As members of the News Media Association, 12 local and regional publishers from around the UK have benefitted from sharing best practices since 2022. But with limited resources, these publishers were struggling to capitalise on digital channels. So, Google News Initiative (GNI) partnered with FT Strategies to develop the Digital Revenue Launchpad, followed a year later by the Digital Reader Revenue Programme, delivered by Quested Consulting.

“Our problem was that print sales were declining,” explains Martin Wright, Group Online Publisher for National World, one of the association’s members. “And, whilst we were attracting a substantial audience online, we weren't extracting the necessary revenue from that audience to make a sustainable business model in the future.”

The goal was to push publishers toward long-term business sustainability by helping them adapt their products and business models to address changing consumption patterns and take advantage of advances in technology. Additionally, the Digital Reader Revenue Programme embedded the digital publishing and editorial knowledge publishers needed to continue to attract and retain subscribers.

The 14-month-long Digital Reader Revenue Programme familiarised publishers with Google tools, including Cloud, Pinpoint, and News Consumer Insights (NCI) to analyse audience needs. These tools became particularly useful to the National World titles, The Express & Star and Shropshire Star, according to Wright, as they reviewed NCI findings and instituted a registration wall for premium content, followed by metered paywalls in both markets.

The programme also provided publishers with expertise, coaching, and mentorship. “Quested Consulting gave us the inspiration that we needed to understand what was possible,” says Steve Barron, Managing Director of Highland News & Media, another programme participant. “They challenged our existing thought processes and brought discipline to how we rolled out our digital subscription model.”

Following the programme, National World and Highland News and Media made changes to their newsroom operations and business models to bolster and diversify digital revenue streams. Barron details how Highland News and Media has instituted a paywall, expanded their newsroom hours to keep up with a faster news cycle, and linked every KPI in the business to digital transformation.

A similar shift in priorities has taken place on the Express & Star and Shropshire Star titles at National World with the new paywall and expanded coverage of court proceedings, which they discovered was driving conversions. “Previously, the bulk of senior resources would’ve been pointed at print, but that’s now completely flipped on its head,” Wright says. “Every day is about digital. The Express & Star’s editorial team looks at newsletter, registered users, engagement time — all of those digital touchpoints that just weren’t part of the daily conversation before.”

Now digital subscriptions are up 50 percent year over year (YoY) at Highland News and Media, whilst video views have made a YoY leap of 300 percent. The Express & Star and Shropshire Star titles at National World are also seeing steady growth, particularly in registered users, newsletter subscribers, and engagement, whilst digital subscriptions have increased by 300 percent since the launch of the Digital Reader Revenue Programme.

“It means that we're on the right path, even though we still have a lot to learn,” Wright says. “But, if we're going to be able to continue to deliver high-quality local and regional journalism, then we have to make this model work.”