Digital Marketing Manager Stephanie Dill steps into a new role, Associate Director of Marketing – Digital Subscriptions, on the tail end of her team hits a milestone of 20,000 digital subscribers.
READ MORE | The Post and Courier Surpasses 20,000 Digital Subscribers
“When I joined in February 2020, we had just over 8,700 digital subscribers. But the digital subscriber journey started long before me. In 2017 the team worked with the Pointer Project which really launched the start of digital subscriber growth. At that time we had 1,506 digital subscribers.”
In the 18 months that Stephanie Dill has been with The Post and Courier, she has built a digital marketing team, launched endless newsletter campaigns, assisted in event sponsorship opportunities, and, most notably, spearheaded the development of a digital subscription growth strategy that led to nearly tripling the number of digital subscribers.
“Since I’ve started, myself and the team have focused on growing our potential digital subscribers through newsletters, contests, events, etc. The more leads we get, the more people we can market to, and, ultimately, the more people we can convert into paying subscribers,” Stephanie tells us. “We’ve got some big goals to hit! I’d like to see the expansion markets continue to grow. We’ve found our footing, and now it’s time to get us really running and growing more quickly. We’ll spend a lot of energy on growing there.”
Focusing on knowing and learning the audience and the needs of both the existing and potential audience (like learning the average 34 people that move to Charleston a day) helped Stephanie and her team develop content that drives digital subscriber growth. A/B testing is a tool the team often uses to help guide them in that focus, something Stephanie says is often overlooked in digital marketing, “we all get so busy we forget how important it is to test things and use those learnings.”
From the digital ads displayed across The Post and Courier site and social media that reel in potential subscribers to the email marketing campaigns that nurture current subscribers, Stephanie’s team tirelessly strategizes the different ways to grow and retain subscribers, an aspect that Stephanie says is often a lost notion, “While it’s fantastic to see the numbers spike up on launch day, long term retention is just as important, and luckily we have a fantastic retention person in Mary!”
“I’ve been so grateful to be a part of Stephanie’s team. Her leadership abilities, knowledge of both marketing and The Post and Courier brand, and empathy for her team help to create an incredibly successful dynamic amongst us. She handles projects with care and calm. She also encourages a culture amongst our team that I have personally never seen before. We achieve our mission daily because she is at the helm.”
– Mary Fox, Subscriber and Donor Engagement Specialist
Stephanie not only humbly attributes that remarkable growth to her team – “none of this would be possible without the team!” – but also to The Post and Courier news team.
“We would not be where we are with our digital subscription growth without the collaboration between news and marketing. At the end of the day, the newsroom is creating the product, and as marketers, it’s our role to get as many people to read and ultimately purchase the content. Working with Mitch, and now Autumn, really helped, the reporters understood what we were trying to do, and are willing to work with us. And we have some crazy ideas!”
As Stephanie Dill leads the digital marketing team in collaborations and new expansion ventures, she looks forward to growing with The Post and Courier.
“It’s nice to be at a company that gives marketers the opportunity to try new things, to test, to fail, and to learn. I feel very supported here. I’m excited to get more opportunities to try things and keep growing our numbers to reach our ultimate goals.”