How should a local media brand price a paid membership?

The evidence from operators on my show is pretty consistent: a general paid subscription under roughly 10,000 subscribers doesn't work. A membership sold against events and access can.

What do the numbers look like?

• A general paid tier: one guest with a 7,000-subscriber list added only one or two paid subscribers per send.
• An events-and-access membership: another guest reached about 70 members at $59 a month, moving to $79, inside a business past $100,000 in total revenue from events plus sponsorships.

What price should you start at?

For a news-style paid tier, around $10 a month is the typical ask. For a membership with real perks, the guest above shows higher prices can work.

The ask lands best right after signup, on the offer wall, with a strong discount:

• "It's $12.99 a month, and since you just subscribed we'll do the first three months for $5."
• "Our paid version, six months for a dollar, since you just subscribed."

When should you raise the price?

Once it's working. Keep the people who came in early at their rate, then raise it for new members, to $50 and then more if the value is there.

What should members actually get?

• Events and access. The membership that worked was built on them.
• Local perks. My pet idea is a deals membership that gives more in local gift cards than it costs. See the local deals membership.
• Something specific to your town. One local publisher charges $25 a year for access to professional photos of high school games.

What should you not count on?

Merch and consumer affiliate links. Treat them as brand spend, not revenue. Classifieds take time before people pay, so they're a habit you build, not money you count on early.

If you're running ads to find members, start with the free newsletter. That's in whether to run Meta ads for a paid subscription.