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Why The Local Denmark will soon be asking you to become paying Members

Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett - [email protected]
Why The Local Denmark will soon be asking you to become paying Members
Photo: The Local

In March, The Local Denmark will begin asking regular readers to pay a small contribution to become Members. Editor Michael Barrett explains the change and why it is taking place.

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From early March 2019, regular readers of The Local Denmark will be asked to pay a small contribution in order to get full access to the site.
 
In other words we are introducing a paywall.
 
"But why?", you are perfectly entitled to ask.
 
Firstly, relying on advertising is no longer enough in the ruthless modern media industry.
 
We are working in an environment in which big global companies like Facebook and Google have snapped up a huge proportion of global advertising. We highly value the relationships we have with our advertisers, but like most other media we also need other, more stable forms of income.
 
The reality is that a click or a unique visitor doesn't on its own pay the bills, especially when so many use ad blockers.
 
If we want to continue to grow as we have done since The Local Denmark was launched in 2014, and offer more to readers, then we need to ask them to contribute directly.
 
With Membership readers will be invested in The Local
 
But our Membership scheme is not just about having to balance the books amid stiff competition for ad revenues.
 
We want to be in a position to offer more insight into this wonderful country and to cover the news our readers need in more detail. We want to explain how the country works and give people the advice they need to navigate their life in Denmark. 
 
This can include some of the everyday challenges facing internationals and newcomers to Denmark: finding rented accommodation, applying for residency or citizenship, looking for work and building a network of Danish friends and professional contacts, to name just a few examples.
 
Meanwhile, we will of course continue to cover Denmark's news in English as rigorously as we can, so you can keep up with the country's politics, culture and society.
 
Membership is also motivated by our desire for our readers to become more involved in what we do and how we do it. We want to tell your stories and write about your experiences living in Denmark. In other words, don't think of your monthly or yearly payment as a fee but as an investment.
 
And we'll be redoubling our efforts to speak up for the international residents of Denmark when they need our help.
 
From my point of view, a major positive about asking readers to pay is that the responsibility will make us improve what we do. By extension, if we can reduce our reliance on advertising we won't need to chase the clicks like many websites do these days. We can concentrate on the stories that matter.
 
Of course, I don't expect you to be convinced by these words. I know that we will only convince you to take the step of signing up by writing article upon article that you will want to read. The responsibility to persuade you is wholly on us and we hope to be able to meet the challenge.
 
How will it work?
 
A paywall will be introduced that means after a certain number of articles readers will be asked to become a Member in order to carry on reading.
 
That means occasional readers of The Local will still be able to read the vast majority of articles we publish for free, although they won't be able to read certain more in-depth articles, which will be for Members only.
 
Before Membership goes live readers will be given the chance to take advantage of an "early bird" discount. We will publish further details about prices and offers in the coming days, so keep an eye on the website.
 
If you would like to be kept informed of when the "early bird" offer goes live please pop your email address in the box below.
 
 
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Receive a notification with a discounted Early-Bird Membership

* indicates required
 
 
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If you have any questions, please feel free to email our team at [email protected].
 
Thank you for reading.
 
Michael Barrett,
 
Editor, The Local Denmark

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