As subscription marketers, developing a portfolio of campaign types to rely on is important.

At Advance Local, we have successfully promoted our premium content, such as investigative series and in-depth coverage on various topics, including high school sports. We promote the product as a convenient way to get news from a trusted source. We also all know that sales and deep discounts are always winners.

At the beginning of 2023, we challenged ourselves to dig deeper into messaging. How could we speak to our audience in a different way?

We returned to our roots and considered why we do what we do. Our mission statement made it clear: to strengthen and empower the communities we serve. So we invited our prospects to join us on this mission — in writing.

Thesis: Readers who identify with our mission and core values are more likely to subscribe.

Result: The campaign exceeded the goal by 28%, securing 1,385 new subscribers in January. Coming off our deepest discount of the year for Cyber Monday, we were encouraged by the results.

Expanding the concept

Energised by our success in January, we looked at options to expand this messaging style. We examined the qualities journalists possess to do this job. It goes beyond asking questions and good writing skills. Passion on many levels drives the work. Let’s talk about this with our prospects.

Utilising research

Further encouraged by June’s performance, we developed another campaign. We’ll continue to speak to our audience about what they value and reinforce our connection to them and the communities we serve. This time, we brought in our research team to gain a deeper understanding of why people subscribe.

Surveys to current subscribers revealed the top two reasons for subscribing: staying informed about their community and supporting journalism.

Thesis: Readers who align with the motives of our current subscriber base are more likely to subscribe when presented with this messaging.

Result: The campaign exceeded goal by 27%, securing 1,713 new subscribers in September.

Looking forward

We now have a catalogue of proven evergreen journalism campaigns that can be run when needed. Subsequent runs have resulted in equal or, in some cases, increased sales results.

Our next endeavour is to test a campaign centred around reader testimonials. We have surveyed current subscribers to get feedback and actionable quotes regarding specific journalists and content pieces.

Thesis: Readers presented with positive feedback on our products, journalists, and content coming from current users are more likely to subscribe.

Telling stories that accurately reflect and positively impact the communities we serve is core to our mission at Advance Local. Our award-winning quality journalism is essential to our success in gaining and retaining subscribers.

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