Slovakia’s Dennik N’s bold campaign brought 10,000 new subscribers in just four days

Credit: Courtesy Dennik N

In a nutshell:

• Slovak digital news outlet Denník N has launched a remarkably successful subscription campaign for its 10th anniversary, gaining more than 10,000 new subscribers in four days by offering flexible pricing including free subscriptions, though four in five new subscribers elected to pay, on average, €4.
• The campaign's success was driven by its timely response to news fatigue following Slovakia's 2023 elections and the formation of a populist government, with the outlet promising to maintain its humour amongst "depressing" news and ensure everyone has access to quality information.
• Starting with 69,000 subscribers and reaching 1-1.5 million monthly readers online, Denník N has now grown to over 82,000 subscribers and is considering extending the campaign with targets up to 30,000 new subscribers.

The full story:

A Slovak digital news outlet, Denník N, has launched what might be the most successful subscription campaign in Central European media history, gaining over 10,000 new subscribers in less than four days. That is pretty impressive in a country of some 5 million souls.

The timing was particularly apt. Following the 2023 elections and the formation of Robert Fico's populist authoritarian government, many readers were switching off from the news entirely, finding it too depressing. Rather than fight this sentiment, the publication embraced it with characteristic dry humour.

"We needed to tell our readers that even if they cannot face reading about depressing events every day, don't cancel your subscription, and we'll monitor all the depressing things for you," explains Tomas Bella, co-founder and web director of Dennik N.

Launched to celebrate the organisation’s tenth birthday, the campaign centred around ten promises to readers. A bunch of ideas was first tested on a small sample of readers to gauge what truly matters to them. The overreaching concern was that a subscription-only model does not make quality information available to everyone.

Some interesting ideas did not make the cut though. "For instance, we considered helping libraries," says Bella, "but readers weren't as excited about that as we were."

What makes the campaign particularly interesting is its financial model. Despite offering subscriptions for €0 - a first in the publication's history - only 22 per cent of new subscribers chose this option. The vast majority opted to pay, with the average payment being €4.

"We're trying something completely new here," Bella continues, explaining that his team offered its subscribers a deal: make quality news accessible to more people if those who can afford it pay it forward.

The publication's previous campaigns have not always hit the mark. "Sometimes we've so badly misjudged the mood that we've had to stop campaigns with our tails between our legs after just two days," Bella admits. "This time, we're having the opposite problem - we can't keep up with the positive responses."

Courtesy Dennik N

Denník N's approach was partly inspired by Danish media outlet Zetland.dk's ambassador programme, adapting its best practices for measuring and providing feedback to subscribers about new reader acquisition. Dennik N is now considering extending the campaign, with potential targets of 15,000, 20,000, or even 30,000 new subscribers.

It reaches between 1 and 1.5 million monthly readers online, and it had 69,000 subscribers prior to the campaign. This number has now grown to over 82,000 and rising by the hour.

For media outlets elsewhere considering similar initiatives, Denník N's experience offers an intriguing blueprint. Its approach combines flexible pricing with clear social impact goals, all wrapped in refreshingly honest communication. As the organiser puts it, they are making a straightforward deal with readers: "We'll do much more to make our society better, and all we want in return is for you to tell at least one friend about us."

The true test will come in the retention figures - with initial data expected in about ten weeks. For now, though, it seems that honesty, humour, and a dash of self-deprecation might be a winning formula in the battle for sustainable journalism.

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