How do I check a paid newsletter’s reader renewals and cancellations?
Ask for a subscriber-by-subscriber history showing start date, plan, renewals and cancellations, then group readers by when they joined. If newer groups leave faster than older ones, or most cancellations follow a price change or a gap in issues, the base may be shakier than the headline count suggests.
Request the raw export from the payment system, not a seller-built summary. You want one row per subscriber, with the dates they joined, renewed, paused or left. Match it against the totals the seller quotes and ask about any difference. Ask for a quick explanation of how annual and monthly plans are handled, since renewals of the two behave quite differently.
Group readers by sign-up period and follow each group forward. If a launch promotion brought many readers who left after the first renewal, you will see it right away. Also look at plan types. Do annual readers behave differently from monthly ones? Are many on discounted or free trial plans that may not convert? Request a list of readers with failed payments, and ask whether anyone follows up with them or whether they simply drift away.
Ask for cancellation reasons if the seller collected them. Compare the dates of cancellations with events, such as a price change, a missed issue or a change in tone. Spikes often line up with something the owner did. Finally, ask about failed payments and refunds. Readers who leave because a card failed are a different problem from readers who chose to go.
Key takeaways
- Get the raw payment export, one row per subscriber.
- Follow each sign-up group forward to see who stays.
- Line up cancellation spikes with price changes and missed issues.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
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