This State of the Industry Report, in partnership with Marigold, shares how publishers and media companies are growing their subscriber bases, from the strategies they use and the challenges they face to how teams successfully overcome them.
Publishers have a wealth of data from their audience and subscribers, but as advertising models shift with economic uncertainty and the rise of AI, the challenge of turning that data into sustainable revenue is forcing them to rethink how they operate and achieve long-term growth.
From email strategies and personalization tools to cross-channel experiences and retention campaigns, publishers are experimenting with new ways to build and monetize their audiences. As the market evolves, so do the tactics, technologies and teams driving results. However, challenges also proliferate.
In this State of the Industry report, Digiday and Marigold surveyed 110 publishers and media companies about how they’re growing their subscriber base, the tools they’re using to power engagement efforts, how those strategies contribute to revenue growth and the challenges they encounter along the way.
The majority of respondents (87%) said they have increased subscriber engagement budgets over the past year, while only 3% said they have seen a decline.
This increased budget indicates a strong effort among publishers to improve subscriber engagement.
The survey found that subscriber growth efforts are primarily attributable to either data and analytics or subscription and customer experience (61% combined), with only 14% of respondents having said it’s a cross-department initiative.
The data shows a clear shift in how media companies approach subscriber growth. It is increasingly led by data and analytics teams (39%) and subscription or customer experience departments (22%). This signals a broader trend that growth is no longer just about marketing campaigns; it is driven by insights, experimentation and long-term value delivery. While traditional revenue teams play a smaller role, the emphasis is moving toward cross-functional collaboration that brings product, customer experience and data closer to strategy execution.
“What is interesting is that the product and platform team has hardly been selected,” said Nick Watson, vp of business consulting at Marigold. “While many conversion tactics can take place through messaging channels such as email and SMS, a significant amount of conversion happens on-site and in-app while consumers are reading or watching open or free content.
“Working with media companies, we see a close connection between subscription, data and experience teams, and the product or platform departments — likely represented by the 14% who selected it as a cross-department initiative,” he continued. “In our opinion, this is the gold standard operating model. All teams should be focused on acquiring and retaining subscribers, as this recurring revenue supports long-term planning and is less prone to market variations that can affect advertiser-led sales.”
Email newsletters, mobile app engagement, social media and SMS are the primary tools publishers use to engage subscribers and build loyalty. Each was selected by more than half of survey respondents, with email leading at 78%, followed closely by mobile engagement at 75%, social media at 72% and SMS at 55%. These channels form the foundation of most subscriber strategies. More complex or resource-intensive tactics like personalized content recommendations, cross-promotions, loyalty programs and paywalls are used less widely but offer opportunities for growth and differentiation.
As subscriber engagement becomes more fragmented across tools and teams, some publishers are turning to community-building efforts as a way to unify strategies and foster deeper connections. These initiatives often sit within editorial or marketing teams and aim to strengthen relationships across touch points, deepen loyalty and support long-term retention. While not yet mainstream, community is emerging as a valuable complement to traditional engagement tactics.
Demographic data, device usage and content preferences are the most commonly collected subscriber data points, with each cited by more than 60% of publishers. These align closely with the most-used engagement channels: email, mobile, social and SMS. Email, in particular, offers strong signals around content interests and behavior over time.
While only 23% of respondents said they collect survey responses or user-submitted forms explicitly, it’s likely that other data types — such as content preferences, demographics and even contact information — are also being gathered directly from users. In that context, the role of zero-party data is broader than it may appear. Whether it’s through quizzes, newsletter sign-ups, preference centers or gated content, user-submitted data offers a clear path to personalization that’s both transparent and privacy-compliant. Recognizing and activating this type of user-submitted data is key to delivering the kind of personalized, privacy-conscious experiences today’s audiences expect.
“You could always ask people one more question when they’ve already engaged with something — filled out a form, responded to a poll — and then you can reward them in that moment with a personalized onward journey or an invitation to an event they might find interesting,” said Philippa Law, head of community at The Telegraph.
Calling back to the top channels for engaging subscribers — email newsletters, mobile apps and social media — all three echo the types of data and tactics that have been most effective for subscriber engagement, highlighting that publishers have been fairly aligned in approaches to subscriber engagement.
