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How The Pilot used reader data to boost digital subscriptions

When a 100-year-old paper in North Carolina dug into their audience data, they learned about segmentation that helped them boost digital subscriptions.

Despite The Pilot’s strong readership and connection to its community in central North Carolina, the newspaper struggled with digital subscriptions.

The team identified gaps in tech infrastructure to support a digital subscriber strategy and the need for more granular audience segments. With the help of Steve Yaeger’s help, the team mapped their audiences and complicated their view of who they reach, down to the zip code level.

The work continues with ongoing audience segmentation and experiments with targeted content in channels they use.