When the Washington Informer launched its reader revenue program in November 2024, we were trying to diversify our revenue and better position the organization for the changing economics of local news.
Like many legacy publishers, advertising had sustained our newsroom for decades. But print revenue continued to decline, digital advertising introduced new barriers to entry, and working with agencies and corporate advertisers had become increasingly complex. Between conflicting ad safety requirements across platforms and the changing economics of digital advertising, it was clear that relying too heavily on any single revenue source would become increasingly difficult.
Reader revenue wasn’t the only solution. It was one opportunity among many to build a more resilient business.
Through Newspack’s Revenue Development Program, we participated in the Reader Revenue, Advertising & Sponsorships, and Newsletter Tracks that helped us build the infrastructure to consistently ask readers to support our work. Just as valuable was learning alongside publishers across the country who were grappling with many of the same challenges.
As we built that foundation, we also worked to introduce the Washington Informer to audiences who weren’t already regular readers.
Why creators?
Even before launching reader revenue, we believed creators could become campaign partners rather than competitors.
Creators now have something news organizations spend years building: trusted relationships with highly engaged audiences. Rather than asking our creator (Bookersquared) to simply promote our reporting, we were also excited to see what would happen when we authentically introduced her community to the Washington Informer.
In June 2025, through the Onyx Impact Integrity Lab, we partnered with Elizabeth Booker of BookerSquared. We provided editorial guidance and reporting context. Elizabeth controlled the voice, messaging, and calls to action. Preserving that authenticity was essential because her audience trusts her.
Building the partnership
Rather than treating the partnership as a fundraising campaign, we incorporated it into our broader audience strategy that also included newsletters, community events, our Best of the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia) campaign, and reader revenue messaging.
Our working assumption was that meaningful relationships are built over time. Every newsletter signup, creator recommendation, community event, and interaction with our reporting created another opportunity for someone to become familiar with the Washington Informer before hopefully considering our work.
We also resisted the temptation to over-engineer the partnership. Elizabeth remained herself. The partnership worked because both organizations brought credibility to different parts of the audience journey.
Results
We began seeing encouraging signs almost immediately. BookerSquared’s audience subscribed to our WIN Daily newsletter and responded to reader revenue appeals, but we never evaluated the partnership solely through conversions. As our collaboration evolved, Elizabeth participated in community events and other initiatives that introduced new audiences to the Washington Informer. Broadening our reach has been as valuable to us as the immediate reader revenue results.
One of the strongest examples came during Black History Month 2026 with a simple “Donate to Black Press” appeal.
During the five days surrounding that post, the Washington Informer recorded $11,068 in net reader revenue across 264 transactions.
While we cannot attribute every contribution directly to that post, the timing was significant. Most of the support came immediately following Booker’s initial posts, but we also saw meaningful contributions throughout the onboarding journey. Her audience trusted her recommendation, and the Washington Informer’s credibility gave those supporters confidence that their contributions were going to a trusted local news organization.
By the end of our first year, reader revenue had generated more than $72,000 across 1,582 individual contributions. The contributions that came through our partnership with BookerSquared demonstrated that trusted community creators can serve as another meaningful pathway for introducing new audiences to local news and expanding awareness of the Washington Informer.
What we learned
A few lessons stand out.
First, creator partnerships work best as part of a broader audience strategy rather than as isolated fundraising campaigns. Newsletters, events, community initiatives, creator collaborations, and reader revenue all reinforced one another.
Second, choosing the right creator mattered more than choosing the biggest creator. Audience alignment, geography, shared values, and authenticity proved more important than follower counts.
Finally, we’re still learning. Reader revenue isn’t something we’ve solved, and creator partnerships aren’t a silver bullet. They’ve become one promising piece of a broader effort to diversify revenue, strengthen community relationships, and build a more resilient business model.
For publishers considering creator partnerships, I would recommend finding trusted community partners. The contribution page may be where someone chooses to support your newsroom, but the relationship that leads them there starts much earlier.
After joining our Revenue Development Program and relaunching its website, the Washington Informer raised $72,000 in reader revenue.
