See how newsrooms are using trust-building language to ask for money
We know of course that trust is a key component in people’s willingness to pay for the news. If they don’t think a news product is worthy of trust, they probably don’t think it’s worthy of their dollars, either.
Research continues to remind us that we should talk more about how journalism is funded. It makes sense that people like to know where their money is going, why it is needed and how it will be used. In addition, we know the public is uninformed about the business side of the news industry. And when people don’t understand something, they often make inaccurate assumptions. So get on the record about where you get your money and why you rely on community support.
So how can trust-building strategies be used to help newsrooms ask for financial support? That’s a question we’re always eager to learn more about.
We turned to the experts at News Revenue Hub
Thanks to the News Revenue Hub and some of their partner newsrooms, we’ve added to our understanding of the question. (Huge thanks to Abbey Gingras, the Hub’s Director of Consulting Services, for being willing to collaborate! She organized the project and analyzed the results.)
We asked newsrooms to explore ways to articulate — within their donation or membership campaign messaging — the value they offer and how they operate. Thanks to the newsrooms that participated: Public Source, The Cap Times, San Antonio Report, Bridge Michigan and CT Mirror. They used our suggested language, with minimal changes, across their campaigns and shared their data back with us.
What we learned
Across the five news organizations that participated, we assessed a variety of metrics for multiple fundraising emails (dollars raised per pitch, total donors per pitch, new donors per pitch, average gift amount per pitch, breakdown of recurring versus single gifts per pitch, unsubscribe rates, open rates and click rates). There was no clear trend across participants, which is to say that each newsroom had different messaging work best for them.
This tells us that each organization is unique and has a unique relationship with their audience. We plan to test this more in the future, but for now, this indicates something we and News Revenue Hub already advise: that every newsroom should assess their own data and audience feedback regularly and tailor their messaging accordingly.
At Trusting News, we can’t say with certainty that any of the specific messaging we tested will help your newsroom. We CAN do what we’re always committed to doing — testing strategies, learning in public by sharing our explorations, and giving newsrooms a roadmap for their own experiments.
With that in mind, here are three strategies we encourage you to try when you ask your audience for their money. (They build on previous work our newsroom partners have done, for example, testing donation requests with PolitiFact and subscription asks with the Coloradoan.)
1. Here’s what we want people to know about our ethics or integrity
We can’t assume people understand the ethical framework behind our work, the thoughtfulness of our decision making or the goals that drive us. We need to articulate them.
Examples of this strategy:
Sample text:
Many people are skeptical about the integrity and ethics of news outlets like us, and we don’t blame them. Historically, journalists haven’t always done the best job of being transparent about their own work — and that’s why we’re so committed to doing things differently at [Org Name].
Our work is based on a foundation of ethical principles and values that drive our day-to-day decisions.
A few things we believe:
- Our commitment to accuracy.
- Our independence from political, financial and personal interests.
- One additional policy tied to ethics, transparency, etc.
Just as we hold other organizations to account in our reporting, we invite you to hold us accountable for staying true to these values and ethics — and if you value journalism that is truly transparent and answers to you, we have a favor to ask.
2. Here’s why we need your money
Your audience doesn’t know where your money comes from. They don’t know how your business model has shifted, what revenue sources have dried up or emerged, or what percentage of your budget relies on community support. Sharing that information can help you tell a compelling story of why their support is vital to your ability to serve your community.
Examples of this strategy:
Sample text:
You probably know that our work would not be possible without [contributions / donations] from people like you. Today, as we ask for your financial support, we want to also share some information about why we rely on that support.
Our work is funded by several primary sources:
- xx% Members / donors
- xx% Large donations from individuals and foundations
- xx% Events
- xx% Advertising
As you might imagine, our primary expense is our staff. So one way to look at that breakdown is that of our xx member team, xx of them have their salaries paid by you, the people they aim to serve with their journalism. This revenue is extremely important to us, because it shows that the work we’re doing is valued by the people we do it for.
3. We are committed to covering a specific topic
What do you cover better than anyone else? Articulate that commitment, with examples of previous coverage, the impact it has had on the community, and your goals moving forward.
Examples of this strategy:
- Bridge Michigan (politics and policy)
- CT Mirror (investigative)
- CapTimes (politics and Solutions Journalism)
Sample text:
Here at [Org name], we cover a lot of issues we feel are deeply important: X, Y, Z, and more. Today, we want to talk a little bit to you about our [topic] coverage.
Readers like you have told us in a multitude of ways how much you value stories around [topic]. These stories are highly read, with long engagement time — which tells us people aren’t just clicking headlines but are diving deep on [topic] stories. In our most recent annual audience survey, we heard that [topic] is something people turn to us for and see as highly valuable. And when people donate to us, we see [topic] cited time and again as what inspired them to give.
In addition, we see evidence that the coverage makes a difference. For example, XYZ.
We want to go even deeper on [topic] In the next year, we want to do [project] and investigate [issue], just to name a few things. (And we’ll continue to incorporate your questions and priorities — share them anytime by responding to this email.) But we can’t do this work without your support.
Ready to try it yourself?
Steal this language — please! — and customize it for your news organization and your audience. Then tell us how it went so we can build our collective knowledge as an industry. Email us at info@TrustingNews.org or message us on LinkedIn.
At Trusting News, we learn how people decide what news to trust and turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. We train and empower journalists to take responsibility for demonstrating credibility and actively earning trust through transparency and engagement. Subscribe to our Trust Tips newsletter. Follow us on X/Twitter and LinkedIn. Read more about our work at TrustingNews.org.
