Atlantic Subscriber Retention: No Price Cuts
The atlantic is bucking industry trends with a unique strategy: prioritizing subscriber engagement and retention instead of resorting to price cuts. Discover how The Atlantic achieved a 15% year-over-year growth in its subscriber base while many competitors saw declines. Dive into their innovative methods, including tracking “Reader State” to measure content interaction frequency and “First Best Action” to gauge initial subscriber engagement. Learn how onboarding, promoting app downloads and newsletter sign-ups, boosts retention by a critically important margin. The publication’s commitment to delivering value, with its base digital plan priced at $79.99 annually, showcases a dedication to quality over quantity. Uncover the strategies behind their success,from dynamic pricing models to a focus on reader habits,which,according to News Directory 3,sets a new standard. Explore the subscription benefits,and the expansion of offerings like live events and podcasts,and what the publication has planned going forward. Discover what’s next for The Atlantic.
The Atlantic Focuses on Engagement to Boost Subscriber Retention
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To grow its digital subscriptions, The Atlantic is prioritizing subscriber engagement and retention, leveraging metrics that go beyond simple conversion rates. The publication has seen a 15% year-over-year growth in its subscriber base, while the industry average has seen a decline of about 4.5%,according to Mariah Craddick.
The Atlantic uses a “same-day start” full-price payment option, as well as a digital trial. The publication reports a retention rate above 70%.
The base digital-only plan is priced at $79.99 annually. The company also uses dynamic pricing models to adjust acquisition prices based on behavioral data,Craddick said.
Measuring Subscriber Value
The Atlantic uses “Reader State” to gauge subscriber health. This metric tracks how often subscribers engage with content,defining success as a subscriber returning on at least four separate days a month. These readers tend to develop a weekly habit, wich is a strong indicator of long-term subscription loyalty.
Another key metric is “First Best Action,” which measures whether new subscribers visit the site, download the app, or sign up for a newsletter within their first week. Subscribers who complete at least one of these actions are more likely to remain active.
Subscription Benefits
The Atlantic’s subscription benefits include unlimited access to content, multiple ways to consume content (app, narrated articles, newsletters, digital issues), helpful tools like saving articles and creating reading lists, and bonus benefits like games, podcasts, live events, and exclusive merchandise.
The Atlantic has expanded its offerings to include a monthly print magazine, live events, TikTok content, a growing newsletter lineup, and subscriber-only podcasts.
Boosting Retention
The Atlantic uses an onboarding experience to encourage new subscribers to download the app, sign up for newsletters, or start a personal reading list. Completing onboarding increases retention by 4 percentage points, Craddick said.
The company also gathers feedback from subscribers through surveys and customer support.
Looking ahead, The Atlantic is investing in its app and exploring new ways to connect subscribers with authors and offer exclusive features through atlantic Labs, its R&D hub.