“Due to the direct and focused nature of newsletter opt-ins at many media companies, typically tied to a specific brand or topic, it feels less essential to run onboarding questionnaires compared to other industries that need to understand their consumers quickly to personalize experiences,” Watson said. “I’m not particularly surprised that media companies aren’t using onboarding surveys widely. That said, it is still a valuable practice for them to leverage. Providing a survey during the onboarding experience takes advantage of subscribers when they are most actively engaged.
“Always-on preference data collection through newsletters could be a strong alternative,” Watson continued. “Regular prompts that gather interests or feedback can help publishers learn more about their audience over time and guide readers toward other relevant content or subscriptions. Offering a value exchange, like discounts or prize draws, can increase participation.”
Using self-reported data effectively builds trust with and delivers value to subscribers. When combined with observed behavior, it creates a transparent reason to introduce readers to new areas of interest beyond the content they typically consume. This helps break readers out of their content echo chambers and encourages broader engagement. It’s also worth noting that this richer audience dataset has huge potential in supporting better targeting for advertisers, higher value advertiser packages or higher CPMs for publishers, and, therefore, offers even more reason to gain a deeper audience profile.
Regarding the email tactics publishers choose for subscriber engagement, the survey results show respondents are investing in automation, not iteration. Lifecycle emails are the top performer, but the low use of A/B testing suggests many teams may be leaving optimization on the table.
When reviewing publishers’ subscriber goals, it’s not surprising that the survey revealed revenue, retention and conversions to be top of mind.
Publishers’ most important goal related to subscriptions, by a significant margin, is diversifying revenue beyond advertising (72%), followed by increasing subscriber retention and reducing churn (58%) and driving conversions from free readers (50%) to round out the top three.
As publishers look for more effective ways to increase retention, nurturing subscribers and audiences as a community is often a missed opportunity.
“It’s primarily a retention play and holding onto that growth once you’ve got it,” said Law. “Our community features encourage deeper engagement with The Telegraph and stronger relationships between subscribers and journalists. Many of our subscribers value being surrounded by and validated by like-minded people, and having that validation gives them a real sense of belonging and loyalty.”
Yet, Law noted, most publishers stop short of building true community. “Publishers who enable readers to talk to journalists and each other don’t tend to go further than opening their comment section,” she said. “There’s very little that I see out there which gets people into organized groups for mutual support.”
This lack of structured community makes it harder to build the kind of emotional connection that leads to long-term loyalty. Publishers that want to reduce churn should consider how even lightweight community features — like polls or Q&As — can foster deeper emotional ties, especially when they give subscribers a voice and a sense of belonging.
Survey respondents said they use various metrics to measure the effectiveness of their efforts to grow and engage their subscriber base. Most have seen growth in revenue, retention and acquisition as the most telling markers of success. The least-used metric is time spent or content consumed, cited by just 31% of respondents.
Nearly 70% of respondents said they have seen higher retention among existing subscribers from their audience engagement efforts. Half have seen enhanced advertising or sponsorship value, and 35% have experienced growth in paid subscriptions. Only 5% said they haven’t yet seen any clear benefits.
Engagement metrics are only as valuable as the outcomes they drive. Publishers who connect engagement to revenue, retention and acquisition, rather than relying on isolated signals like time spent, will build more sustainable subscriber strategies. This aligns with a lifecycle approach that prioritizes long-term value over short-term interaction.
An ongoing challenge for publishers is driving revenue while reducing subscriber churn and improving engagement. Today’s teams, however, also need to incorporate new monetization methods and figure out how to promote brands and products without losing the integrity of their brand.
While many revenue streams have been explored, Watson recommended that publishers stay as connected as possible to the organization’s core proposition. For customers, brand advocates or content consumers, what drives loyalty is the same: authenticity, relevance, quality and value. When brands create engagement and loyalty programs, it’s imperative to establish an emotional connection across the entire customer experience. This is how media organizations should think, extending that mindset to how they not only acquire, but also retain their audience.
“There’s a fine balance to strike between asking for money to access content versus offering free editorial supported by advertisers, partners or affiliates,” Watson said. “Regardless of the approach, being relevant, supporting content discovery through personalization and keeping the user experience front-and-center will all support revenue growth. There’s a symbiotic relationship at play here — the same strategies that reduce churn and improve engagement also help monetize the audience. As the survey found, more engaged readers lead to more ad dollars and more subscribers. That revenue, in turn, fuels better content and experiences.”
