Episode 28 - Retention in Publishing

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📰 Top Story: Retention in Publishing 

Here are 19 retention lessons shared by retention publishing leaders on episode 1 of the Customer Retention Show.

Retention lessons from Travis Bernard, Executive Director, Growth Marketing @ L.A. Times 

1. Retention Starts with Activation: Many retention issues are rooted in activation problems. Identifying and encouraging key actions (e.g., app logins or newsletter subscriptions) helps build habits that drive engagement and long-term retention.

2. Focus on Personalisation at Cancellation: The point of cancellation is critical for saving subscribers. Tailored messages leveraging behavioural cues like time spent, articles read, and personalised offers based on user engagement levels can effectively reduce churn.

3. Balance Introductory Pricing with CAC Payback: Long discounted trial periods may drive sign-ups but often lead to low retention and extended CAC payback periods. Shortening these periods can improve cash flow and overall efficiency, as successful paywall tests show.

4. Make Cancellation Easy to Encourage Returns: Simplifying cancellations improves customer experience and increases re-subscription likelihood. Brands focused on long-term growth prioritise trust over short-term barriers.

5. Data-driven engagement is Key: Understanding user behaviour through data enables better activation and, ultimately, retention. Building habits of engagement through iterative testing and analysis remains central to success.

Retention lessons from Romain Lhote, CMO of L’Equipe 

6. Retention Moments: Focus on three critical phases - engagement during active subscriptions, personalisation during cancellation attempts, and strategies post-cancellation to drive re-subscriptions.

7. Cancellation as an Opportunity: Legislation simplifying subscription cancellations (MUPA) was initially seen as a threat but became a touchpoint for personalised re-engagement, leading to higher re-subscription rates.

8. Value of Personalisation: Tailored offers, messages, and showcasing relevant usage stats (e.g., articles read) during cancellations proved highly effective. 

9. Evolving Pricing Strategies: Shifted from aggressive discounts to sustainable offers with commitments (e.g., €5/month for 12 months) to maintain perceived value and improve long-term retention.

10. Data-Driven Personalisation: Leveraging user behaviour, preferences, and engagement patterns through robust data infrastructure is key for acquisition and retention. A culture of continuous testing and optimisation underpins success.

Retention lessons from Tony Sternberg, CEO of ProsperStack 

11. Retention Requires a Multi-Angle Approach: There’s no silver bullet to retention—success comes from identifying your brand's unique moments of truth and engaging customers in a personalised way at each stage. 

12. Cancellation is a moment of opportunity: The cancellation flow isn’t just an obligation—it’s a chance to reinforce value, gather feedback, and present personalised alternatives like discounts, pauses, or digital-only options.

13. Harness change as an advantage: New rules simplifying cancellations may seem daunting, but they’re an opportunity to meet customers where they are, embrace digital consistency, and strengthen trust.

14. Data-driven Personalisation is Essential: Use customer data to reinforce the value they’ve received (e.g., usage stats) and tailor retention offers. The better your data and personalisation, the greater your chances of retaining them or reducing revenue loss.

Retention lessons from Madeleine White, Editor in Chief, The Audiencers  

15. Personalisation and Engagement at Key Moments: Retention is driven by understanding the actions and moments that resonate most with subscribers. FT found this to be following topics or journalists, for instance. Integrating these actions throughout the subscriber journey ensures they form habits tied to engagement.

16. First and Last Impressions Matter: Publishers should focus on creating strong onboarding experiences and thoughtful offboarding journeys. Celebrating valuable user actions and showing the future value of staying subscribed (e.g., upcoming content) can preempt cancellations and encourage re-subscriptions.

17. Align Acquisition and Retention Teams: Acquisition should consider retention from the start. Pre-subscription engagement strategies, such as soft conversions (e.g., newsletters or registration), build habits that improve retention before subscription.

18. Dynamic Friction Balances Monetisation: Strategic, targeted paywalls or slight cancellation friction balance frustration and engagement. However, excessive frustration risks alienating users and reducing re-subscription potential.

19. Data First, Then AI: Effective use of AI for retention begins with strong manual research. Understanding audience behaviour, testing messages, and gathering data are critical before applying predictive modelling or automation.

So there you have it in publishing: personalisation at moments like activation and cancellation is crucial, leveraging customer data to reinforce value is fundamental, and crafting sustainable pricing strategies to balance acquisition and retention is business critical.  

I’ll let you know where you can watch the full first episode of the Customer Retention Show in January. 

Until next week, Merry Christmas 🎄

Tom 

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