The case for, and against, paid trial offers and how The Athletic is approaching podcasts

In a recent Media Briefing:

The case for, and against, paid trial offers
Fewer podcasts equals more listeners for The Athletic
Earnings season begins, TikTok has a new e-commerce strategy and more

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Media Briefing: The case for, and against, paid subscription trials

By Kayleigh Barber

As subscription growth slows, publishers are finding that retaining subscribers is just as important as acquiring new ones. And because of that, finding the right strategy that brings in new paying readers who plan on sticking around for the long haul is top of mind for many audience growth teams.

“Retention is a high priority for publishers as it’s never been before,” said Megha Garibaldi, chief growth officer at The Atlantic. “But when retention was weighed against acquisition in ranking of priorities, she said, “they’re pretty neck and neck, but they are intertwined.”

While paid trial offers (like a discounted rate for the first month or year) are good at converting readers, Piano Benchmarks 2020-23 analytics found that readers who convert on a full-priced subscription are more likely to stick around longer than other cohorts of subscribers. [Editor’s note: Piano is a contracted vendor with Digiday.] Therefore, designing that perfect, intertwined strategy doesn’t seem to be as cut and dry as one would hope — what works best to drive retention may not be best for acquiring new subscribers in the first place.

And yet, some publishers are making up their minds about which strategy to prioritize, as there’s been a steady decline in the number of publishers who are offering paid trials, according to Michael Silberman, svp of strategy at paywall platform Piano. While about 16% of conversions for monthly subscriptions occurred at the full-price in Q1 2020, that number increased to nearly 27% by Q1 2023, according to the most recent Piano Benchmarks data.