Welcome to the FIMS Lab newsletter

In this edition:

• FIMS Lab highlight: The Record-Journal changes hands

• One Marketing Thing: Four ways to address churn

• One AI Thing: Apply for this $200,00 AI grant

Total read time: ☕️ Less than 2 minutes

FIMS Lab highlights:

After five generations as a family-owned newspaper, the Record-Journal is passing the torch to Hearst.

The newspaper was born at the conclusion of the civil war, when the country was entering the Reconstruction period and redefining civil rights.

“It is a decision made with a heavy heart but also with hope and enthusiasm for a promising future for journalism in our community and beyond,” wrote Eliot C. White, Record-Journal President.

Liz White, our FIMS colleague and Record-Journal publisher said, “It's been such an honor for me to work alongside so many incredible people in our industry to do this important work for our local communities and our democracy nationwide. The innovation and collaboration with all of our industry colleagues helped us transform and evolve over the years to stay family-owned longer.”

We’ve invited Liz to say a few words during our next group call and if her schedule allows, let’s raise a glass together. She promises to continue cheering you on!

One marketing thing: Addressing churn

Media analyst Thomas Baekdal says there are four reasons people churn.

• Can’t afford - (easiest to address, can be saved)

• Bored

• Don’t see the value

• Pissed off - (most difficult, probably not worth saving)

And making the unsubscribe process difficult (call us!) can push a bored or can’t afford person into pissed off territory.

Here are his suggestions for reducing churn by category:

Can’t afford: This usually means they like your product but can’t afford the tier they subscribe to. Offer a lower-priced option to provide a better fit, taking into account what they engage with most and find most value in.

Bored: What are their engagement metrics telling you? Do you have something coming up they may re-engage with, like a new restaurant review series, special event coverage or investigative deep-dive.

Don’t see the value: These people may have read hundreds of articles and won’t respond to more content. He describes this issue as “random news for random people.” In this case he suggests matching their needs with your non-standard offers such as discounts or guides they may find useful or practical.

Pissed off: Baekdal says there is very little to do with people in this category. For mistakes, listen and correct them. For public backlash, fix the issue if possible and make it known.

He says something each of you already knows: preventing churn begins with a reader’s first visit to your site and one-third of all active churn begins in the first 24-hours (people subscribe for a sale, to read a specific piece, etc.).

One Two AI things: $200k local news AI grants

AI company Legitimate, is offering a series of grants to j-schools, local newsrooms and freelancers for AI initiatives. I have not researched them but they market themselves as the AI platform for journalists. Scroll to the bottom of the link above for the application and info. Deadline is December 31. If I can arrange an info session I’ll let you know ASAP!

And, recent research suggests readers trust news less when it is labeled as AI-generated.

Upcoming:   

• Our final 2023 FIMS Group call: Will be held Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 4pm ET. Julia will showcase Branded Content success stories you can use!

• It’s not too late to join the Branded Content digital sales bootcamp, running TODAY and tomorrow at noon EST. (December 5 & 6)

• The digital subscriptions sprint will continue Thursday, Dec. 7th with your holiday promotion wins

Help shape phase two of the FIMS Lab 💕