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.
Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has announced it has launched The Telegraph for Kindle Fire, The Telegraph’s fourth digital edition, building on the success of the Kindle e-reader, iPad and Windows8 application launches.
EMAP, the content, subscription and networking business, has appointed Eric Musgrave as Editorial Director for Drapers, the fashion industry title.
News UK CEO Mike Darcey will be giving a speech today at The Times CEO Summit, taking place at the Institute of Directors.
Cumbria Life, the flagship monthly lifestyle magazine published by CN Group covering life and landscape in Cumbria and the Lake District has been given a new makeover and rebrand.
Thursday, June 13, saw the official launch of The Liverpool Post Business Daily – a brand new e-edition publication for tablet and smartphone users.
EMAP, the content, subscription and networking business, has announced the appointment of Richard Breeden as Managing Director for a portfolio of its brands.
Informa has announced the appointment of Fotini Liontou as Chief Content Officer for Informa Business Information.
The Birmingham Post has launched a standalone daily tablet edition – Business Daily - the first of its kind in business publishing, says the publisher.
Imagine Publishing has announced the launch of Brain Dump, which it describes as a first-of-its kind digital-only science magazine for iPad and iPhone.
Energy Voice, an offshoot of The Press and Journal’s monthly Energy supplement, launched this week.
It has become fashionable to write off print as being in terminal decline, but, writes Peter Preston, the reality is infinitely more complex. There are signs, particularly in the US, that traditional newspapers are beginning to settle on a workable m
All publishers, large and small, face a bewildering array of choices, and plotting a coherent path forward is not easy. Sophia Dempsey, publishing director of Motor Sport magazine, says that the answer is to go back to basics.
In April, Newsworks held its first ever conference, entitled Shift 2013. The purpose of the event was to highlight how newspapers are effective and influential platforms in the multiplatform age. Ray Snoddy was in the audience.
iSUBSCRiBE.co.uk continues its growth with the launch of over 40 new websites.
Granta Magazine, known for its publication of vital new writings and launching the careers of many great novelists and writers, has completed its move to Abacus e-Media’s ADvance audience development platform.
