium to grow the “metre stop rate”
or the share of digital readers who are presented with a subscription offer.
Several publishers have raised this share of premium content to 35% or more.
Lower prices: Introductory
offers are getting more generous. This is in part to offset the decline in
conversion rates that are expected from lowering the metre. Readers who hit a
paywall trying to access a premium article are less likely to convert than
readers who hit the paywall after their fifth article. Dropping the price
offsets this effect to some extent.
Longer promotional periods: Longer promotional periods help with the
retention of new subscribers. A publisher in the United States recently changed
its acquisition offer to a one-time payment of US$0.99 for six months of
digital access. The longer time period offset the high churn that would normally
result from a low acquisition price.
Onboarding journeys: Many publishers are introducing user journeys designed to
increase their engagement and begin the habit of reading content. A few
tactics, such as offering newsletter opt-ins on the subscription check-out
page, are effective. Personalised welcome e-mails are another tactic that helps
with new reader retention.
Content promotion: Highlighting content unique to the publication is
effective in raising conversion rates for new subscribers. Readers are more
aware of the journalism they are supporting with their loyalty.
Brand promotion: Newspapers have enormous brand equity in their markets,
but these brands are less valuable than they used to be given the decline in
print circulation. Brand promotion can complement acquisition campaigns to
increase conversion rates, and these brand campaigns also help to retain
current subscribers.
Value letters: Placing a letter from the editor on the site promoting a
subscription’s value is an effective acquisition tool. These value letters can
also be used as retention tools, particularly when they are sent to
high-churn-risk subscribers.
Targeted average return per user (ARPU) increases: Changing the pace of
planned increases for customer segments or individual customers can improve
retention. If publishers have a standard promotional offer followed by
increases to the full price, they can elect to extend the promotional offer for
customers they believe are likely to churn. Conversely, they can move them to
an intermediate price point instead of the full price.
These and other tactics are
helping publishers convert higher percentages of their digital audience into
paying subscribers and retain them for longer periods of time. Undoubtedly,
future innovations in the areas of acquisition and retention and optimisation
of these tactics will enable publishers to achieve sustainable digital
subscription-supported business models.
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