'Better Homes & Gardens' Introduces Paid Membership Programs

Meredith Corp. is introducing two new membership programs for Better Homes & Gardens readers to expand its consumer revenue business.

The first membership program is BH&G Insider.

Andy Wilson, SVP of consumer revenue at Meredith, told Publishers Daily it was created as part of Meredith’s focus on “what products and services could we add to those Better Homes & Gardens fans that are tied deeply to the brand and provide an experience above and beyond our web and print product.”

In the last year, Meredith has focused on building its consumer revenue strategy.

“We are really focused on how we diversify our revenue stream so that we are not 100% dependent on the advertising revenue stream,” Wilson said. Readers who sign up for BH&G Insiders will have access to exclusive Better Homes & Gardens content through a new dedicated portal on BHG.com. 

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The portal houses three editorial content sections: Sneak Peeks, which gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the magazine; Timeless Traditions, featuring content from the magazine archive; and The Next Big Thing, which showcases the latest trends from BHG experts.

Members will also get exclusive offers and deals from brands such as Overstock, Houzz and Havenly, and 20 other home, appliance, décor and food partners. They also get a $199 credit in Professional Interior Design services from online interior designer Havenly, and can download Better Homes & Gardens most-popular eBooks.

BH&G Insider membership costs $6 a month, billed annually, or $8 a month, billed quarterly. A limited, introductory annual rate is also being offered for $5 per month.

The other membership is a partnership with Direct Wines Inc. The Better Homes & Gardens Wine Club will provide customized quarterly shipments of wine to readers. The Introductory Offer, which is available to registered Meredith online users, includes a shipment of 12 wines plus three bonus bottles of a 95-point Argentine Reserve for $69.99, plus $19.99 shipping and tax.

The offer will be featured in the November issues of Better Homes & Gardens. Wine club members will get tasting notes and food pairings, and the Better Homes & Gardens site will increase its editorial in this category.

Next month, the wine club offering will be expanded to readers of Allrecipes, another Meredith food brand. 

The publisher also launched a magazine store last November to sell subscriptions and developed a membership platform to “launch membership programs for our own brands and partner with other brands to create membership programs,” he added.

The first was Posh Coloring Studio, which Wilson said is growing. In the next month, Meredith will introduce a new feature to the Coloring Studio’s members, allowing them to turn their photographs into coloring pages. Once that feature is added, Meredith will market the studio more heavily.

“We are in a real test-and-learn phase in how to market it, how to get the message out there, and how the products benefit the people that we have,” Wilson said.

Both membership programs will be promoted across Meredith Digital properties, via dedicated emails and social posts, and with call-outs in Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

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