• by Sara Guaglione , September 11, 2020

A year after launching a new subscription strategy, The Atlantic gained 300,000 new subscribers — nearly three times the number it expected to reach in two years. 

The Atlantic attracted over 100,000 new subscribers in May and June. Each month surpassed 50,000 new subscriptions, according to staff email by Michael Finnegan, president of Atlantic Media.

The Atlantic reached nearly 90 million uniques in March, and across 2020, it's audience is up more than 40% YOY from 2019 for the same period. 

A bombshell story published last week reported President Donald Trump had called Marines who were buried in an American cemetery near Paris “losers." It has been read by 10 million people, and brought in a record 20,000 subscriptions in five days, according to Finnegan.

The Atlantic launched a metered paywall last September, as well as a three-tiered subscription plan for readers, ranging from about $50 to $100 a year.

Readers can visit five articles a month before being prompted to select an annual subscription plan. 

The company’s goal is to get 1 million subscribers by December 2022, Finnegan wrote.

“The goal of 1 million subscribers isn’t a mere vanity metric; it represents the crossing over into a position of greater financial stability for The Atlantic,” reads his email. 

“It means that vast numbers of readers are contributing $50 million in revenue to our business and sustaining the work we are called to do. Arriving at this point will be nothing short of transformational — both in terms of balancing our revenue portfolio for the long-term and for setting us on a path of long-term loyalty from a growing body of dedicated subscribers to our journalism,” Finnegan added.

The Atlantic is over halfway to its goal.

Finnegan says the focus will be on “extraordinary journalism, exceptional user experience, products and features that encourage greater reader habit and loyalty, and a data and tech infrastructure that allows us constantly to learn and improve our offering.”

The company will make investments over the next year in editorial, product, engineering and growth, he noted.