Media leaders from around the world gathered to share innovative strategies for growing and retaining digital subscribers in an increasingly volatile news environment during the Subscriptions Seminar at the recent INMA World Congress of News Media.

From Switzerland to South Carolina, one key theme united them all: delivering value beyond content.

Tiered subscriptions as first-class experiences

Eva Günther, head of digital products at Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), opened the afternoon by revealing how the Swiss legacy brand grew premium digital subscriptions by rethinking the reader experience.

Drawing inspiration from the airline model of “economy, business, and first class,” NZZ created a tiered system with “Pro” as its top offering. More than just access to content, Pro subscribers receive ad-free reading, AI-generated summaries, and exclusive geopolitical analysis.

The editorial and product teams collaborate weekly to align conversion insights with content strategy.

“We don’t just want users to read,” Günther said. We want them to feel elevated.”

The result? A 60% conversion rate from free trials to paid Pro subscriptions.

A viral moment turns into a loyalty surge

The Atlantic’s chief growth officer Megha Garibaldi shared how the U.S. magazine handled an unexpected surge in traffic when its investigative story “The Signal” went viral.

Despite not knowing the piece was coming due to strict editorial independence, her team quickly launched a “dual offer” paywall strategy, allowing readers to choose between a trial or direct subscription. While initial spikes came from curiosity, by day two, sentiment had shifted toward support.

“Readers didn’t just want access,” Garibaldi said. They wanted to stand behind our journalism.”

Messaging, gift links, podcast promotion, and a live subscriber-only event all helped maximise conversions and reinforce brand loyalty.

Data-driven culture shifts in local news

Ben Draper, associate director of digital subscription at The Post and Courier in the United States, demonstrated how a small but ambitious newsroom can drive double-digit subscription growth.

By partnering with Piano to implement a dynamic paywall that balances ad and subscription revenue, the team saw a 57% increase in paywall revenue period over period.

The innovation wasn’t just technical. Draper emphasised changing newsroom culture by reframing metrics as “tools for curiosity, not compliance.” Customised dashboards helped reporters see how their work contributed to both impact and revenue, breaking down traditional silos between editorial, marketing, and advertising.

Streamlines to succeed

Sheena Hakimian, senior director of digital consumer marketing at Condé Nast, revealed how the iconic magazine group, including Vogue, GQ, and The New Yorker, reclaimed growth by getting laser-focused on what they could control.

That meant using data to prioritise high-converting content types, segmenting users by behaviour and referral source, and radically simplifying pricing tests.

One example: Gating evergreen political stories on Vanity Fair led to a 20% increase in subscriptions.

Print-to-digital done right

Hanna Månsson, head of B2C and product at Stampen Media in Sweden, shared perhaps the boldest transformation.

Facing steep print losses, her team proactively transitioned thousands of loyal print readers to digital by communicating months in advance and physically showing up in local towns to help seniors set up the e-paper.

“We didn’t want to just make a change,” Månsson said. “We wanted to make it responsibly.”

Digital subscriptions grew 170%, and the majority of legacy print readers made the switch.

Content alone isn’t enough

Across markets, platforms, and audience types, successful news publishers are no longer just selling content. They’re offering tailored, trusted experiences that respect the reader’s time, intelligence, and loyalty.

As Greg Piechota, INMA’s Readers First Initiative lead, concluded: “We traditionally were just putting a price tag on content. It's no longer content. You need to think about it as a customer experience, and it will be content and product together.”

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