Research shows why readers don’t pay for news and how to convert (some of) them @TheFixMedia PLUS how to retain them once you have them from @WNIP

The Fix newsletter highlights research from the Netherlands on why people don’t pay for news, and as they point out, the reasons are consistent with other studies - free alternatives and technical issues being a couple of the main ones. These are known issues, and they highlight a few examples of how other publishers have fixed them.

But then there is the question of how to keep those subscribers once you get them. I agree that the focus has to be on the product(s) and that focus is driven by understanding your audiences. I also like the phrase “data is your bow and communication your arrow”. A good piece as always from WNIP.

PLUS A look at how Havas is doubling down on attention data. Vox’s focus is on “commerce” newsletters. The American Press Institute looks to support Table Stakes participants with a new programme. What new CMSes meant for black-owned media businesses in the US. Research into the limits of machine learning as applied to trying to moderate hate speech content online. A former Twitter advocate questions the relevance for journalists.

Customer retention strategies to support reader and advertiser revenues are a key focus for publishers The conventional wisdom says that acquiring a new customer can cost as much as five times more than retaining an existing customer. The scale of the variation shifts when more custom offerings are involved and a 500% differential may not be exactly …

Why readers are (not) paying for news? The main reasons are high price, free news elsewhere, commitment issues. The good news is that publishers are already working on how to fix it. At the same time, it’s a good moment to revisit strategies used to counter these issues.

Vox Media is adding more commerce content to its newsletter portfolio.

Promoting the value of attention metrics as a means of being more efficient on emissions at a time when the industry seems to be focusing more on environmental impact.

The American Press Institute (API) today announced that five news organizations and four coaches have been selected for the digital subscriptions growth and retention sprint program for alumni of the Table Stakes Local News Transformation Program, which advances innovations in local journalism through intensive change-management training for news leaders. The sprint program is funded by […]

Does a new content management system for digital sites deliver enough return on investment to justify the time and expense needed to convert? That question is on the minds of leaders at many small news outlets, and Local Media Foundation decided to find out through a program to implement a new CMS for four legacy […]

The views expressed in Shorenstein Center Discussion Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Harvard Kennedy School or of Harvard University. Discussion Papers have not undergone formal review and approval. Such papers are included in this series to elicit feedback and to encourage debate on important issues and challenges in … Ethical Scaling for Content Moderation: Extreme Speech and the (In)Significance of Artificial Intelligence Read More »

But between Dean Baquet's leaked New York Times memo and Elon Musk's stutter-step pursuit to buy the platform, I've been seriously — and frequently — reconsidering my relationship with Twitter.