Drawing from research presented during INMA's Media Subscription Summit in New York in March, the report counters the idea that there is a subscription ceiling.
According to the report, while fear around the news business seemed to get worse in recent months — with phrases like news avoidance, subscription fatigue, market ceiling and subscription reversal dominating conversations — the data shows a much different story.
INMA says There Is No Subscription Ceiling for News Media delves into:
- myths versus facts: the state of online engagement and subscriptions
- cracking the growth code: lessons from the top-performing brands
- funnel audit: seven reasons subscriptions are not growing, and
- growth engine: tying strategy, organisation and workflows.
Written by INMA researcher-in-residence and Readers First Initiative lead Greg Piechota, the report goes on to break down six common myths held by publishers today and provides a data-informed answer to each one, says INMA. Per Piechota, the data reveals good news and a call for publishers to keep moving forward to keep pushing the digital frontier.
INMA adds that in this timely report, Piechota turns to top-performing brands to understand how to best move forward and looks at the challenges of balancing subscription volume and value growth. By peeking behind the curtain of the top 25% of fastest-growing news brands, Piechota shares insight into the characteristics of fast-growers and the best strategies for growth.
There Is No Subscription Ceiling for News Media walks readers through the steps to building a growth machine and underscores the importance of:
- strategy
- organisation, and
- governance.
It also provides indisputable evidence that when publishers align their objectives with the reader's journey and focus on these key elements, they can create a powerful engine that drives sustainable subscription growth even in this rapidly changing environment, according to INMA.
Among the report's case studies are the following:
- New York Times
- Axel Springer
- Mediahuis
- Haaretz
- News24
- Advance Local
- The Irish Times
- Dow Jones, and
- The Washington Post.
There Is No Subscription Ceiling for News Media is available for free to INMA members and for purchase by non-members at
INMA.org/reports.