For your subscription service, you want to not only survive but thrive. Getting to that level, you’ll need the solid foundation of a loyal audience of readers. These readers are your audience; your irreplaceable asset that can make or break your product. So, let’s aim for ‘make.’
However, that’s easier said than done. Most businesses either face problems with attracting their audience in the first place or suffer through losing their attained readers in no time at all.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Here are the top five strategies that can make readers flock to your platform and become your most avid supporters.
1. Know Your Metrics
There is no singular magic number that can tell you all you need to know about your audience. It’ll be a combination of metrics that will get you there.
It includes your conversion rates, your churn rate scores, your subscriptions by source and your monthly recurring revenue.
Caption: Pelcro’s subscription breakdown by incoming source.
These series of metrics can give you a starting point, then, you can understand how interconnected these numbers are and how they influence each other.
Depending on your platform, and specific subscription model, you might see some variation in the level of interactivity of your audience, as well as their preferred method of communication.
2. Reach out to Your Existing Loyal Audience
More likely than not, you’ll already have a base of some sort that you’ve not been interacting with as much as you should have been.
Treat your loyal readers with exclusive offers and other perks, as it’ll communicate across a message of appreciation, which —in turn— will help with converting your regular readers into paying customers.
3. Push Your Offers Until One Stick
The truth of the matter is that sometimes it takes a while for us to catch on to something.
Our attention spans are getting shorter, and the things vying for our attention are increasing in number. Therefore, don’t be shy about offering your services multiple times.
In most cases, the frequency matters in terms of conversion rates, and it might just take a couple of tries to get your readers to click on one of your offers. The trick here is making sure that there is a variety of offers on hand, not the same thing repeated endlessly.
In addition, your subscription model, as well as your paywall (metered or otherwise), can have an effect on how your readers are responding to your offers. In this case, conducting A/B testing is the way to go.
4. Use Social Media as a Supporting Channel
We believe that email marketing can be the main driver of content for your readers, however, it would be tragic not to make use of social media to connect with your potential readers and keep your brand fresh.
Of course, with the way social media is currently set up and the decline of organic reach, you’ll have to adjust your social media content strategy to become more of an engagement tool than a content-spreading tool.
Moreover, you can also utilize your social media presence to entice more readers to opt-in to your newsletters and other direct communications.
5. Apply Retention Marketing Basics on Day Zero
There is a solid connection between the frequency of consumption and churn rates, with a higher frequency of consumption leading to lower churn rates.
Thus, onboarding campaigns are essential to your ability to retain a loyal audience. Setting up a welcome email, with follow-up messages regarding the added value you offer can bond your new readers to your brand with minimal effort.
Your Reader Revenue = Your Reader Loyalty
A platform with loyal readers can take whatever the market throws in its way. It’s not an easy task to create and retain a solid base of readers, because you’re competing with a million other things vying for their attention every second of every day.
However, armed with the main five strategies to attract (and keep) your audience, you’re in a much better position to grow your brand and propose new ideas without fear of losing your audience.
Furthermore, it’s prudent to keep your subscription model in mind. Having a powerful payment platform with auto-renewal capabilities can help immensely with retaining your readers. Schedule a demo with our team to explore what our platform can provide for your business.