News publishers around the world are rethinking how to structure introductory offers to grow their digital subscription businesses. With growth slowing in the first half of 2025, the pressure is on to find offer strategies that balance acquisition, revenue, and long-term retention.

One clear trend has emerged in recent years: News companies are increasingly experimenting with longer-term introductory offers. What began as a simple “$1 for the first month” approach has evolved into deeper discounts that extend up to a year — and in some cases, even longer.

Longer introductory offers are not a new phenomenon. Publishers like NRC Media have been convinced of the benefits of long-term offers for close to a decade, with significant term discounting offered for selecting a subscription of one year or more — even up to three years.

However, in North America, most publishers have stuck with shorter-term offers until the last few years, with The Boston Globe among the first to offer US$1 for the first six months.

To help publishers evaluate how different introductory strategies are performing today — and where they might adjust — we analysed subscriber, revenue, and retention data across 86 news brands in the second quarter of 2025.

While all brands in the study used discounts of 90% or more at some point over the past year, they differed in how long those discounts remained in place and the step-up pricing applied at renewal.

Across this wide range of offer strategies, four key levers emerged that publishers should evaluate in 2025:

  • Promo mix: The share of active subscribers currently on an introductory offer.
  • Offer depth: How low the introductory price is compared to the standard rate.
  • Offer term: The length of time the introductory pricing remains in effect.
  • Step-up price: The renewal rate subscribers are moved to after the introductory period ends.

 

What we found

This analysis surfaced a few key findings.

  • The brands with the most success in growing standard-rate subscription volumes typically have:
    • A high promo mix (a larger share of the subscriber base on an introductory offer).
    • Longer introductory terms (more than six months).
    • Very low entry prices (often US$1 for the first bill).
  • Brands with shorter terms and smaller discounts were less likely to grow subscription volumes year-over-year (YOY), but many still managed to grow revenue through renewal pricing.
  • Publishers need to be wary of misleading revenue signals. Year-over-year growth under a one-year offer can be distorted, depending on when the offer ramps up. Revenue is deferred for 12 months and then jumps when renewal rates kick in. As a result, YOY revenue growth alone doesn’t accurately reflect relative offer performance.

 

So, what’s driving these results?

A deeper look into subscriber mix, retention, and revenue performance reveals the trade-offs publishers must weigh, and where long-term value is truly won.

 

Brands with more subscribers on introductory offers saw greater volume gains

Longer introductory periods lead to a higher proportion of the subscriber base on heavily discounted prices as shown in the chart above.

Brands that successfully grew standard‑rate subscriptions leaned into deeper, longer introductory pricing and ended up with roughly half their actives on promotional rates. Most of those that offered lower discounts (and shorter terms) lost non-promotional volume.

 

There are counterpoints to this trend (with publishers offering short-term discounts and successfully growing standard-rate subscriptions), but as evidenced in the scatter plot above, many publishers with relatively few subscribers on promotional rates did not grow year-over-year subscription volumes.

Retention gaps narrow quickly, making onboarding and step-ups more impactful

To see which introductory offer length sustains long-term volumes, we measured week 80 survival for each cohort.

While the 52-week cohort clearly leads at week 80 (~33% remain active), retention gaps between short- and mid-length promos narrow quickly once subscribers clear the first one or two post-promotion renewals.

These findings indicate the incremental retention benefit of extending an introductory term can fade over time, making step-up price and onboarding tactics more decisive drivers of long-run lifetime value (LTV) than term length alone.

 

The revenue trade-off: Short offers deliver early revenue, but long offers win on volume

A/B tests show that longer introductory terms lift willingness to pay, but decisive first-renewal step-ups capture most lifetime value.

Short introductory offers move subscribers to full rate the fastest, but in this study, they led to only modest revenue growth (+4% year over year) and did not drive volume growth. Mid-length offers (13 to 26 weeks) also produced some revenue gains, but similarly failed to grow volume.

The 52-week offer is the outlier. It attracted the largest acquisition cohorts and delivered the strongest top-line lift once the step-up hit. In other words, a long-term offer paired with a sharp increase can outperform a short introductory offer with a sharp increase — if the volumes are there.

 

That said, YOY revenue growth can be misleading, as revenues are significantly delayed under the US$1 for one year (and similar) offers.

When we compare expected revenue per new start over 36 months, the four-week introductory currently tops the table. (Note: The brands/offers included with the LTV metrics are over a longer time period and with a subset of the overall promo analysis described above.)

 

Bottom line: Choose the right introductory strategy for your growth objectives

Introductory pricing is not a set-and-forget tactic. Subscription penetration, paywall and registration wall strategies, seasonal changes, and step-up rates all play a significant role when evaluating your offers.

For a volume-centric approach (maximising paid reach), a deep, long intro (26 to 52 weeks at a 90%+ discount) remains the most effective acquisition lever. Expect lower year-one revenue and plan for a longer path to growth.

If the priority is near-term LTV or immediate revenue, a shorter intro (four to 13 weeks) paired with a full-rate or premium-rate step-up delivers higher, per-subscriber expected LTV within the first three years.

However, if a 52-week offer lifts conversions enough (for example, doubles the start volume), its larger cohort and stronger retention can surpass the revenue of a short-term offer within a three- to five-year window. Test both conversion lift and LTV in tandem to determine the best approach.

Regardless of term, our step-up experiments show that sending promo cohorts to a higher roll-to price consistently out-earns discounted roll-to paths, as retention converges after the first renewal.

Publishers should choose introductory lengths aligned to their volume vs. revenue goals — and invest in onboarding and habit-building during the promotional window. These efforts are far more effective at reducing churn than offering long-term discounts alone.