A couple newspapers have. Noozhawk and Cap Times prove that for-profits can have strong membership programs. (Thanks to Bo Sacks for the link.)
Most of Noozhawk’s revenue comes from advertising and sponsorships, but reader contributions have been a growing source of income since soon after the site’s launch. In 2008, after a handful of readers had asked about giving money to support Noozhawk, Macfadyen and his team created a membership program, which they called “Hawks Club.”
After their initial success they started working with News Revenue Hub, which is a nonprofit consulting group that helps news outlets generate and increase revenue from readers (but maybe only for left-of-center pubs?).
I’m a big fan of revenue innovation, so publishers should watch efforts like this to see if they should give it a try.
But … a word of caution. It’s worth noting that these readers might be supporting these news sites because they agree with their agenda. The same strategy might not work for a publication that does not promote an ideological agenda.
