It all started with Moose FM, a radio station serving Northeast B.C. in Canada. In the two decades since hitting airwaves in 2003, the local independent news company has tripled its newsroom staff to deliver journalism through the website energeticcity.ca alongside a growing number of podcasts, videos and newsletters.
Part of this success story involves the decision to switch to Indiegraf from Newspack in 2022. General manager Adam Reaburn said they knew it was time to bring in outside expertise to support the revenue diversification process.
They made the switch to get more services and resources in one place at a better price point.
“All the tools that are provided, those are wonderful, but it was also the people that are attached to those tools,” said Reaburn. “If we had done that with Newspack… they had that option, but at a much higher cost to bring on those people to help us oversee those campaigns.”
Over the last several years, parent company Moose Media also expanded its digital marketing offerings to community businesses, serving as a “one-stop shop” of digital services from Google search campaigns to social media management. Alongside traditional advertising revenue streams through radio, website ads and sponsorships, this additional revenue stream helps fund high-value news products like podcasts Before the Peace and Secrets of the North.
“We can’t just rely on one source of revenue, whether that be advertising, reader revenue or the digital services that we offer now,” said Reaburn. “And so what Indiegraf gave us was extra experts to call upon to help us in those other areas.”
Indie Website: The all-in-one platform built to help publishers grow
While Newspack’s technology services were functioning, the Energeticcity team wanted more and they wanted it all in one place.
“If there is a major news day where the site is receiving an overload of traffic, suddenly we’re now having to worry about that as well as just trying to do the story,” Reaburn said. “Indiegraf provided a solution that allowed us to not worry about the technical part.”
“That partner… in your back pocket, that took care of that stuff so that we could just focus on covering the news and the stories of the area.”
“During the wildfire season of 2023, our town was put on evacuation alert which saw our traffic skyrocket so much that it crashed the site,” reader engagement lead Greg Armstrong explains. “Thankfully, Indiegraf Support was able to get it back up right away and then provided us with more resources so that it wouldn’t happen again.”
The website, which includes integrations with Stripe, CRM and the email service provider, ensures they have everything they need to execute reader revenue campaigns and support other top-of-funnel strategies to grow their audience.
“It became, rather than having to find five different companies that each did five things, we went to Indiegraf to find the one company that did those five things that we needed to bring it all under one roof,” Reaburn said.
They can also trust the functionality of these integrations. “The site just works, which is what we want.” Indiegraf’s product development team is constantly working on enhancements and regularly provides updates on new and upcoming features to the network. Publishers also have the opportunity to share ideas and feedback at any time.
“I think they’ve done a good job overall of making sure that it’s easy for our staff to use and integrate into their day-to-day work,” Reaburn adds, emphasizing how important this is given how many news products they deliver.
“It’s also nice, when I have a glitch or something like that, they’re usually pretty quick about,” said Armstrong. “Even if they don’t have a fix right away, they’re like, ‘Hey, we’re working on it. Don’t worry.’” Publishers can reach Indiegraf’s customer support team through live chat and email, in addition to a 24/7 chatbot and access to a comprehensive library of resources through the Help Center.
Regarding the migration to Newspack, Armstrong said it was difficult and took longer than expected. “But with Indiegraf we were able to get our new site up and running within the timeframe predicted with few issues,” he said.
A partnership that grows your business and adds expertise to your team
After years of trying to diversify revenues on their own, taking training courses and implementing strategies, the Energeticcity team wanted more input and advice — especially when it came to reader revenue, Reaburn said.
“We’re at a point now where we’ve got the staff to help do the campaign, but we’re looking for that second set of eyes, that someone else we can bounce ideas off of, to go, ‘What do you think of this?’”
“It’s almost more of a partner, right? We’re looking for someone to work with us. Understand what we’re going through, not just look at us as another client,” Reaburn said. “They understand what we’re going through because they have been publishers as well.”
A revamp of the welcome series has helped create a foundation of support and interest, even bringing in about 10 new supporters. Lead generation through Meta ads has ensured they continue to build their newsletter list at an average cost of about $0.44 per lead, growing their email subscribers by nearly 50 percent.
Reader revenue increased by 200 percent through strategic campaigns
Before Indiegraf, the marketing team was sending emails asking for reader support weekly, but the Indiegraf team helped them narrow this down to more targeted campaigns to maximize impact.
Working alongside Indiegraf Experts, Armstrong has grown reader revenue significantly through these annual or biannual campaigns. “It’s really helped us solidify our strategies when it comes to supporters,” he said.
“They really helped us realize you’ve got to build people up so that when you do your big ask, either middle of the year [or at the] end of the year, they’re prepared.”
But it’s the feedback Armstrong appreciates most. “For example, we’re working on an end-of-year campaign now, and even though I had a bunch of ideas, it’s awesome to just go to Indiegraf and be like, ‘Hey, this is what I’m thinking.’ And they go, ‘Okay, just tweak this a little bit.’”
“They just help us make it as great as it can be “
A campaign in June 2024 reached their goal of $1,000 in a few days, leading them to stretch the goal by a few more hundred dollars.
Overall, from January 2023 to now, they’ve seen a 200 percent increase in supporters.
Beyond the direct support in keeping the website functioning and the business growing, it’s the industry-level advocacy where Reaburn sees value.
“Indiegraf and other members have been working out there to advocate for changes and things within the system as well — whether that be on the training side or in the government side,” Reaburn said.
“I see Indiegraf as more of a partner with us.”