There’s a clear top four as far as the methods respondents use to turn subscriber engagement into revenue: increasing ad revenue by improving engagement (70%), driving affiliate revenue through engaged content (65%), offering exclusive content for subscribers (52%) and bundling subscriptions with other services or partner products (41%).
While half of the respondents said they have the goal of converting free readers, only one-quarter said they’re upselling those free users to paid subscriptions, leaving a large chunk of free readers unaccounted for.
Watson agreed it was unusual to see such a low percentage of publishers upselling free users, especially with revenue and conversions being such big concerns. However, the caveat is that many organizations may not be distinguishing between paid and free subscription models.
“A lot of media companies only require a sign-up to access content without charging a fee,” said Watson. “So, the infrastructure to convert free users into paying subscribers may not exist at all. Whether that changes will depend on the continued decline of advertiser revenue. If ad dollars continue shrinking, many publishers will have to take a closer look at paid models. We’ll likely see more dynamic testing and experimentation across the board, and outcomes will vary depending on the type of publisher, the content they produce and the value their audiences place on it.”
As publishers focus on improving engagement to increase revenue, some may look to further build out their community functions. While many news providers use comments under articles to bring people together for a shared purpose and speak directly with each other, which is essential to community success, there’s potential for much more.
“Although most readers like reading the comments, the majority don’t want to actually post anything, and it’s always the most engaged ones or the most angry ones who want to post something,” said Law at The Telegraph. “Having some alternative, light-touch way of participating to feel like you’re part of something is also really important for us. The big one is polls — casting a vote, seeing how others have voted — because we often find that the results of polls are at odds with what the commenters say.”
With the preferred avenues publishers are taking to turn engagement into revenue, some may be inadvertently contributing to the challenges of subscriber growth and retention. Namely, efforts to create exclusive content and improve engagement, and ultimately increase ad revenue, can quickly become costly, depending on the strategies publishers choose, while making ROI difficult.
Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents said high acquisition costs make growing or retaining their subscribers difficult. Around 50% struggle with proving ROI, competing business priorities and limited internal resources — whether those are staff, technological or time-related.
“The best way to reduce acquisition costs is to improve initial conversion and retention, both of which increase customer lifetime value,” said Watson. “When these metrics improve, ROI becomes easier to prove and the relative cost of acquisition decreases. From a retention standpoint, not only does that reduce the number of new subscribers you need to bring in to offset churn, but it also offers a more complete picture of your audience. That richer dataset can help you find similar audiences more effectively and lower acquisition costs over time.”
Proving ROI is often a difficult task, especially for more editorially-focused efforts often tied to subscriptions.
“It’s always a challenge to show return on investment for an editorial-focused community,” said Law. “We know that engagement is an excellent predictor of subscriber retention, and we count things like talking, commenting and voting in polls and attending events as engagement, but showing cause and effect is much harder, so if you’re not very specific about metrics, it could just be a circular argument.
“Also, if we have really good community moderation, we’re potentially going to save a lot of money on handling complaints and legal issues, so it could be a massive return on investment,” she continued. “However, it’s primarily a defense-driven approach and those savings are hard to quantify; we can’t measure the cost of damages that never happen. There’s real value in what we do, even if it’s not always captured in our daily metrics. We track the number of comments posted, but that’s a blunt measure — volume fluctuates depending on the news cycle. What’s more helpful is looking at impact through specific initiatives — like hosting live Q&As between subject experts and readers — where we can see increased dwell time and return visits. Those are the moments where we know it makes a difference.”
According to the survey, the top three barriers teams face when measuring subscriber engagement — nearly tied at more than 50% — are lack of unified data across platforms, limited access to first-party data and budget constraints, closely followed by inadequate or outdated analytics tools at 49%. Only 3% of survey respondents said they aren’t actively measuring engagement.
The biggest barriers to measuring subscriber engagement are structural: 55% of survey respondents cited both a lack of unified data across platforms and limited access to first-party data. These challenges make it more difficult to track engagement consistently and attribute value across channels.
Interestingly, those same issues didn’t rank as highly when publishers were asked about what’s blocking subscriber growth and retention. That disconnect could suggest that some teams still view measurement and growth strategies as separate efforts, rather than two sides of the same challenge.
