Can a local deals membership sell paid subscriptions for a local news site?

Think about premium credit cards. You pay $700 a year, but you get $300 off Uber, a free hotel night, and something like $3,000 in value. Why can't we do that locally?

How would it work?

1. Price it low. Around $10 a month or $100 a year.
2. Load it with value. Go to each local business and ask for a $10 gift card for every member. Thirty businesses and a new member gets $300 in gift cards on day one.
3. Gate the deals. The newsletter promotes them. Only paying members can claim them.
4. Pitch it to businesses as a foot in the door. A $10 gift card is a cheap way to get a new local customer through the door.

"Make the deal so obvious that users of course should pay because they're getting way more value than it costs."

Didn't Groupon prove this fails?

Groupon's problem was who it attracted. Its audience was deal hunters, people with no loyalty to anything but the discount. That's adverse selection.

A local media brand's audience is different. They're there for local information, and deals are a subset of that. They already trust you and already care about the businesses in town.

Do readers even want deals?

Yes. In my own welcome survey, 98% to 99% of people select at least one deal or activity they're interested in. I use that number as proof when I talk to advertisers.

Are other publishers doing paid perks?

Similar ideas, yes. A guest on one of my calls mentioned a local publisher with a $25-a-year plan that gives members access to professional photos of high school games. Same principle: a specific local benefit that's obviously worth the price.

Where do you sell it?

On the offer wall, right after the welcome survey. Even if most people don't buy, and most won't, you've put the offer in front of a fully attentive new subscriber. They now know what you have and what it costs, so later pitches land with people who already know it exists.

What's the honest status?

This is my pet model, not a proven one. I didn't have paid-plan data of my own when I pitched it, and I'd learn from the first publishers who try it.

For pricing a membership more generally, see how to price a local membership.