Terms

"You have to know who you're trying to reach before starting a member-based enterprise" says Matt Hardigree, publisher of The Autopian. "I am aware of situations where the people just hoped that there would be some sort of market. The issue is math-related however it's not a problem. You can use all of your knowledge."

If you're writing for an online site You should make an inventory of the number of readers who have. "If you're on a web site alongside 10 other authors and we're all looking to create something, how do we measure our number of readers? Do we have fifteen percent users who come to our website? This isn't a huge amount. Do we constitute greater than 80% of all visits to sites?"

The past was when The Autopian founders David Tracy and Jason Torchinsky made up 50 percent of the traffic on Jalopnik. "They might have believed "We have the ability to start something, we could achieve this"," continues Matt. "What's remarkable is the fact that David and Jason aren't affluent on social media. This is the most obvious way to build a readership. However, they didn't need to have that because they already had followers.

Before launching, The Autopian did a analysis of the competition landscape within the auto industry as well as media. "We are aware of the amount of users who make use of cars to visit these websites. Consider: When we've taken care of what do we need for success? You must then ask: Where do those individuals come from?  How many of them have some understanding of who we really is and the things we do? And 'What proportion of them are we going to need to reach our objective of sustainable growth? Also, in relation to membership fees, how much do we plan on charging? ? '."

The article states that "You could make some forecasts - but you don't need to make them right. However, you should have the right facts. After you've made your predictions then you'll be able make use of the possibility to connect to the information points and later, find out where you're off and then alter your forecast. If you don't have any data, or you're guessing that you're guessing, then do the math, and work to figure it out.

Matt confesses that once you've completed your research, you'll get a "wait and wait" feeling "In the initial half hour or so of the introduction of the membership I was a wreck! I thought, "What's going to occur? As the memberships began to come into the table, it was quite amazing! Also, we're still conducting analysis of the data and constantly analyzing the most effective methods and not working."

Strategies for increasing engagement and grow

"I consider that we're about 10 percent of the way towards where the members of the group might be."" Matt continues. "We've had success as well as seen the growth of members. However, the top 10% is easiest to attain. The remainder of 10% will be more difficult. Every tranche is likely to be harder than the tranche preceding it. You will need to take into consideration a variety of factors."

Matt believes that 10x growth might be an achievable goal for five years. for five years. "If we manage to reach 50 percent of this amount, then we're nearly completely sustainable at the current amount of membership. If we manage to get up to 100%, then we're in fact sustainably fuelled with membership fees, or have made an income by the membership fee on its own. It would be wonderful to reach that point."

Matt Hardigree, The Autopian

What do they plan on doing to getting there? What are they offering benefits for members? What strategies will they make use of in order to attract new members?

Matt replies: "It's a balance because The Autopian is a journalism company in addition to an entertainment for its fans. We consider the three categories of how we can help members join and to keep them as members - through making The Autopian feel valuable."

Strategy 1: Content

Matt says that the highest category is content. "We need to create something which is good enough and interesting enough, as well as distinct from the content that you find elsewhere. This content is available exclusively on the Autopian. It's my duty to participate in The Autopian if I want to see the Autopian to get this.'

"You're not paying to get access to this content as there's no paywalled entrance to it. It's because you want access to it everywhere in the world." Matt confirms that the content will become the most valuable offering "You want this product to be there so desperately, you'll pay four dollars per month, ten dollars per month, and the equivalent of $85 per month for certain customers."

Strategy 2: The Benefits

Bucket 2 is the Bucket 2 is the items which members receive, such as Discord access, clothing including T-shirts, access to trivia nights and other events as well as other things like badges, stickers and other items.

"We offer a range of things you get that's like buying an auto. At the bottom of cloth ($70/year) then vinyl ($100/year) and Velour that costs $250/year. Finally, the most expensive class is Corinthian leather, which costs $1000 per year. I've had more clients that have used velour and leather than I've ever imagined!"

"One among the items that you get is a birthday drawing one of the co-founders is the ability to draw. We didn't expect to receive more drawings. Therefore, the artist is drawing more birthday sketches than we expected - and we're still working on it!"

A monthly payment of $1000 may seem to be a bit much work but this was an instruction from a famous firm that is in the business of media defector. They told Matt they had customers who were able to afford $1,000 than they had thought of. "I was like"I I don't know the amount it was and what's the deal with $1000?' They said, "Do it!" Matt smiles.

"They were also saying that they wish they had the middle stage because they've got two levels below and one over," he continues. "We had a lot of discussion about it, and we decided to go with 250 dollars a year. It was the most appropriate amount since there's an enormous number of Velour members. This year] there was a significant increase in the movement between Vinyl and Velour and between velour and vinyl and back to vinyl. More people moved from 100-250 instead of alternating between 100 and 250. It seems like we're on the right track!"

Autopian's Autopian team has recognized that their content behind-the-scenes is now an instant popular. They also share procedural material like the way they came to a headline and also "Tales of the Slack". Matt declares: "We have our internal Slack and it's not meant for consumption by the general public."

"People are prone to saying ridiculous, stupid, hilarious things!" Matt smiles. "Our director of editing David doesn't have any pop culture knowledge, which is why our editor is always confused about things. He was of the opinion that Ronan was Serpico and thought the film was an al Pacino movie set in the 70s. It was in fact the first Robert De Niro movie that debuted in the 1990s!"

Strategy 3. Fear of Missing out (FOMO)

"The third type of media - the one that performs really well and is often overlooked is FOMO. The people don't want to not be able to access content," Matt continues.

"We have a Discord that has a regularly updated columns of guidance. Our discord is available and free to all, but there's a area for members only," he adds. "I recommend that members share photos in the chat room"Here's my photo of me wearing my t-shirt wearing the badge I have'. I would love to see people join this."

Matt says that the method of attracting new members is a great idea if the message is aligned with the type of content you write. "Every once in a while we'll put together a "Here's what you'll get appeal. It's a reminder of what people get when they join."

More often, they will be able to acknowledge their community "We love our commenters and we're so grateful to you for why we're so great. If you're not able become a member of the community We're sorry. There aren't many people with the funds. If you're a student, whatever you're doing is acceptable. If you're not able to afford the funds then you're able to be a devoted reader. We're here for you and would like to have you to our community. If you're keen on these issues, there's an opportunity for you to be member of our community."

After that, we'll make the FOMO post where Jason will write 'Here's my birthday-themed illustrations I've created in the last month, and much more! Viewers will then be able to look at them and consider 'God, I'd really like this.'

Communities come in various dimensions and shapes including birthday cards for people who are passionate about cars.

Additional details

For further information or to join The Autopian, go to theautopian.com.

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