“It’s not especially surprising, since those issues are closely related,” said Watson. “The frustration around high acquisition costs and proving ROI often stems directly from a lack of unified data and limited access to first-party data. Without strong, accessible and actionable first-party data, it becomes much harder to find and convert new audiences through ‘lookalike’ targeting or other acquisition tactics. And without unified data across platforms, it’s difficult to measure and report on the effectiveness of acquisition or monetization efforts. That’s why high-quality, connected data needs to be a top priority for media brands.”
To overcome these barriers, publishers first need to integrate their data across platforms, teams and processes. It may not be feasible to switch to a new platform entirely, so it’s best to take the time to assess what data the team already has — what’s valuable and accessible — and how they can make better use of it.
“It’s also critical to align departments around shared KPIs and goals,” Watson said. “That cross-functional collaboration helps streamline workflows and makes measurement more actionable as organizations focus on total revenue success. From a tactical perspective, identify where your most meaningful data lives — maybe it’s in your marketing automation platform or your content consumption analytics — and begin consolidating insights there. Focus on macro-level trends to guide new ideas, tests and learnings.”
Publishers face numerous barriers when it comes to monetizing their subscribers, the survey found, with only 20 percentage points between the most- and least-selected options: email fatigue/low engagement (55%) versus inadequate attribution or tracking (35%).
These can be difficult to overcome, especially as consumers are overwhelmed by communications asking them to pay when so much content is, and historically has been, free. However, this is why it’s crucial to focus on acquiring the right subscribers and prioritizing the users who are most likely to engage and convert for the long term.
“Double down on retention and loyalty,” said Watson. “A loyal audience is not only more likely to pay, but also provides a richer data set to fuel better targeting, personalization and monetization strategies. Personalization should be at the center of this. Use AI-driven recommendations based on content consumption, curated suggestions based on past behavior and self-reported preferences to surface the most relevant experiences, especially across multiple brands or verticals. This improves content value and opens the door to affiliate offers, sponsorships and partner campaigns that feel aligned, not intrusive.”
The survey also found that two challenges emerged at the top when it comes to publishers activating or using subscriber data: siloed data across teams or systems and data quality or hygiene issues (68% and 65%, respectively).
Siloed or a lack of unified data is an overall challenge for publishers. Whether that’s compounded by budgetary constraints, outdated tools or data quality issues, publishers often lack the support they need to properly measure their efforts and see what’s working and what isn’t.
“Consumers still haven’t fully embraced paying for digital content the way they once did for print,” Watson said. “When you couple that with a much larger portfolio of options for how and where advertisers can spend their dollars, that has eroded the value of the media space publishers have to offer. Then add to that the sheer volume of media companies available now versus how it was in the past, and you have a perfect storm of revenue shrinking for the production of the same, or arguably more, content than ever before.”
Watson noted that in this increasingly complex environment, publishers who take a test-and-learn approach focusing on customer lifetime value, explore new monetization models, and align their tech and teams will be better positioned to adapt and grow sustainably.
Given the top challenges publisher respondents face — siloed data and data quality issues — it may be worth investigating whether the platforms being used are serving them well or if more education is needed.
Most survey respondents (79%) said they use subscription management platforms to support their subscriber growth and engagement efforts.
Most publishers are investing in tools that support direct audience engagement across the subscriber lifecycle. Subscription management platforms lead the way, followed by email service providers, analytics tools and marketing automation software. In contrast, fewer are using paywall vendors, CDPs or DMPs — tools that are either more specialized or geared toward paid media and third-party data.
“DMPs are primarily focused on paid media activation, which isn’t typically a key driver of subscriptions,” said Watson. “CDPs can certainly add value by supporting a unified customer view and identity resolution, but they’re not always essential for driving subscriber growth. To engage and convert subscribers, publishers tend to rely more on tools like subscription platforms, email service providers and marketing automation software, which ties everything together.”
The vast majority of survey respondents (88%) said they are somewhat or very satisfied with their overall engagement strategy. Only 6% said they are somewhat or very dissatisfied.
These survey results indicate that most publishers don’t feel like the challenges they encounter are related to their engagement strategies — a sentiment echoed by Watson.
“Many believe their challenges aren’t due to poor engagement strategies,” Watson said. “Over the past few years, teams have worked hard to improve audience engagement, and those efforts are making an impact. Unfortunately, it’s still not enough to completely offset broader challenges, like churn or declining ad revenue. But with continued investment in new monetization models, smarter subscription renewal strategies and more effective advertising experiences using richer subscriber data, publishers can build on their engagement gains to drive stronger overall results.”
