Annual vs. Monthly Subscriptions, what drives more value?
年费与月费订阅，哪种更能创造价值？

• Ease of acquisition (i.e. acquisition take rates)
  获取的便利性（即获取率）
• Pricing power and flexibility
  定价能力和灵活性
• Subscriber retention 用户保留
• Subscription revenue / volume growth
  订阅收入/量增长

According to data across these areas, monthly subscribers may be the most valuable subscribers a publisher can have.
根据这些领域的数据，月度订阅者可能是出版商最有价值的订阅者。

1. Ease of acquisition 1. 获取的便利性

A key challenge for publishers is choosing the right subscription term. Consumers favor monthly plans, with new monthly subscriptions outpacing annual ones 5:1.
出版商面临的一个关键挑战是选择正确的订阅期限。消费者倾向于每月计划，新的月度订阅数量是年度订阅的 5 倍。

71% of new digital subscriptions are monthly, compared to 14% annual. Monthly subscriptions tend to increase with higher pricing.
71% 的新数字订阅是月度订阅，而年度订阅为 14%。月度订阅随着价格的提高而增加。

> Customer-centric pricing strategies: Realizing the true value of your audience
> 以客户为中心的定价策略：实现您受众的真实价值

2. Pricing power & flexibility
2. 定价权与灵活性

For smaller media companies, raising prices is key to sustainability. Monthly subscriptions offer greater flexibility and drive higher ARPU, with $12.64 per month compared to $7.36 for annual subscribers, contributing more to long-term revenue.
对于较小的媒体公司，提高价格是可持续发展的关键。月度订阅提供了更大的灵活性，并推动了更高的每用户平均收入（ARPU），每月 12.64 美元，而年度订阅者为 7.36 美元，对长期收入的贡献更大。

Case study: The Boston Globe’s Monthly Subscription Success
案例研究：《波士顿环球报》的月度订阅成功

In 2023, The Boston Globe reached 245,000 digital-only subscribers, showcasing the power of a well-executed monthly subscription model.
2023 年，《波士顿环球报》达到了 245,000 名纯数字订阅用户，展示了每月订阅模式的成功执行所具有的强大影响力。

Their strategy: an extended introductory offer—$1 for six months. Later transitioned to around $30 per month.
他们的策略： 一个延长的 introductory offer——6 个月内 1 美元。之后转为每月约 30 美元。

The outcome: monthly conversions consistently outperformed annual plans, maximizing revenue through high conversion rates and strong long-term value, according to Ryan McVeigh, Senior Director of Consumer Revenue.
结果： 月度转化率持续超过年度计划，通过高转化率和强大的长期价值最大化收入，据 Ryan McVeigh，消费者收入高级总监所述。

Key learnings: The Globe credited their success to rigorous testing and a strong focus on engaging subscribers and showcasing value during the introductory period.
关键学习: 《环球报》将其成功归功于严格的测试和在 introductory period 期间重点关注吸引订阅者和展示价值。

3. Subscriber retention 3. 订阅者保留

Mather benchmarks show that annual subscribers have better retention in the first year compared to monthly subscribers. However, by year two, the retention gap narrows to just 5%, indicating that the initial advantage of annual plans levels out over time.
马瑟基准显示，年度订阅用户在第一年的留存率比月度订阅用户更好。然而，到第二年时，留存率差距缩小到仅 5%，表明年度计划的初始优势随着时间的推移而趋于平衡。

> Understanding subscriber loyalty and churn risk: inside Hearst US’ innovative scoring system
> 了解订阅者忠诚度和流失风险：赫斯特美国的创新评分系统

4. Subscription revenue / Volume growth
4. 订阅收入 / 业务量增长

Monthly subscribers drive 1.7 times higher ARPU than annual subscribers.
月度订阅用户的 ARPU 比年度订阅用户高 1.7 倍。

While annual subscribers are relatively less price-sensitive, they require significant discounts, contribute less to ARPU, and are fewer in number, limiting potential revenue gains from focusing solely on annual plans.
虽然年费订阅用户对价格的敏感度相对较低，但他们需要较大的折扣，对每用户平均收入（ARPU）的贡献较小，且数量较少，这限制了仅专注于年费计划的潜在收入增长。

Recommendations 建议

• Optimize you subscription mix for growth
  优化您的订阅组合以促进增长

We’d recommend a mix of 50% monthly subscribers at the full rate, 25% on introductory offers, and 25% on annual terms to maximize revenue and subscriber growth.
我们建议采用 50%的月度订阅者以全额价格，25%的 introductory offers（ introductory offers 在此可能指“ introductory offers”，但通常会翻译为“ introductory offers”或“ introductory offers”，具体取决于上下文），以及 25%的年度订阅，以最大化收入和订阅者增长。 Note: The term "introductory offers" is directly translated as " introductory offers" in Chinese, but it might be better to use " introductory offers" or " introductory offers" depending on the context. For a more natural translation, we can use " introductory offers" (首推优惠) or " introductory offers" (入门优惠). Here is the revised version: 我们建议采用 50%的月度订阅者以全额价格，25%享受首推优惠，以及 25%的年度订阅，以最大化收入和订阅者增长。

• Leverage the powerful LTV framework
  利用强大的 LTV 框架

We recommend using lifetime value (LTV) as the guiding metric for crafting go-to-market offers. By focusing on LTV, publishers can optimize pricing, acquisition, and retention strategies to balance revenue growth and subscriber retention. This data-driven approach ensures a long-term, sustainable model, maximizing both audience engagement and profitability.
我们建议使用生命周期价值（LTV）作为制定市场推广报价的指导指标。通过关注 LTV，发行商可以优化定价、获取和保留策略，以平衡收入增长和订阅者保留。这种数据驱动的方法确保了长期可持续的模式，最大化受众参与度和盈利能力。

• Test test test! 测试测试测试！

Continuous testing is essential for optimizing introductory offers. A/B testing enables publishers to experiment with various pricing levers and terms to identify the most effective strategies for their market.
持续测试对于优化 introductory offers 至关重要。A/B 测试使发行商能够尝试不同的定价杠杆和条款，以确定对其市场最有效的策略。