Leveling up: How News Revenue Hub helps publishers drive audience growth and revenue

News Revenue Hub was a Community 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.

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

Evan Mackinder, News Revenue Hub: News Revenue Hub is a community-driven organization focused on driving audience growth and reader revenue for 100+ newsrooms. The Hub has helped raise $106 million for our newsrooms by supercharging membership programs, driving audience growth strategies, testing R&D, and developing a sophisticated tech stack that can grow with an organization. (Try RevEngine — it’s free!) Any kind of newsroom can join the Hub: We work with nonprofit and for-profit organizations of all shapes and sizes — from a two-person organization to The Guardian.

Hayley: And what do you do at News Revenue Hub? Why did you join the team?

Evan: I’m vice president of business development at the Hub. Basically, I talk to newsrooms all day long and help them join the Hub. I have a news background myself, and I joined the Hub five years ago to bring my own skill set to help newsrooms grow audience and revenue. Since then, I’ve worked with dozens and dozens of newsrooms to help them strategize on growth. We’ve also built an incredible support team — industry leaders in product, membership, audience, engineering, and customer support; and hailing from newsrooms like The Washington Post, Slate, Vox, Washington City Paper, etc. We’re really proud of our balanced support, while also constantly innovating new solutions that move the needle. 

Nearly everyone at the Hub has worked in a newsroom at some point, so we know just how challenging this industry can be for independent publishers. That’s why we are constantly innovating our own services: to help these newsrooms meet those challenges, level up, and continue to grow.

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

Evan: There are so many LION members in the Hub that we’ve helped grow audience and membership revenue; it’s hard to pick just one. We’re really proud of the work we’ve done helping organizations like Cityside and Deep South Today expand their footprints as they launch new newsrooms. This year, we’ve focused a lot on building a new Growth Plan for newsrooms in the Hub. It’s available for any newsroom in a growth phase, but was specifically tailored for newsrooms going through the LION Sustainability Audits and the INN Fundamentals Lab. Newsrooms like New Mexico In Depth work with our team on upgrading every level of their funnel, from audience and email list growth to donor conversion. I’m particularly excited about the results we’ve been seeing with newsrooms converting new donors through the program. The results are really promising, so far.

Hayley: What’s one actionable, practical, low-lift tip you want to share with LION members?

Evan: Find a way to send one extra campaign email or make an additional ask in each of your campaigns this year. Be creative! Readers are far more tolerant of fundraising pushes than publishers often give them credit for. We’ve always found that there is an art to asking for more. At the Hub, we have a library of hundreds (maybe thousands) of campaign emails, showcasing the breadth of creativity and strategy we take to help newsrooms grow revenue.

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?

Evan: What’s your plan to grow and diversify your audience in the next 3-5 years? The news environment is only getting more tumultuous with changes to Google search and AI on the horizon. How do you plan to adapt? We’ve been having discussions with our clients about the future of audience growth lately, and we’re excited about the possibilities of how we can continue to help our newsrooms grow, even with these headwinds coming straight for the industry.

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

Evan: We’re getting ready to roll out new services to help our members with their advertising revenue. We’ve been conducting an Ads Lab with several Hub publishers since this spring, working with publications of varying expertise and committed resources, and have developed exciting strategies for local, regional, and national needs.

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

Evan: Call me! Er, Zoom-call me! My Calendly is always open for LION members to learn more about the Hub, and for us to learn more about you.