For The Telegraph, finding the right balance with engagement strategies has been key.
“When we’re working on more sensitive stories, there can be concerns about how the public interacts in the comments section, so we occasionally turn off the comments section and solicit stories, experiences or questions through a more private channel,” Law said. “We use Marigold Grow to get reader input privately. So, we’ll elicit responses through a form on our site and review them, and then we can export them to a spreadsheet, so it’s easy to get the data out. It expires after a certain amount of time, so we’re not hanging onto the data longer than we need it. Then, we use that information privately to create content, without showing all of that interaction before it’s published.”
Overall, survey respondents said they plan to use multiple strategies over the next year to grow their subscriber base, with new subscription or membership models at the top (79%), closely followed by personalization based on user behavior (69%).
Despite growth being a focus, less than 40% of publishers said they plan to invest in lifecycle marketing and retention campaigns.
“There is huge value in creating communications with personalized content generated from engagement and interaction data,” said Watson. “Triggering personalized, relevant and timely communication helps support a more engaged subscriber base, which, in turn, supports better monetization opportunities, whether that’s through additional subscriptions or advertiser-led opportunities. The blending of personalization with editorial curation will also support the discovery of new relevant content in other sectors or brands that the subscriber might not have previously explored, supporting growth in interest and revenue.”
Personalization remains a top focus, with 85% of respondents indicating that AI-driven personalization tools would help improve subscriber engagement and monetization. Three-quarters of survey respondents said they want to see real-time user data and segmentation tools, which will help with personalization efforts.
AI-driven personalization and real-time data segmentation top the list of innovations publishers said would help them improve engagement and monetization. This points to a clear appetite for more advanced and integrated tools. While some of these capabilities may exist within current marketing automation platforms, they are often underused or limited by data silos, integration issues or resource constraints.
“The key is not just having the tools, but being able to activate them fully,” said Watson. “That includes testing strategies, integrating supporting platforms like CDPs or data capture tools, and building a clear data strategy focused on long-term value, not just acquisition.”
When evaluating tools or vendors, publishers should prioritize ease of integration, cross-channel journey orchestration and personalization capabilities powered by machine learning. Equally important are access to support, effective onboarding and long-term strategic alignment.
“They should ask: How easily can this integrate with our existing stack?” Watson said. “How much of the personalization is truly automated versus manually configured? Can we test and iterate easily? What kind of customer support and onboarding do you provide? How does this tool help us measure success across the entire subscriber lifecycle — not just acquisition, but engagement, retention and monetization? A great vendor should be invested in your long-term success and have a clear plan for how their platform helps you get there.”
While most publishers are seeing momentum from their engagement efforts, the path to sustainable subscriber growth is still full of barriers. Nearly 90% of respondents said they increased their engagement budgets in the past year, yet many still struggle with data silos, high acquisition costs and fragmented measurement frameworks that block full-funnel success.
Despite the widespread use of email newsletters, mobile apps and social media, 68% of publishers said siloed data limits their ability to activate and monetize audiences. And while automated lifecycle emails are seen as the most effective tactic, three out of four publishers said they still face challenges proving ROI.
But the direction is clear: The future of subscriber growth depends on a unified strategy that connects data, teams, tools and messaging to deliver personalized, revenue-generating experiences across every channel. With 85% of publishers having predicted that AI-driven personalization will be essential, and 79% exploring new subscription or membership models, the opportunity is here for the taking.
As subscription models evolve and revenue pressures rise, one thing is certain: Publishers can’t afford to treat subscriber engagement as a series of siloed tactics. It must be a cross-functional engine built on trust, driven by insight and designed for retention.
About Marigold
Marigold is a leading cross-channel marketing platform, with solutions for email, SMS, loyalty and personalization, helping brands transform their relationships with customers.
As the trusted partner behind the world’s most recognized brands, including The Atlantic, Food52, Refinery29, SmartBrief, News UK and more — Marigold delivers relevant brand experiences that cut through the noise and drive real impact.
Marigold was born through a merger of industry-leading marketing platforms Cheetah Digital, Sailthru, Selligent, Liveclicker, Emma and Campaign Monitor, and powers billions of customer interactions annually.
Learn more at meetmarigold.com.
