Guardian US Exceeds End of Year Donation Revenue Goals

The Guardian US generated $1.6 million in single and recurring donations during its 2021 end-of-year appeal, which ran for 43 days from Nov. 22 to Jan. 3. The campaign exceeded its anticipated target of $1.25 million by 28% and was the biggest donation drive in the four-year history of the program, said president Regina Buckley. The $1.6 million total also surpasses the $1.5 million in donations that The Guardian US generated in its 2020 end-of-year appeal, despite the publisher receiving less traffic in 2021 than it did in 2020––an issue affecting the news industry more broadly. The Guardian US attracted 43 million unique monthly visitors in 2021, compared to 56 million in 2020, according to digital measurement service Comscore. Publishers' reader revenue models are maturing, fuelled in part by a softer news cycle. The Guardian's record support indicates that readers value the service the publisher provides—even if their consumption wanes during a certain period, Buckley said. “Making payment voluntary, in an era where many organizations were putting up expensive paywalls, was a controversial decision at the time. There was a belief that people would never pay for what they could get for free,” Buckley said. “But in a world filled with algorithmically enhanced junk news, Guardian readers understood the value of keeping trusted, reliable information and progressive perspectives freely available around the world.” U.S. traffic now accounts for 30% of The Guardian’s global audience and the success of the year-end appeal reflects the publisher’s growing footprint in American media. The donation drive also highlights the benefits of The Guardian’s unique six-year-old financial model, in which the core news product remains free while readers are encouraged to offer financial support through memberships and donations. In December, The Guardian reported that it had surpassed 1 million total subscriptions, which it defines as total recurring contributions, memberships, patrons and paid digital subscriptions to The Guardian’s smartphone and iPad editions. From this 1 million, 419,541 are digital subscriptions and 580,494 are recurring contributions. The New York Times Debuts 18 Subscriber-Only Newsletters The Guardian US accommodates regional nuances in giving The Guardian encourages its readers across the globe to support the publisher with donations, but its end-of-year appeal is tailored to match the philanthropic tendencies of Americans, said Jane Spencer, deputy editor and head of strategy at The Guardian US. The program runs from Nov. 22 to Jan. 3 in order to capitalize on the U.S. tradition of Giving Tuesday and make use of end-of-year messaging. It specifically aims to generate donations, which it refers to as year-end gifts, and is based on the insight that American readers prefer making one-time contributions, Spencer said. Tens of thousands of U.S. readers donated to The Guardian during its end-of-year appeal—and the average donation was between $30 and $50. “We don’t see the same year-end giving pattern replicated in other regions where The Guardian operates, like the U.K. and Australia,” Spencer told Adweek. “It’s one of the many ways we’ve tailored The Guardian’s global reader revenue strategy to fit the US market.” The Guardian US’s expanding footprint The Guardian US is part of The Guardian’s broader push to expand its news presence across the globe, an effort that has begun to yield results. The Guardian’s international revenues grew by 26% in 2021, up from 25% in the prior year, representing more than 30% of the publisher’s total revenue, according to the publisher. More than 220,000 North American readers pay for The Guardian’s digital content on a subscription or recurring basis, according to Buckley. And more than half of all single contributions to The Guardian in 2021––more than 200,000––came from U.S. readers. Diversifying revenue streams away from a reliance on advertising only and towards recurring reader revenue is a growing trend that will continue throughout 2022. "Early adopters in the publishing segment, like The Guardian—are already ahead of the curve," said John Phillips, general manager, EMEA at subscriptions platform Zuora, which works with The Guardian. "Members will be able to enjoy exclusive content including discussions, debates and interviews—as well as customer-centric features such as holiday requests, suspensions and easy upgrades." British Publisher Guardian Media Group CEO Annette Thomas Resigns After a Year The Guardian US had a banner year in 2020, setting audience records in March and November. While traffic declined in 2021, readers decided to donate more to The Guardian US than they did the year prior, which suggests that the publisher has succeeded in converting a portion of its fly-by readers into regular patrons. “Growing numbers of American readers choose to support us because they believe in our mission and want to sustain our powerful, independent journalism, keeping it open and available to all,” Spencer said.

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Despite Lower Traffic, The Guardian US Exceeds End of Year Donation Revenue Goals

The publisher generated $1.6 million from readers to end 2021

Mark Stenberg

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