The challenging economics for local news subscriptions
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The challenging economics for local news subscriptions
This is my latest article for What’s New in Publishing. Many local publishers expressed initial hope that their own subscriptions paywalls would be greeted by readers with open arms, but the results thus far have been discouraging. [link]
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Other news:
This is a really fascinating deep dive into a Memphis news site that's generated north of 10,000 paying subscribers. It could provide a model for how local news startups can survive in a world where traditional newspapers are on the wane. [link]
This is a fun read. There's a magazine with a circulation of 14 million, and chances are you've never heard of it unless you have a Costco membership. [link]
I find platforms that pay writers based on a share of ad revenue to be a little on the scammy side, and I doubt many writers are making any serious money from them. [link]
This is a pretty good overview of how several publishers are pushing beyond mere affiliate ads and building more robust offerings in the ecommerce space. [link]
Yet more evidence that creating audio products can really strengthen your relationship with your audience. Something as simple as having your journalists read their stories into a microphone has been shown to generate real value for readers. [link]
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