Subscriptions from zero

A 0-to-1 launch inside a large organisation with strong opinions about free access. Every surface change touched editorial, legal and brand.

Reuters had a huge free audience and no consumer subscription. The paywall had to earn money without driving readers away.

On iOS, the drop-off wasn't the price. It was the form: account creation and card entry before a reader could pay.

• Rejected

  Launch with deep discounting

  Buys sign-ups that churn at renewal; it would have flattered the launch number and hurt retention.

• Chosen

  Metered paywall tuned by experiment, friction removed at checkout

  Grows paying readers who stay, and gives every change a measurable result.

• Mobile and web subscription launch
• Apple Pay and one-tap sign-up on the iOS paywall
• A test-and-learn programme on meter and paywall placement

173K paying subscribers in 18 months, 94% sustained monthly retention, $1M ARR in week four, and iOS paywall conversion from 0.2% to 1.5%.

Me

Owned the subscription roadmap, the paywall experiments and the conversion funnel.

The team

Mobile and web engineering, design, analytics and the consumer marketing team.

I'd instrument the full funnel before launch. The first month's data had a blind spot between paywall view and checkout start.