Case study: How Montana Free Press found revenue growth hiding in plain sight

The American Journalism Project partners with mission-aligned organizations to strengthen nonprofit news across the country. BlueLena, an audience development consultancy, is one of our specialized support partners, providing portfolio organizations with the infrastructure, tools and strategic guidance they need to build sustainable reader revenue programs.

This case study shares concrete, replicable strategies that helped Montana Free Press, a member of the American Journalism Project portfolio, achieve significant growth in reader revenue. Montana Free Press increased reader revenue by 22% in 2024, not through expensive new campaigns or additional staff, but by taking a closer look at the supporters they already had and investing in smarter segmentation, organizational alignment and donor engagement.

The case study focuses on four insights: building cross-team collaboration between editorial and development staff, designing tailored reader journeys with smart automations, crafting confident and urgent messaging for each donor segment and treating donor engagement as an ongoing relationship rather than a one-time transaction. Together, these strategies demonstrate how newsrooms can unlock revenue growth with their existing supporters.