What we learned about running memberships in newsrooms
Reader-centric decision-making requires an entire organization to shift its mindset, say Malaysiakini’s Lynn D'Cruz and New Naratif’s Deborah Augustin.
Takeaways
Expect to figure things out as you go. Nearly all membership engagement positions are brand new. Be willing to fail and try many different strategies.
Membership models require a reader-centric approach. Unlike subscriptions, membership models are a two-way street. Publications need to listen to and engage with readers.
Newsletters are your best friend. Both D’Cruz and Augustin shared the power of newsletters. Not only are they a habit-forming product, but the medium also can help beat social media algorithms and avoid government censorship. They are also a great way to add exclusivity to your offerings without detracting from the accessibility of your core content.
Context
With the future of media comes a whole new set of media careers. Chief among these include the leadership of membership engagement teams. Lynn D’Cruz, Chief Membership Officer at Malaysiakini, and Deborah Augustin, Membership Engagement Coordinator at New Naratif, both took to the Splice Beta stage to share their learnings from these new roles.
Lynn D'Cruz, Malaysiakini
In 2002, Malaysiakini had already launched a subscription service. However, nearly two decades years later, it became apparent that the subscription model was no longer sufficient. Coupled with declining advertising revenue, the team at Malaysiakini decided to experiment with a membership offering.
With Lynn D’Cruz at the forefront, Malaysiakini’s offerings include a tight-knit community, a newsletter, event invites, and other benefits. Here are some specific pieces of advice:
Success requires collaboration across the board. Branding, marketing, partnerships, research and analysis, customer service… membership models bring with them a whole universe of their own. Without the contributions of a team, it can be too much for an individual to handle.
Focus on retention of membership, not just acquisition. A successful membership program doesn’t just capture new members, it holds on to existing ones through a sense of belonging (community) and development of habit (newsletters).
A seamless payment system is vital. Have an outside actor perform an audit and reduce any existing friction in the payment process. If done effectively, there should be a notable change in membership growth.
There needs to be continuous product and business innovation. Remember, membership engagement positions were unheard of only a few years ago. Editorial and operations teams working together to innovate is no longer a choice — it’s a must.
Deborah Augustin, New Naratif
New Naratif isn’t just a media organization — it’s a movement for democracy. Specifically, it’s a movement for democracy that includes the freedom of information. With membership programs tied to a sense of exclusivity, Augustin had to get creative with her strategies to maintain and expand New Naratif’s membership offering. Here’s what she has learned so far:
Know your audience. This is easier said than done at places like New Naratif where audience data privacy is paramount. However, Augustin found understanding her audience to be so critical that she hired an audience research consultant to help the organization better understand its members.
Members join because of values — so show them off. One of the key takeaways from New Naratif’s audience research was that members were attracted to the publication for its pro-democracy values. As a result, Augustin decided to help make the publication’s values even more transparent and accessible.
Act on audience feedback. There is no one better suited to suggest improvements to your product than the target audience itself. Sometimes all it takes is asking your audience how you can do better.
Be personable. At the end of the day, working in membership engagement is about building relationships with people and cultivating a sense of community. So, as Augustin recommends, be the person that other people want to build relationships with.