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The Local Switzerland launches Membership: Don’t miss out on limited offer

On Tuesday we launched Membership for The Local Switzerland. We are now asking readers to pay a small contribution to get full access to the latest news and essential features. Here's what being a Member will get you and how you can still take advantage of a limited discount offer to join.

Published: 5 March 2019 10:38 CET
The Local Switzerland launches Membership: Don't miss out on limited offer

What's happening?

On Tuesday March 5th The Local Switzerland followed in the footsteps of our sister sites around Europe by asking regular readers to become paying Members.

What does that mean?

It means that we are now asking readers to pay a small contribution either each month or annually to become a member.

What does that get me?

In short membership gets you this:

  • Access to an unlimited number of articles on the site
  • Exclusive features just for members on all kinds of subjects to help explain Switzerland and life in the country
  • Improved coverage – with a freelance budget we aim to improve our coverage and get more voices on the site
  • As a member you'll be able to comment on all articles from now on
  • Fewer adverts – as a member you'll see less advertising on our articles
  • Unlimited access to all our other news sites around Europe
  • Special newsletters just for members

READ ENOUGH? Join now for special discount price

What else will my money go towards?

Our primary aim is to continue to grow in an increasingly tough media landscape and your contribution will help us not have to rely on advertising revenue in future. That will help us improve what we write about and will make us more accountable to readers rather than advertisers.

As members, we will be asking for your views and seeking your contributions on a regular basis. In short, we want you to get involved.

How much does it cost?

From today, you can join The Local Switzerland by taking advantage of our “Early Bird” offer before it runs out.

The offer, which gives you 30 percent off the price of annual membership, means loyal readers have the chance to join at a cheaper rate before we introduce the paywall on Tuesday March 5th. The special offer is time limited.

With the offer, if you are in Switzerland you can sign up today for CHF34.99, rather than the normal annual price of CHF49.99.

If you are are outside Switzerland you can pay €34.99 for the first year of annual Membership instead of €49.99. Please note, if you are in the US or the UK the money will be paid in your local currency.

You can also join and pay a monthly rate and effectively get the first month free.

If you've read enough you can join now by CLICKING HERE to view the options.

Your support is much appreciated.

Please explain why you are introducing a paywall again?

If you want to know about why are taking this step then you can read this article. An important factor is that advertising alone is no longer enough to survive in the ruthless modern media industry.

We are working in an environment in which big global companies like Facebook and Google have snapped up a huge proportion of global advertising. We highly value the relationships we have with our advertisers, but like most other media we also need other, more stable forms of income.
 
The reality is that a click or a unique visitor doesn't on its own pay the bills, especially when so many people use ad blockers.
 
If we want to continue to grow, as we have done since The Local Switzerland was launched in 2011, and offer more to readers, then we need to ask them to contribute directly.
 
But our Membership scheme is not just about having to balance the books amid stiff competition for ad revenues.
 
We want to be in a position to offer more insight into this wonderful country and to cover the news our readers need in more detail. We want to explain how the country works and give people the advice they need to navigate their life in Switzerland. 
 
And we'll be redoubling our efforts to speak up for the international residents of Switzerland when they need our help.
 
Membership is also motivated by our desire for our readers to become more involved in what we do and how we do it. We want to tell your stories and write about your experiences living in the country. In other words, don't think of your monthly or yearly payment as a fee, but as an investment.
 
We look forward to having you on board. 
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to email our team at [email protected].
 
Thank you for reading.
 
George Mills
 
Editor, The Local Switzerland

 
 

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MEMBERSHIP

Time’s nearly up: Join The Local Switzerland today for special discount price

From Tuesday March 5th readers of the The Local Switzerland will have to pay a small contribution to get full access to the site. Take advantage of the limited 30 percent off early bird offer before it's over.

Published: 1 March 2019 15:51 CET
Time's nearly up: Join The Local Switzerland today for special discount price

The Local Switzerland is following in the footsteps of our sister sites around Europe by asking regular readers to become paying Members.

Those who pay a small contribution to become Members will get full access to all articles on the site, as well as exclusive premium features that are only for those who have joined.

If you want to know about why are taking this step then you can read this article, but one of our primary aims is to continue to grow amid an increasingly tough media landscape and not have to rely solely on advertising revenue.

The experience we've already had with our sites in Sweden, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, where we have a combined total of over 9,000 members, tells us that this will be a positive move that will make us more accountable to readers and improve what we do.

From today, you can join The Local Switzerland by taking advantage of our “Early Bird” offer. This will also give you unlimited access to all of our other sites around Europe.

The offer, which gives you 30 percent off the price of annual membership, is about giving loyal readers the chance to join at a cheaper rate before we introduce the paywall at the beginning of March. The special offer is time limited.

With the offer, if you are in Switzerland you can sign up today for CHF34.99, rather than the normal annual price of CHF49.99.

If you are are outside Switzerland you can pay €34.99 for the first year of annual Membership instead of €49.99. Please note, if you are in the US or the UK the money will be paid in your local currency.

You can also join and pay a monthly rate and effectively get the first month free.

If you've read enough you can join now by CLICKING HERE to see the sign up page. Your support is much appreciated.

 

Why membership is a positive for readers

Our Membership scheme is not just about having to balance the books amid stiff competition for ad revenues.
 
We want to be in a position to offer more insight into this wonderful country and to cover the news our readers need in more detail. We want to explain how the country works and give people the advice they need to navigate their life in Switzerland
 
Meanwhile, we will continue to cover Switzerland's news in English as rigorously as we can, so you can keep up with the country's politics, culture and society.
 
Membership is also motivated by our desire for our readers to become more involved in what we do and how we do it. We want to tell your stories and write about your experiences living in Switzerland. In other words, we hope you will think of your monthly or yearly payment not as a fee, but as an investment.
 
From my point of view, a major positive about asking readers to pay is that the responsibility will make us improve what we do. By extension, if we can reduce our reliance on advertising we won't need to chase the clicks like many others do. We can concentrate on the stories that matter.
 
Join now or if you have any questions, please feel free to email our team at [email protected]
 
Thank you for reading.
 
George Mills,
Editor, The Local Switzerland

 

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