Publisher Summary Every subscription business rents infrastructure from somebody else. The subscriber list is only the visible part of that arrangement. Payment history, engagement data, and the record of who reads what all live on someone’s servers, split across your…
Episode Summary An incognito local news publisher (about 60k monthly visitors) keeps every article free, yet still pulls reader revenue. A generous registration wall (3 free articles, wall on article 4) is converting at 5.7% and brought in 2,200+ registered…
James Baldacchino on making publisher content extractable for AI search, mining your archive for assets only you can build, and owning the audience directly.
Small Boats Monthly grew audience 20% in 30 days and converted nearly 30% of free registrations to paid by ditching PDFs for web-native issues and a registration wall.
Salem Reporter's AI events calendar drove 16,000 page views in two months, 60%+ newsletter open rates, and a 4% bounce rate. Here's what made it work.
Three steps to turn your newsletter into a paid subscription engine: free registration, separate free and paid newsletters with distinct purposes, and fearless send frequency.
Yes, people can bypass your paywall. No, it doesn't matter. The priority is growing your email list—your owned audience that converts regardless of who sneaks through.