Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

How Do I Fix Sagging Online Subscriptions?

Posted by Anonymous on 10/23/2006 at 11:01 AM ET 250 Points
After 6 years of success as one of the largest online portals of information for a specialized industry, we are experiencing sagging online subscriptions. Can anybody who has had the responsibility of increasing online subscriptions (to specialized industry-specific news and information) tell me of any practical strategies that actually worked? How do you entice online readers that they "must have" this information, or what business strategies can be implemented to increase subscriptions? Any input is most welcome. Thanks.
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  • Posted on 10/23/2006 at 12:28 PM Member
    Here's an article that might help: https://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?ident=27915

    I haven't had the specific problem you've had so I can't offer experience. Suggestions I can offer would be:

    1) Call unsbuscribers to ask why they are unsubscribing so you can improve. I've heard of experiences that this in itself will get over 50% of unsubscribers to resubscribe.

    2) Bring in industry experts to contribute (experts that attract people by nature)

    3) Offer exclusive news or "find it here first" news

    4) Build a community around the information, similar to how marketingprofs.com has a community of marketers here.

    PS: Go to www.ponderpearls.com and enter "melvin" as the giftcode. Download and install Ponder Pearls to enjoy wit & wisdom from histories brightest and most enlighted minds. It's my gift to you.
  • Posted on 10/23/2006 at 5:31 PM Accepted
    One of the best ways to promote your online portals of information for a specialized industry is to do an article marketing campaign -- a campaign that submits articles to the top directories, niche directories and targeted websites and ezines.

    On my profile, there is a link to my article marketing service site. For $495 we copyedit your article, optimize the title and the article so it can be seen on Google, tweak the bio to ensure a strong call for action -- so readers want to click on the link to your website, and we'll submit it to 100+ directories, websites and ezines.

    You may want to link your articles to a sales letter landing page -- one that promotes a free newsletter -- a sampling of what they would receive with the paid subscriber service. In the landing page, make sure you describe all of the benefits of getting this free newsletter and in the newsletter you do a soft sell for the subscriber service.

    Or, you can link it to a landing page that sells a subscriptions. List all of the benefits and get people to buy automatically.

    However, from experience, I believe you will get best results by offering a free newsletter or a free sneak preview. That way you'll be able to capture a prospect's contact information.

    Eric Gruber
    Director of Operations
    PR LEADS Article Marketing Service
    [URL deleted by staff]
  • Posted by ReadCopy on 10/24/2006 at 1:48 AM Member
    This isn't brain surgery, but one tactic we employed for a client was to simple ensure that their site was well optimised for search engines and also that the landing pages were a) attractive and b) improved usability.

    We also started a PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign in the first month to kick start the whole thing, but after 12 months (after a flagging previous period) they saw a 300% improvement in subscriptions.

    Their number of visitors from natural search continues to rise month on month, with new articles that entice people to the site. If you want to know more, get in touch offline.

    Good Luck

    Andrew
  • Posted by Harry Hallman on 10/24/2006 at 8:01 AM Member
    Paid search would help if your offer is strong enough. But, also I would go to the current membership and give them an incentive to tell their associates about your web site. This could be a chance to win a substantial prize or something else. .

    Tell a friend programs work better with a good incentive.

    In the end you will have to use a number of techniques and double check your value proposition and as Andrews mentioned make tweaks to your site if needed. We redesign a consumer site once and doubled visits simply through the redesign.

    Harry Hallman
  • Posted on 10/30/2006 at 12:49 PM Author
    Thank you all for taking the time to answer this important question. I appreciate all the helpful input!!

    Regards,
    Rob
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