Last night, I was at dinner when my longtime friend Gina sheepishly revealed she subscribed to more than 5 indie newsletters.
That’s a lot.
So I asked her why she subscribes to them. What makes her want to pay?
The articles. One specific article to be exact.
Each publication had a different article that triggered Gina to start paying the writer. We’re in London right now and one of the articles was a travel journal about London so she started subscribing to that publication while planning this trip.
This is just one type of reader motivation. Your readers will each have a different driver.
That’s why you want to mix up your messaging about your subscriptions. You gotta work the angles!
We’re heading into end of year giving and gifting season, so if you’re planning a promotion (highly recommended!), use the 10 templates below to write your posts.
10 motivation messages that get your readers opening their hearts and their wallets
Use these for email campaigns, social media or article appeals.
If you’re doing a big promotion (meaning you want a lot of upgrades), I recommend sending 5-7 messages out (at least) wherever readers are most likely to see them.
Usually that’s email, but it’s worth hitting them on social too because some of your readers might be web archive people. Plus, sometimes you get a cool word of mouth effect where your fans will quote tweet, repost or comment support off your posts.
Does it matter what order they go in?
Sort of—I’d start with the one likely to work with most of your readers and keep adding other messages in to scoop up as many subscribers as you can.
Isn’t that too many emails?
No. How many emails do you get a day? Did you notice this is the 5th one I’ve sent you this week alone?
Exactly.
1️⃣ You + Me = The Mission
Motivates readers who: Care about your mission, do work related to your mission, or benefit from your mission directly.
Purpose: Share the origin story of the publication, who is behind it, and why the work you’re doing matters to you and to them. Write it like you’re sitting next to your reader at a bar. Not too grandiose. A relatable as you can make it.
Consider including:
- Photos of you or the team
- Why the publication exists
- Who writes the publication
- Why the mission you have matters (to you and to the reader)
Scalawag’s mission motivator
2️⃣ The World Without Us
Motivates readers who: Love your reporting but don’t get why they’d pay to keep it going, especially if it’s free.
Purpose: Remind your reader of what the world looked like before your publication existed OR play forward what happens without you. Either a societal lens like: these stories would never have seen the light of day or a reader lens like: you’d be wasting so much time with xyz.
Consider including:
- A story about something that’s changed due to your reporting
- Before/after publication scenarios (remember the times before us?!)
- Comparisons with other publications (cut throat I know! But effective.)
- What improves for your reader when your work exists
- Why it’s exciting to be a paying contributor to that vision (particularly if there’s any perks only they get!)
3️⃣ Where We’re Headed
Motivates readers who: Are your most avid readers, consider themselves ride or die supporters or who are particularly excited about your future endeavors.
Purpose: Offer your reader into a peek of your vision. This is especially useful if you need funding for a specific project or hire. Share upcoming stories, new columns you’re planning, people you want to hire and the bigger change your publication is part of making.
Consider including:
- Detailed plans (specific names or topics)
- Milestones (or when to expect these things to come to fruition)
- How this vision benefits your reader directly (as an individual)
4️⃣ I Know You, I Get You
Motivates readers who: Need a sense of belonging or love telling people they are a subscriber of your publication (think: New Yorker tote bag/NPR sticker people but your version).
Purpose: Cement your relationship with your reader. Offer specific bits of value and personality that remind them you really know who they are and that they belong here. Don’t they want to fund the place they belong? Of course they do!
Consider including:
- A reader testimonial or two (best if they’re paying readers!)
- A story about meeting one of your readers that would be relatable to others
- Common plights or complaints your readers have about the zone of your work (for example: I miss the old internet when blah blah blah)
- Ways you are just like them (a personal story works here too!)
5️⃣ The Perks
Motivates readers who: Want one of the perks you offer.
Purpose: Make your readers aware of the perks and if needed, explain why each is interesting (especially if it’s a rare one). You might think this is obvious on your upgrade page and I’m here to remind you most people are not even bothering to go look.
Consider including:
- Your recommended tier (or the most popular one)
- A list of perks
- A subscriber testimonial related to the perks
- Photos of the perks (especially merch and event perks)
6️⃣ Peak Behind the Curtain
Motivates readers who: Relate to you deeply or DM you frequently.
Purpose: Show your reader you’re a real person with flaws, needs and challenges. Reveal parts of your personality that will make them say “I’m just like that too.” Or “wow, I had no idea all the work that went into this!”
Consider including:
- A funny story about yourself
- A picture of you or the gritty behind the scenes of your work
- The front of house/back of house look at a specific story
- Something your readers would not know just from reading your work (particularly if it’s a cost or time suck associated with your work)
- Anything you think your readers would find interesting or relatable about you
Court Watch’s behind the curtain anniversary drive
7️⃣ Look At What We’ve Done
Motivates readers who: Are oversubscribed and torn about whether to support you or another publication OR readers who are newly tuning in.
Purpose: Remind your reader what you’ve done this year (or this quarter) and rattle off your accomplishments. This can include major stories, new hires, press coverage, reader/subscription milestones or awards. Or even just stuff you’re proud of!
Consider including:
- Bulleted list of impressive accomplishments
- Lots of numbers (numbers > words for accomplishments)
- Links to major stories
- Links to major press
- Quotes from press
- Quotes from readers
8️⃣ Change Delivered
Motivates readers who: Are oversubscribed and torn about whether to support you or another publication.
Purpose: Did one of your stories change lives? Policy? Possibilities? Or did a major improvement happen related to your beat. Use it to offer some hope to readers who may feel discouraged and overwhelmed but who do believe in what you’re doing and want to know it’s working.
Consider including:
- A specific story (about a person or a policy, for example)
- Why it matters (if not obvious)
- Relevant stories you have covered or background work you’ve done related to this development
- Your predications for what’s next
- Why your reporting must continue
9️⃣ The Sale
Motivates readers who: Were already going to pay but were stalling.
Purpose: A sale creates urgency though it’s generally pushing people over who were on the fence about already paying. If you’ve run sales in the past, your readers may know to look out for them so running them 1-2 times a year can’t hurt much. You don’t always need to run a sale to drive urgency though. Check out The Barbed Wire’s giveaway example below for an alternative.
Consider including:
- What the sale is on and how long it lasts
- Big, bold highlights on what’s exciting about the sale (for example: 20% off or get a free bonus hat)
- When the sale is over (include the date, time and timezone)
- When to expect the next sale (or a note about how often sales happen so they don’t wait around too long)
🔟 The Price Raise
Motivates readers who: Were already going to pay but were stalling or who were planning to pay soon.
Purpose: If you’re about to raise your subscription prices (or if you launched at a special price), make an announcement about the price going up a couple weeks in advance to drive some takers before you make the switch. This is sort of like a reverse sale and it also leverages urgency because it involves a deadline.
Consider including:
- What the price is now/what it’s about to be
- When the price is changing
- Why the price is changing
- What the perks are
- Comparisons of what the price is/what else you could buy for that (probably just a Coke and a smile these days!)
If you barely stayed awake for all that, how about this for a takeaway…
You’ve got to work different angles with your readers.
Everyone’s motivation to pay you is a unique blend of their identity, their financial situation, their interest in your work, their urgency about needing it and their alternative options.
Mix up your messages every time you promote your subscriptions and they will build on each other to capture more of your potential paying audience and turn them into regular paying readers.
