Here's an idea to steal and adapt: The Henrico (Virginia) Citizen added 9,000+ email subscribers and generated $34,000 in reader revenue in one year.
Generating enough revenue to sustain or expand our operations at the Henrico Citizen has been a constant challenge during our 22+ years of existence. For much of that time, I’ve been the only full-time employee. Pursuing revenue often has taken a back seat to being a publisher, a journalist, an editor and an office manager.
I started the Citizen in 2001, following three years at a similar local publication in our region. I was 24 and knew how to run a small publication on the editorial side but not on the business side. The right mix of determination and naivete carried us on a shoestring budget through our first 18-and-a-half years as a free, print-first publication on a twice-monthly basis. Advertising was our sole form of revenue.
The onset of the pandemic in 2020 and our selection as a Report for America host newsroom the following year taught us about how to generate some reader revenue. In 2022 and 2023, as a UNC Table Stakes participant, we sought to take the next step and develop a cohesive reader engagement and reader revenue program: We wanted to generate at least $25,000 in reader donations from a total of at least 400 people. Those totals would represent an increase of about $10,000 and 125 donors from our 2022 levels. By Dec. 31, 2023, we generated $34,989 in reader donations during 2023 from a total of 574 donors.
Here are four strategies from our funnel process that you can try at your organization:
