Growing audience revenue is critical to news outlets’ survival, and daily news consumption is the most likely predictor of digital subscriptions and their retention, the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University found. What can we learn from using different platforms to grow digital subscriptions? These slides, presented by Danny Gawlowski at Fresno NewsTrain, are accompanied by a handout: Driving digital subscriptions: improving the platforms that build audience habit. Gawlowski is assistant managing editor of The Seattle Times. For more information on the News Leaders Association's NewsTrain, please see https://www.newsleaders.org/newstrain.

1. Danny Gawlowski
Driving subscriptions
Improving the platforms that build audience habit

2. Photo by Surface on Unsplash
Building a subscriber audience

3. Building audience revenue
● In the past 10 years, The Seattle Times has
been transformed from an
advertising-supported company to an
audience-supported company by building
over 80,000 new digital-only subscriptions.

4. Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash
Our goals today:
● Identify 5 platforms
that help drive
subscriptions.
● Decide how you will
improve one.

5. Me: Danny Gawlowski
● Assistant Managing Editor,
The Seattle Times
● Oversee our Digital Audience
teams
● Connect our newsroom and
our subscription strategy

6. How do subscribers find stories?
Which platforms
most build
audience habit?

7. 51. Homepage
2. Newsletters
3. News alerts
4. SEO
5. Social media
platforms to gain subs:

8. 1. Homepage = fresh

10. In pairs, discuss:
1. How many subscribers use your
homepage?
2. What do your homepage audiences want?
3. What could you do to improve your
homepage for engaged audiences?
Handout: mbl.fyi/subs

11. 1. Homepage:
A/B testing
A.
A. ‘Dawgs helping
Dawgs’: How a fellow
UW football alum helped
Cody Pickett avoid
open-heart surgery
B. How a fellow UW
football alum helped
Cody Pickett avoid
open-heart surgery

12. 1. Homepage: great headlines
● Explain why the story is important
● Aren’t too short; give enough info
● Aren’t too long; don’t give away everything
● Use key superlatives (best, worst) and
numbers, when possible
● Avoid questions
● Do not overpromise

13. Which is better?
A: 9 Seattle-area takeout options for a
fancy at-home Valentine’s Day feast
B: Try these 9 Seattle-area takeouts for
an at-home Valentine’s Day feast

14. Which is better? Call to action
A: 9 Seattle-area takeout options for a
fancy at-home Valentine’s Day feast
B: Try these 9 Seattle-area takeouts
for an at-home Valentine’s Day feast

15. Which is better?
A: How to order your 4 free COVID-19
tests
B: Federal testing website launches
next week, 4 tests per home

16. Which is better? Direct effect
A: How to order your 4 free COVID-19
tests
B: Federal testing website launches
next week, 4 tests per home

17. Which is better?
A: Carhartt said vaccination remains
mandatory for employees. A
conservative backlash ensued
B: Carhartt's stance on COVID vaccines
creates backlash

18. Which is better? Curiosity gap
A: Carhartt said vaccination remains
mandatory for employees. A
conservative backlash ensued
B: Carhartt's stance on COVID
vaccines creates backlash

19. In pairs, discuss:
1. How do I know which headlines
are resonating with my
audiences and which are not?
2. What could I do right now to
improve my headlines?
Handout: mbl.fyi/subs

20. 2. News alerts
= speed

21. 2. News alerts “Be among the first to know
about coronavirus updates
and other breaking news.

22. In pairs, discuss:
1. Do my audiences want
breaking-news alerts?
2. What alerts are they most
interested in?
3. How many alerts a day is too many?
4. What would make my news alerts
more compelling?
mbl.fyi/subs

23. 3. E-newsletters = frequency
Photo by Mick Haupt on nsplash

24. 3. E-newsletters

25. In pairs, discuss:
1. Which e-newsletters are doing well
with audiences and which are not?
2. Is there an e-newsletter they would
want that my outlet could provide?
3. What could I do to improve my
e-newsletters?
mbl.fyi/subs

26. 4. SEO =
first-timers + subscribers

27. 4. SEO:
headlines
use words
audience
would
search for

28. Tsunami
Earthquake

29. In pairs, discuss:
1. How SEO-friendly are my
headlines?
2. How often am I thinking about the
searches my audiences are
making?
3. What could I do to improve my
SEO? mbl.fyi/subs

30. 5. Social media
= balance

31. Seek
continuous
improvement

32. 5
Ways to gain subs:
1. Homepage
2. Newsletters
3. News alerts
4. SEO
5. Social media

33. In small groups, discuss:
1. Which platform will I improve first?
2. How will I measure success?
3. What are the first steps I’ll take?
4. How will I create a cycle of
continuous improvement?
mbl.fyi/subs

34. How can I help?
Danny Gawlowski
dgawlowski@seattletimes.com
Slides and handout:
bit.ly/fresnonewstrain
Photo by Simone Secci on Unsplash