How Exclusive Content Programs Drive Subscriptions

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One of the keys to owned media is unlocking the “owned” part.

The value of building a first-party database of your audience is becoming widely appreciated, but “how” we actually pull that off in a scalable (and modern) way is unclear.

Since we launched AudiencePlus just over two months ago, we have been working hard to crack the code.?

My original assumption was that if we posted fresh content on social media every week and linked back to the post on property, the subs would roll in like clockwork. While cadence of release matters, especially when distributed on rented land, it turns out that cadence does not deliver a critical mass of subscriptions.

Our early data shows that if we don’t do anything other than post two new blog posts and one new video episode per week, we can expect a 10% WoW growth in subscribers.

However, there is one powerful program that seems to be driving more conversions than any other – exclusives.

Exclusive content isn’t anything terribly new in B2B, but an important reframing that helps us refine its purpose in our owned media funnel.?

We traditionally “gate” access to experiences (live events, webinars, etc.) as well as premium content offerings (ebooks, whitepapers, etc.). But throwing gates in front of everything isn’t the answer either. We have admittedly taken it too far over the years in the spirit of performance marketing and have sacrificed the audience experience.

But done the right way, exclusives become a powerful rite of membership within your audience that compels those who are watching to subscribe.?

Here are three ideas to consider for your own approach:

1. Facilitate members-only experiences with industry luminaries.??The nature of the word exclusive implies that the content offer can’t be something they can experience on a regular basis. Use relationships with customers and prospects to facilitate an all-access conversation with a tier-one luminary who is a “draw”.?

Become the Soho House for your niche. Bonus points if your guest agrees to cross-promote the experience to their own audience, creating more leverage for your brand.?

As an example, our CMO Office Hours program drove 2-4x weekly subscriber volume than our “normal” weeks of promotion.

2.? Create content JUST for your subscribers.??The other way to define exclusive is that you literally can’t find the content anywhere else. We’ve been so hard-wired to think about content through the performance marketing lens – meaning that if it isn’t discoverable on search or in the content networks, then the effort was worthless.?

But consider creating content only for your subscriber audience, and “teasing” those programs out in rented channels to create FOMO. The market has started to accept this practice with newsletters just like this one, so consider taking it to the next level.?

As an example, AudiencePlus will be announcing a new podcast in the weeks to come that won’t be available on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, but exclusive to subscribed members of our audience.?

3.? Ask your audience what they want to hear from you.??There’s no better place to source ideas for exclusive programs than directly from your audience. Solicit ideas in your newsletter (comment below for AudiencePlus ideas!) and ask your followers on rented channels like social media.?

More importantly – take them up on their ideas and close the loop! By doing so, you are signaling that you are not just a corporation hiding behind a logo, but a group of human beings actively listening to the evolving needs of your audience.?

I have been amazed by just how powerful even renaming these programs has been – for example from “webinar” to “experience.” It sends a signal to your audience, but also, to your team internally on introducing a new chapter of content marketing within your business from performance to editorial.

Hopefully these ideas are helpful to you. I would love to learn about how you have leveraged exclusive content programs within your marketing stack.?

Let me know directly by commenting below!

Links That May Be Helpful

Like this topic?? Here is a list of resources that you might want to check out:

• Check out my LinkedIn post announcing the program and acknowledging the referral from the community. This post drove 4.5k impressions.
• Read this post about the “de-platforming” trend that answers the “why” behind building your audience on owned rather than rented land.

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• Invites to exclusive experiences such as CMO Office Hours.
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• First access to new content drops (there might be swag involved too!)?