Overview:
American Journalism Project and the Mirror Indy team tapped BlueLena in the summer of 2023 to help coordinate on its launch, including data- and community-informed messaging development, reader engagement, revenue and audience goal-setting and campaign management.
Mirror Indy celebrated its launch on Tuesday, December 5, debuting a newly designed website, a robust collection of in-depth, community-informed news serving Hoosiers, a daily newsletter — and more to come.
The rollout is the culmination of an exciting partnership between Mirror Indy’s experienced team, BlueLena, the American Journalism Project and Newspack. BlueLena provides strategic planning, technical implementation and back-office audience development services to support Mirror Indy’s mission to provide community-based journalism that informs and empowers Indianapolis residents to shape their city for the better.
American Journalism Project and the Mirror Indy team tapped BlueLena in the summer of 2023 to help coordinate on its launch, including data- and community-informed messaging development, reader engagement, revenue and audience goal-setting and campaign management.
Even before they had an official name, Mirror Indy started its Documenters program, which invites community members to learn a new skill by documenting local government meetings. Documenters are paid $20 an hour, and their meeting notes are edited and published on Mirror Indy’s website, creating an accessible public record of meetings in the county.
No looking back: Mirror Indy reached their year-end goal in under two hours.
- Mirror Indy debuted their new website. Just one and a half hours later, Mirror Indy surpassed their year-end membership goal when they welcomed their 101st donor.
- The team extended their launch goal to 317 donors, to go along with Indy’s area code and came close to that stretch goal by year’s end.
- And that’s not all. By January 1, one month after launch, the team increased their newsletter list by 68%.
As a sector we have a lot to learn together in terms of better serving our audiences and building the support needed to sustain local news. The Bluelena team are thoughtful and excellent partners to be in the trenches with as you’re learning, whether you’re just starting up or looking to refine your membership strategy.
Loretta Chao, Head of Startup Studio & Local News Innovation, American Journalism Project
Among the milestones in BlueLena’s partnership with Mirror Indy’s launch:
- Developing their initial donation strategy, including donor benefits
- A mission-driven reader onboarding and engagement strategy, informed by community listening data surfaced through American Journalism Project and BlueLena
- A roadmap for ongoing development of reader engagement, including audience surveys and callouts, as well as conversion-focused marketing automations such as an abandoned cart series
- Implementation of a low-friction first-party data strategy to grow the newsroom’s understanding and relationship with audiences
- Providing the technical guidance and execution of data infrastructure for donations, including product setup for checkout pages and newsletter popups, providing a wealth of segmentable data into the BlueLena-powered ESP & CRM
- Supporting product development for Mirror Indy’s flagship newsletter design and build and on-site UX and audience flows
Mirror Indy: Always interested in the full story.
- From the first day, Mirror Indy has been invested in the full picture: the context and background of a story, and how it affects Indy residents. Take their look at pharmacies closing in Indianapolis, which was informed by readers and community members sharing their experiences.
- And, they wasted no time sharing resources with readers, like this roundup of where to find assistance with rent, utility bills and winter clothing.
We’re proud to witness Mirror Indy’s incredible start, and we can’t wait to support their speedy growth in the new year.