When El País launched its digital subscriptions programme in 2020, it may have appeared to be lagging behind other newspapers.

But, as Angélica Domínguez Martín, director of subscriptions at parent company Prisa Media explained during this week’s Subscriptions Masters Webinar, the move was right on time.

Today, with 425,000 digital subscribers, the Spanish-language media company has not only caught up with global leaders; it has carved out a distinctive path rooted in strategic patience, data-driven experimentation, and editorial excellence.

During Subscription Masters with El País: Building Spain’s leading news subscription, Martín walked INMA members through the actions and innovations that have put the company in such an enviable position.

Although El País had briefly experimented with a digital paywall as early as 2002 — attracting 40,000 subscribers — it ultimately abandoned the model. Spain’s media market was still focused on digital advertising revenue, and subsequent attempts by other Spanish publishers in 2014 failed to gain traction. “Spain wasn’t prepared,” Martín explained.

But out of sight didn’t mean out of mind, and by 2019, El País had laid the groundwork for a subscription model, launching a registration wall to collect user data and understand reader preferences.

The timing could not have been better.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the company was ready for the explosion of traffic. The registration wall had already captured millions of users, enabling El País to launch a metred paywall.

“The metred paywall helped us to grow very fast because the most loyal readers were hitting the paywall. So the conversion rate at the beginning was very, very high.”

Embracing rapid growth

In 2022, El País saw that the number of readers hitting the paywall had decreased significantly, so it transitioned to a freemium model to reach broader audiences. This shift allowed it to place high-value content behind the paywall while keeping general news accessible — an approach that fueled further growth.

That wasn’t the only thing driving growth, Martín noted; international expansion also played a pivotal role. Today, nearly 30% of El País’s subscribers now come from outside Spain.

Part of the company’s success stems from its willingness to continually pivot and adapt to the market’s evolving needs. El País Premium, launched in 2024, is a new digital subscription product that not only offers access to El País but also to a digital version of Prisa’s business daily, Cinco Días.

That subscription allows for sharing, as two different e-mail accounts can access the products: “We decided to create a new product because we saw that we have an opportunity with Cinco Días and an opportunity with our more loyal subscribers.”

Additionally, El País struck an agreement with The New York Times to allow subscribers access to its content.

Meanwhile, El País Express is designed for casual readers who want to get a quick snapshot of the news: “It has a format that allows [audiences] to read the most relevant news of the day in five minutes.” The idea was to target those who don’t read many articles but still have a desire to stay informed.

“At the moment it is free, but it’s available for everyone because it helps attract new readers.”

As of late 2024, Premium accounts represented nearly 10% of the subscriber base and have helped reverse a declining ARPU (average revenue per user).

Behavioural and content-based segmentation

Behind the scenes, El País’s subscription strategy is powered by a deep understanding of what users are looking for. Behavioural segmentation, developed with the data team, categorises users based on frequency of visits and article consumption.

“Those are the two metrics that are most relevant for this segmentation,” she said.

This allows El País to identify everything from “promo seekers” — those users who chase promotional offers and frequently cancel — to sleeper customers, who pay but rarely read. Then, El País can plan specific strategies with different behaviours in mind.

To further understand readers, El País works with the newsroom on strategic content-based segmentation. By analysing what types of articles subscribers read, El País personalises newsletters and Web site experiences.

The dual approach to segmentation helps understand customers better and reach them more effectively:

“We combine the two segmentations, the behavioural with the content-based, to decide on our strategy,” Martín said, adding that they work with the newsroom to help them understand the metrics of paywall performance.

“We have specific metrics to see how the articles are performing in terms of audience subscription, in terms of retention, loyalty, not only taking into account how many new subscribers came from a specific article, but also how many subscribers who are at risk to churn have read the article or how many new readers has come to read the article.”

Such segmentation also allows for more creative and effective marketing campaigns. For example, a subscriber interested in food journalism might receive an invitation to a culinary event or a newsletter featuring gastronomic stories, Martín said.

Improving engagement

As is the case with many news publishers, El País has found that its most effective subscription tool is an old-school e-mail. In fact, about 30% of new subscribers come through e-mail offers and editorial newsletters — of which El País has more than 60.

The newsletters have proven particularly useful for engagement: “Subscribers who receive one or more newsletters have a churn rate that is 24% lower than average.”

These newsletters are exclusive to paying subscribers and are tailored to individual interests using content-based segmentation.

Another exclusive feature for subscribers is the loyalty programme, which offers cultural experiences like acoustic concerts, interviews with journalists, and behind-the-scenes newsroom tours. Though limited by geography — primarily Madrid and Barcelona — the programme fosters deep emotional connections with the brand.

Similarly, the El País app keeps users engaged and they exhibit a lower churn rate than non-app users.

Solving the subscription puzzle

El País’s success isn’t the result of a single tactic; instead, it’s a carefully assembled combination of thoughtful decisions, data-informed pivots, and editorial excellence.

From the initial registration wall to dynamic paywalls and premium bundles, every move has been calibrated to deepen reader relationships and drive sustainable growth.

Looking to the future, El País is working on solutions to reach younger users and to grow its audio and video options, Martín said.

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