Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media industry newsletter. If you've received it, then you either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you.

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Let’s jump into it…

Let's talk about growing your subscription business

Of all the media revenue models, subscriptions can be the most tricky to execute well. There are just so many variables at play that impact a publisher’s ability to succeed. These include:

• Free content: What do you place in front of the paywall to build a top-of-funnel audience?

• Paid content: What do you place behind the paywall that your audience will find enticing?

• Pricing: What’s the maximum amount you can charge for your subscription offering?

• Conversions: How do you get your free audience to actually pull the trigger on a paid subscription?

• Churn: How do you identify and reach the users who are most likely to unsubscribe?

And that’s just scratching the surface. Getting one of these variables wrong can mean all the difference in determining whether a subscription business succeeds or fails.

That’s why I’m convening a panel of experts to dive into the nuances of subscription economics and identify the strategies that will increase your chances for success. They include:

• Peter Ericson, CEO of the Leaky Paywall subscription platform, which helps publishers seamlessly build their audience and grow paid subscriptions

• Michael Donoghue, CEO of Subtext, a platform that allows publishers to send text messages to their paid subscribers

• Jane Friedman, founder of The Hot Sheet, the most successful paid newsletter that covers the book industry

• Randy Cassingham, founder of This is True, possibly the world’s first paid email newsletter

• Abby Glassenberg, co-founder of the Craft Industry Alliance, an online community with over 2,000 paying members

This will be a live Zoom call where participants will be actively encouraged to ask questions and contribute. The details can be found below:

Title: Let's talk about growing your subscription business

Date and Time: Thursday, May 4 at 12:30 p.m. ET

Zoom link:...