An all-in-one solution: How Indiegraf helps independent news publishers save time and money

Indiegraf is a Bronze Sponsor of the 2024 Independent News Sustainability Summit. LION is profiling all Summit sponsors with a Q&A to help members learn more about their work. Learn more about how to become a Summit sponsor.

Hayley Milloy, LION Publishers: What is your 30-second elevator pitch (or 75-word pitch) to a LION member on what Indiegraf does?

Sam Hoisington, Indiegraf: Indiegraf offers technology and services to help independent publishers make more money and grow their audiences. Our tech bundle includes a website, ads manager, and newsletter platform, so you only have to work with one technology solution. Our audience and advertising support services are super flexible, from one-time project support to ongoing coaching.

Hayley: And what do you do at Indiegraf? Why did you join the team?

Sam: I have a pretty unique role here! I’m the publisher partnerships manager, working with prospective partners to figure out how Indiegraf can help them accomplish their goals. I’m also an Indiegraf network publisher myself through my work with The Bentonville Bulletin. As the company’s entrepreneur-in-residence, I blog about my experience with founding a news startup in our newsletter.

Hayley: What’s a recent success story you’d like to share about how Indiegraf has improved a LION member business’s sustainability?

Sam: One success story that’s personally very meaningful to me is our successful NewsMatch collaboration with The Buckeye Flame. With the help of Indiegraf senior audience strategist Emily Fearon, we helped them raise over $41,000, including matching funds. The Buckeye Flame is using the funding to cover a Report for America corps member, who will be the only known “Rural LGBTQ+” beat reporter in the country.

Hayley: Do you have any actionable, practical, low-lift tips you want to share with LION members?

Sam: Yes! I’m always looking for easy wins.

1. Recirculate your “old” content. If you have a daily or weekly newsletter, include the links from the last edition at the bottom of the new one. We did this at Madison Minutes, a daily newsletter I started in 2021 and sold last year, and the links for “yesterday’s news” were very popular.
2. Send more fundraising/subscription offer emails. If you do, you will almost certainly make more money. If you’re nervous about it, sign up for newsletters from a legacy newspaper or an established nonprofit outside journalism. In both cases, you’ll see they almost always send way more fundraising emails than indie publishers typically do.

Hayley: What’s one question you think the independent news industry — our members, vendors like you, support organizations like us, and funders — should be asking about the future of doing this work? 

Sam: Right now, news founders selflessly assume all of the responsibility and risk when launching a news startup. They often invest their own money, even when they personally don’t have many resources. In this way, local news founders are more philanthropic than Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates combined.

How do we reduce that risk? This is a societal problem — we should be supporting news founders way more comprehensively.

Hayley: Are there any upcoming or future initiatives that Indiegraf is working on that you want to preview for us?

Sam: We’re in the early stages of expanding our growth services in the form of Indie Experts, project-based support across all aspects of running an indie news business. As of now, there are limited audience and ads/sponsorship growth services available on a one-time and recurring basis.

Hayley: What’s the best way for LION members and others to try or learn more about Indiegraf’s services?

Sam: If anybody wants to talk about Indiegraf — or news entrepreneurship in general — they can book a call with me here. Our website also has details on all of our products and services.

---

Indiegraf is a technology and growth services company that provides an all-in-one package for news publishers who need a website, email, and ad platform, as well as access to expert support under one umbrella. Learn more at https://indiegraf.com/.