BLUELENA
End-to-end audience management and strategic marketing enabled by world-class technology, proven best practices and deep industry expertise.
Audience Conversion
BlueLena is a certified partner of Pico, a digital registration and monetization software that we deploy to immediately convert your anonymous website visitors to registered customers and support audience growth, engagement, monetization and ongoing optimization.
Audience Activation
The BlueLena customer experience automation (CXA) platform, powered by ActiveCampaign, enables deep integration with your content management system, e-commerce and social channels to create incredible experiences and drive audience activation.

Audience Optimization
BlueLena delivers deep audience intelligence, with data amassed from our fully-integrated technology stack. These insights inform your product, content, marketing and audience strategies by identifying your most engaged and profitable existing customers and then acquiring high-value new customers.

Our Story
BlueLena was founded by a team of experienced newsmedia executives to create a sustainable future for independent local media through building and supporting subscription, membership and donation models for long-term success.
We recognize that many publishers are faced with the challenge of investing in the technology and resourcing expertise to successfully implement consumer revenue strategies that are critical to long-term viability. BlueLena removes those barriers.
Our shared resource management (SRM) model for audience growth is built upon best-in-class technology and end-to-end managed services that drives growth and accelerates business model transformation. We have the track record to prove it.
The SRM approach allows even the smallest publisher to benefit from the same technologies deployed at some of the largest global media brands, and we provide you the assurance of continuous support and resourcing that allows you to invest in, and focus on, high quality content creation. Just ask our clients.
We have quickly grown to support leading alternative media brands coast-to-coast across the United States, including in the New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Raleigh and Washington, DC markets. Come join them.
BlueLena is founder-funded and backed by investment from Old Town Media a New York-based firm that has supported The Colorado Sun, Block Club Chicago, Chalkbeat and Medium, among other successful media-related projects. Let's get to work.
The BlueLena Solution
Features | Editions | STANDARD | PLUS | PRO |
---|---|---|---|
Setup/Migrations | No Cost | No Cost | No Cost |
Signup Forms | via Pico | via Pico | via Pico |
Payments | via Stripe | via Stripe | via Stripe |
ActiveCampaign ESP | Included | Included | Included |
90-Day Onboarding Series | - | Included | Included |
Branded HTML Templates | - | 8 | Contact Us |
Send Volume | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
User Seats | 25 | 25 | Unlimited |
Pre-Built Automations | 250+ | 250+ | 250+ |
App Integrations | 300+ | 300+ | 300+ |
Facebook Custom Audiences | Included | Included | Included |
Zapier Alerts | Included | Included | Included |
Audience Analytics | Included | Included | Included |
Advertising CRM | Included | Included | Included |
Tableau Reader | - | Included | Included |
Demographic Appends | - | - | Included |
SurveyMonkey | - | 3 templates | 5 templates |
Postcard Mania | - | Optional Add | Optional Add |
SimpleCirc Print Management | - | Optional Add | Optional Add |
Strategy Consulting | - | 1 Hour/Month | Contact Us |
Custom Support | 1 Hour/Month | 2 Hours/Month | Contact Us |
Standard Plan Pricing
Email Contacts | Monthly Fee | User Seats |
---|---|---|
0 - 5,000 | $599 | 25 |
5,000 - 10,000 | $799 | 25 |
10,000 - 25,000 | $999 | 25 |
25,000 - 50,000 | $1,499 | 25 |
50,000 - 100,000 | $1,999 | 25 |
100,000 or More | Contact Us |
*PLUS pricing includes 10% revenue share. Contact us for PRO plan pricing.
We Are Proud to Support
Our Leadership
Daniel L. Williams, Co-Founder and CEO
Daniel is an experienced entrepreneur and senior media executive who has been an industry leader in audience-driven media management. He began his career with the McClatchy Company and has held management roles with the New York Times Company, The Day Publishing Company, USA Today and Gannett. In 2011, he co-founded and led LEAP as its CEO for six years through its acquisition by BlueVenn, where he remained on for two years as its President, US division until December, 2019.
Daniel's work in developing LEAP's proprietary Targeted Growth Model, as well as implementing The Day's all-access membership model, has been adopted as an industry best practice. He is an active speaker, at INMA and the Local Media Association. Daniel has served on the INMA North American Board of Directors and is a member of the Local Media Association Chief Digital Officer's Club and the Wolfpack Investor Network.
Daniel is a graduate of NC State University and resides in Cary, NC.
James S. Gold, Co-Founder and Managing Director
James has served in senior management positions with US media companies for over thirty years. He now owns the Sentinel in Denver, Colorado. James is past President of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association's North American Board of Directors. He has spoken about strategic transformation in media at conferences in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Southeast Asia.
James is a graduate of Columbia University, and has completed executive management programs at the American Press Institute and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He resides in Castle Pines, Colorado.
Ned Berke, Vice President/Head of Audience Strategy
Prior to joining BlueLena in January 2021, Ned served as Program Director, Audience Development at the Center for Cooperative Media. In that role, he provided consulting, training and strategic services to local, regional, niche and investigative news publishers to build a lasting framework for audience growth and sustainability.
In his career, Ned has held a variety of executive roles, including as Editor-in-Chief at the Brooklyn Eagle, Senior Editor and Associate Publisher at the Corner Media Group, and Editor & Publisher at Sheepshead Bites. From 2017 until 2019, Ned served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, where he facilitated a Community Practice cohort of over thirty-five media brands to develop and execute audience growth strategies.
A resident of Brooklyn, NY, Ned is a Founding Board Member of the Local Independent Online News (LION) association, and a graduate of Rutgers University where he studied Journalism and Media.