The shift from ad-driven clicks to subscription-based loyalty has transformed the publisher-reader dynamic—turning fleeting interactions into meaningful connections. But just like dating, building trust and commitment takes patience, communication, and respect. Discover how publishers can move beyond paywall barriers and foster relationships that last, using lessons from real-world romance to redefine engagement and revenue.
For publishers, loyal readers willing to pay for content are gold. But while Paywalls are critical for publishers, for readers, they often feel like barriers, not bridges. That tension changed the entire dynamic between publishers and audiences, and the way they connect.
Looking at the ad driven era before publishers discovered direct user revenues: you could easily compare their relationship with audiences to one-night stands. Users were incentivized to click, read, and move on. Whereas in today’s subscription era it’s much more about building loyal relationships, trust, and long-term commitment.
After years of analyzing how this dynamic works, we’ve found that the user-publisher relationship funnel is quite similar to the stages of dating. Which is why we are here to share with you some practical relationship advice that will take your user-publisher relationship game to the next level:
1st Advice: Be Patient & Persistent
Loyal and long relationships aren’t built overnight. It takes time, patience and consistency to build a strong level of commitment and earn trust.
Let’s see how real-world dating works. You meet someone, chat a bit, maybe grab a drink. If there’s a spark, you go on a few more dates. By the fourth one, you’re either ghosting, in a full-blown situationship, or finally deciding if this is going somewhere. The same thing happens in the subscription world. The user starts their journey by clicking on an article, then maybe read a few more, come back, subscribe to a newsletter, and at some point decide if they want to subscribe or not.
But here’s the thing, some publishers get so excited about subscriptions that they try to get first-time visitors to subscribe right away. That’s like meeting someone in a bar and immediately asking them “will you marry me?” It’s not impossible… just wildly optimistic.
2nd Advice: Communicate!
To make any relationship work communication is a key. It takes a lot of talking to build trust, engagement that leads to commitment.
Think about the talking stage when you first start dating someone. You text constantly or spend hours talking on the phone and gradually learn more about each other. That’s what builds trust between people.
Here’s the problem: publishers say they want a relationship with readers, but rarely bother to talk to them. Legacy newsrooms often still sit in their ivory towers: no replies, no questions, just one-sided monologues.
Meanwhile, influencers are masters at building loyal communities. Why? Because they don’t just talk to their followers – they have actual conversations with them. That’s why we started Opinary: to help publishers listen. We make it easy for readers to share their views inside articles, and just as easy for publishers to learn from them. The effect: When people are invited to weigh in, they do. And they come back, because engagement builds loyalty. Every relationship starts with a conversation.
3rd Advice: Relationships are always voluntary
It’s never easy to say goodbye, but sometimes it is necessary to let go.
Breakups happen all the time, for all sort of reasons. Maybe the spark faded, or some expectations weren’t met and that’s okay. The same is true for publishers and readers, sometimes people just want to unsubscribe. But here’s the issue, some publishers make it harder for people to leave. And when you do that, you aren’t only using a subscriber but also losing the trust you worked hard on building.
4th Advice: Explore Other Options
Subscriptions are great, it is a powerful revenue stream, with a lot of untapped potential. But not every user is going to become a subscriber, and that’s the reality.
A healthy business requires diversity in revenue streams. But forming a loyal relationship with your users will not only grow your subscriptions, but also will keep them coming back. Publishers need to engage with their readers in a meaningful conversation, and show genuine curiosity in users interests to build a mutual trust. The more you talk with your users and start asking them questions, the more they’re willing to interact and tell you more about themselves. This conversation will provide you with genuine and accurate data, which will allow better targeting.
Having this mix of invaluable data with engaged readership, will make you more attractive from an advertiser’s perspective, which will bring in other revenue streams like ads, and won’t require you to rely only on subscriptions.
Just like dating, not every random bar conversation will turn to a relationship and not every user is a potential subscriber. Some people might just to become good friends, which is has a great value in its own way. You need to treat your users with respect, don’t force the relationship, and you will create potential for significant connections with them.
Want to see what this looks like in action?
Discover how The FT uses Opinary polls for retention.
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