Subscription revenue is safer than ad revenue for news media, but only with good journalism
It has taken time, but news is is heading from the Napster generation to the Spotify generation, writes Zuora subscription strategist Nick Cherrier.
In the world of news media, subscriptions have existed for decades, but the lifeblood of the industry has always been ad revenue. That’s changing radically, and I expect the change to be permanent.
A whole generation of news readers has now been exposed to the concept of paying for online stories. And while there’s a general amenability to the idea, this doesn’t mean gaining and retaining subscribers is a simple or inevitable process.
Placing value on high-quality content
Content is king in this segment of publishing, but not all content is created equal. If the way you turn a reader into a potential subscriber is through a click-bait headline or a fluffy gossip story, you can’t be shocked if they leave before their free trial ends.
