Every subscriber who leaves has to be replaced before a subscription business can grow, which makes retention the quieter half of reader revenue and often the more profitable one. The first renewal is the real test of whether acquisition brought in the right people.
Retention starts with habit. The publishers that keep subscribers longest engage them well beyond the welcome emails, and renew on the strength of the brand rather than another discount. A surprising share of churn isn't a decision at all. Expired cards and failed payments quietly lose revenue that can often be recovered.
Some brands are losing subscribers and hard-fought revenue that could be saved with some attention and effort.
Tracy Larner Our subs retention strategy: William Reed
When someone does want to leave, how it is handled matters. Understand why before offering anything, and make the exit easy, because subscribers treated well on the way out are far more likely to come back.
Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on subscriber retention and churn, from engagement and renewal pricing to payment failure and cancellation, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.
Does your CEO know what your subscriber retention rate is? The chances are, probably not. But, according to Julian Thorne, author of our Guide to Retention Strategies for Publishers, this number should never be far from his or her (or your) mind.
A subscriber’s first 30 days are important to build habit but so is every day after, says Emma Robinson, head of customer experience.
You cannot improve a process until you have documented it, and you cannot achieve an objective until you have a process and system to support it, says Rosa Sherwood, head of CRM, engagement and loyalty.
It’s a well-known fact that engaged subscribers stay for longer, says Susanne Kinnaird, head of digital reader revenue.
It’s important not to lose subscribers and hard-fought revenue through involuntary churn, says Tracy Larner, subscriptions director.
It’s important to understand the reason for cancellation and to ensure the retention offer directly addresses the subscriber’s stated concern, says Mike Halstead, managing director of HH&S.
What determines pricing power is not only the category of need, says Andy Burden, founder of Substribe, it’s the stakes.
Making it super-hard to cancel a subscription does no one any favours.
Huge amounts are spent by the regionals on circulation marketing, yet the suspicion persists that it is not money well spent. Too much wastage and too little retention. Philip Preston of Archant Norfolk is one of a select band trying something differ
How do you plan your subscription promotions? Hunch, gut feeling, back of an envelope? Well there is a more scientific approach. Alan Weaver explains more.
Undoubtedly quicker and cheaper, email marketing has taken off in the UK. However it is not without its risks and is not the solution to every marketing problem. James Evelegh talks to Angus Chenevix Trench of Tower Publishing Services about the upsi
First the Independent, next The Times – which broadsheet will be next? And in twelve months’ time, will there be any left? Peter Preston, former editor of The Guardian presents a broader perspective on the tabloid - sorry, "compact" - frenzy.
InCirculation takes a gloomy view of the state of our international marketing and solicits the views of Martin Rosen, managing director of subscriptions bureau Publishing Power.
The regional newspaper sector is buzzing! Almost half of all regional press titles in ABC membership increased sales in the Jan-June 2003 period. Here, Brian Collett talks to Steve Miles, circulation director of Northamptonshire Newspapers, to get th
"Online subscription models can deliver today", says Dominic Jacquesson, chief operating officer of newsletter publisher Electric Word plc. Here, he imparts ten of the lessons they have learnt during the course of setting up a successful online subsc
This year’s Audit Bureau of Circulation figures confirm that most publications have not shown much growth in paid subscriptions over the past ten years. Peter Hobday, editor of the Subscriptions Strategy newsletter, examines the evidence, names the c
The two gulf wars provide convenient bookends for this recent history of national newspaper circulation. Here, David Owen casts an expert eye over the circulation trends between the two wars.
