Preventing churn is a major challenge for publishers, but smart intervention can make a big difference. As Katelyn Belyus reminded us of when she presented our Subscription Benchmarks 2024 findings at Piano Academy 2024, “You can save up to 16% of those just by giving them a cancel save offer or downgrade offer.” Whether preventing active cancellations with well-timed offers or recovering lost subscribers through better payment strategies, publishers have powerful tools to improve retention and lifetime value.

Key Takeaways: 

• Active churn prevention works: Publishers can save up to 16% of users who enter the cancellation flow by offering a targeted discount or downgrade option.

• Messaging alone won’t stop cancellations: Simply reminding users of benefits or asking why they want to cancel does not meaningfully reduce churn.

• Users are intentional about canceling: They know what they’re doing when they disable auto-renew, so publishers must present a compelling reason to stay in that moment.

• Passive churn is a hidden risk: Nearly 30% of subscriber churn comes from failed credit card renewals, not deliberate cancellations.

• Optimizing payment recovery drives results: Personalization, smart email and retry cadences, subject line testing, and strategic grace periods all contribute to recovering lost revenue.

• Churn prevention requires an active strategy: From well-placed incentives to smarter billing practices, even small adjustments can offer meaningful retention gains.

Read our Subscription Benchmark 2024 Report to learn more takeaways, including: 

• Traffic is flat, but revenue is growing: Highlighting that publishers are prioritizing lifetime value and average revenue per uses (ARPU) over raw visitor numbers.

• Google remains a strong traffic driver: However, quality and conversion rates vary.

• Social traffic has declined sharply: Political sites have been hit the hardest and demonstrates that they remain inconsistent traffic-sources.

• Publishers are adapting to uncertainty: Declining social referrals, AI disruptions, and Google’s shifting landscape present challenges, but publishers remain resourceful.

• Engagement and retention are key: Those who focus on lifetime value and strategic monetization continue to thrive, even in a challenging environment.