Subscription-First Media Strategy
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Sam Parr strongly advocates for subscription-first business models in media companies, drawing from his experience and observations of successful companies like Consumer Reports and Examine.com.
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Subscription Revenue is Superior:
- "If you didn't go subscription first, you're an idiot and a fool"
- Starting with any other model is "masochistic" and shows you "like pain"
- It's "totally the best business model" for media companies
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Real World Success Examples:
- Consumer Reports:
- Generates $212M in subscription revenue (2020)
- Total revenue of $245M
- Still successful after decades in business
- Consumer Reports:
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Trust-Based Business Models Work:
- Examine.com's approach:
- Refuses to recommend specific brands
- Maintains credibility by avoiding product recommendations
- Focuses on pure information without sales incentives
- Examine.com's approach:
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Market Opportunities:
- Several verticals still open for subscription-based trust models:
- Skincare and beauty
- Software reviews (despite G2's presence)
- PC Magazine's success within J2 Global ($6.3B market cap)
- Several verticals still open for subscription-based trust models:
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Key Success Factors:
- Building trust in a world of abundance
- Maintaining editorial independence
- Focusing on quality information over monetization
- Avoiding conflicts of interest with product recommendations
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.