Membership Puzzle Project’s

This isn’t the first time The Membership Puzzle Project has put together this type of resource. The grant-funded public research project has spent years studying how to develop news organizations that are optimized for trust. Along the way, the group has developed a number of practical guides for publishers who are considering launching their own membership programs.

In this latest guide, The Membership Puzzle Project takes it a step further than before. The group argues that journalism is facing a trust crisis and a sustainability crisis, and that membership programs offer a solution to these problems. The Membership Handbook outlines a number of steps and strategies that publishers should take as they work to develop more sustainable models , and it takes a comprehensive look at the challenges that digital publishers are facing when they work to create the kinds of membership programs that have long-term staying power. The recommended strategies are backed up with research and case studies from more than two dozen news organizations.