• Insights
    • Exclusive Insights
    • Podcast
    • Articles
      • Advertising & Sales
      • Audience Development
      • Content Strategy
      • Digital Analytics
      • Digital Publishing
      • Monetization
      • SEO
      • Social Media
      • Technology
    • Top Tools & Reviews
    • Features
  • Education
    • Publisher SEO Course
  • Solutions
    • SEO for Publishers
    • Content Strategy Services
    • Brand Partner Solutions
  • Community
    • Slack Channel
    • Office Hours
    • Newsletter
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Editorial Policy
sodp logo
Search
Close this search box.
    SODP logo
    Login
    • Insights
      • Exclusive Insights
      • Podcast
      • Articles
        • Advertising & Sales
        • Audience Development
        • Content Strategy
        • Digital Analytics
        • Digital Publishing
        • Monetization
        • SEO
        • Social Media
        • Technology
      • Top Tools & Reviews
      • Features
        • Podcasts
        • Articles
        • Top Tools & Reviews
        • Features
        • Opinion
        • Advertising & Sales
        • Audience Development
        • Content Strategy
        • Digital Analytics
        • Digital Publishing
        • Insights
        • Monetization
        • SEO
        • Social Media
        • Technology
    • Education
      • Publisher SEO Course
        • Publisher SEO Course New
    • Solutions
      • SEO for Publishers
      • Content Strategy Services
      • Brand Partner Solutions
        • SEO For Publishers
        • Content Strategy Support
        • Brand Partner Solutions
    • Community
      • Slack Channel
      • Office Hours
      • Newsletter
        • Slack Channel
        • Office Hours
        • Newsletter
    • About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Editorial Policy
        • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Editorial Policy
    placeholder
    State of Digital Publishing Logo
    Home ▸ Podcasts ▸ The State of Membership in News With Ariel Zirulnick – S2 EP 27

    The State of Membership in News With Ariel Zirulnick – S2 EP 27

    • Vahe Arabian Vahe Arabian
    January 17, 2020
    Fact checked by Vahe Arabian
    Vahe Arabian

    Founder and Editor in Chief of State of Digital Publishing. My vision is to provide digital publishing and media professionals a platform to collaborate and promote their efforts, my passion is to uncover talent and… Read more

    Edited by Vahe Arabian
    Vahe Arabian

    Founder and Editor in Chief of State of Digital Publishing. My vision is to provide digital publishing and media professionals a platform to collaborate and promote their efforts, my passion is to uncover talent and…Read more

    Bookmark (0)

    Please login to bookmark

    Ariel Zirulnick Coverart new
    Vahe Arabian

    Founder and Editor in Chief of State of Digital Publishing. My vision is to provide digital publishing and media professionals a platform to collaborate and...Read more

    Ariel Zirulnick, Fund Director at Membership Puzzle Project talks to your host Vahe Arabian of State of Digital Publishing about the state of membership in News. The Membership Puzzle Project is finding solutions for the future of high-quality journalism, looking at how to find a sustainable news organization that restores trust and value in journalism and incentivizes readers to become paying members of an online community.  

     

    Episode Highlights:

      • What is Ariel’s background and of the Membership Puzzle Project?  
      • MPP does a lot of work to help improve audience engagement and improve trust.   
      • How has Ariel seen monetization with journalism evolve? 
      • MPP is not intentionally an accelerator and they are at their core a research project.  
      • Why did Ariel Zirulnick decide to join Membership Puzzle Project?
      • What new changes has Ariel seen at MPP as new publishers have come on board? 
      • How does Membership Puzzle Project see the differences between subscription and membership? 
      • What parts of the world has Ariel seen the most experimentation?
      • The Daily Maverick in South Africa, after a year and a half, is around 10,000 members, showing the power of membership.
      • Why is having a particular focus important to MPP?
      • What should organizations consider when setting up a membership offering? 
      • Is there a danger that news organizations may become more online platform-centric?
      • Newsletters are popular now because of the overwhelm that people feel from the endless news cycle.
      • What is the skill-set needed to analyze audience behavior? 
      • News organizations need to become more excited about their audience and not just the news subjects they cover.  
      • Remain in steady communication with your audience to stay up-to-date on their needs.  
      • Comments are starting to make a comeback for engagement. 
      • How can events play a role in addressing membership? 
      • What membership predictions does Ariel have for 2020? 

     

    3 Key Points:

    1.   Subscription models are seen by MPP as transaction with the audience paying publishers for content. 
    2.   Membership models are viewed by MPP as a ‘social contract’ with the audience giving not just money, but also time, expertise, connections, and ideas to a cause they are passionate about. 
    3. MPP has received more than 230 applications. Less than 100 of them came from the United States. The second largest amount came from Latin America, which has been ‘far more experimental in the reader-revenue space than the United States.’  

     

    Tweetable Quotes:

    • “Since MPP’s inception, we’ve been particularly fascinated with membership as not just a revenue model, but as an editorial orientation that sees readers as much more than an ATM.” – Ariel Zirulnick
    • “We’re not necessarily looking for something that can appear on a piece of paper, cut and dry as a success story, but something that has interrogated a question the industry can learn from.” – Ariel Zirulnick
    • “You can’t ask audience members to contribute to your organization financially until you have started to earn their trust.” – Ariel Zirulnick

     

     Referenced links:

      • The Membership Puzzle Project
      • Ariel Zirulnick

     

    Publisher SEO - Related Modules

    Ads, Popups and Best Practices

    Google Trends

    CTR analysis and optimizations

    View Publisher SEO Course
    Editor's Picks

    Google News SEO Guide

    Mobile Video Consumption Tech Trends

    What Is A Content Creator?

    Related Posts

    • Gaven Morris Coverart
      The State of Investigative News With Gaven Morris - S2 EP 14
    • How to Optimize for Google News
      How to Optimize for Google News
    • gnews
      How to Thrive in Google News
    • Mogul News
      Introducing Mogul News

    Subscribe to receive a recap of our top stories in digital media.

    SODP logo

    State of Digital Publishing is creating a new publication and community for digital media and publishing professionals, in new media and technology.

    • About us
    • Contact us
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy policy
    • Sitemap
    • Newsletter
    • Publisher SEO course
    • Become a member
    • Slack community
    • SEO for publishers
    • Content strategy support
    • Partner with us
    • Podcast
    • SEO Office Hours
    • Editorial Office Hours
    Facebook Twitter Slack Linkedin

    STATE OF DIGITAL PUBLISHING – COPYRIGHT 2023

    PUBLISHERS, THESE 20+ TOOLS WILL SUPERCHARGE YOUR GROWTH

    Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the ultimate list of smart technologies and free resources to boost your publisher SEO and content efforts.

    Join 3,000+ publishers around the world and get exclusive tips and resources delivered to your inbox.

    Being a part of the SODP Community has made a real impact on my problem-solving at work. From bouncing off paywalls solution ideas to thinking about an SEO strategy for my paywall, it’s the most value-adding professional community I’m a part of.

    Yvette Dimiri, Head of Growth, Stears

    PUBLISHERS, THESE 20+ TOOLS WILL SUPERCHARGE YOUR GROWTH

    Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the ultimate list of smart technologies and free resources to boost your publisher SEO and content efforts.

    Join 3,000+ publishers around the world and get exclusive tips and resources delivered to your inbox.

    Being a part of the SODP Community has made a real impact on my problem-solving at work. From bouncing off paywalls solution ideas to thinking about an SEO strategy for my paywall, it’s the most value-adding professional community I’m a part of.

    Yvette Dimiri, Head of Growth, Stears