🎙️ Unlocking Subscriptions with Robbie Kellman Baxter
Season 4 of the Purpose & Profit Podcast just premiered, with an episode on a topic near and dear to my heart.
When I first started speaking and writing about the opportunities that nonprofit leaders have to tap into recurring revenue in light of the subscription economy, I came across the work of Robbie Kellman Baxter.
Robbie is the leading expert in subscription businesses in the for-profit sector. One of her first clients in the early 2000s was Netflix, and over the years, she’s worked with many companies, including the NBA, Microsoft, and The Wall Street Journal.
I picked up a copy of her book, “The Forever Transaction: How to Build a Subscription Model So Compelling, Your Customers Will Never Want to Leave.” The book helped me see that the Membership Economy (Robbie coined the term) is not only a real phenomenon but also fueled my sense that nonprofits could leverage many of the insights, tools, and methodologies of subscription businesses to grow recurring giving.
I reached out to Robbie early in the research process, and she graciously helped me understand the dimensions of the opportunity in the for-profit space, which was incredibly helpful as we looked to translate those lessons into the context of charitable giving.
So today, I’m excited to introduce you to Robbie and insights from more than two decades of experience working with and growing subscription businesses.
If this is of interest to you, I highly recommend you give the episode a listen:
Purpose & Profit Podcast – Season 4, Episode 1
In this episode, we talk about the subscription economy and how companies have changed over the years. We cover:
How the world of subscriptions has changed over the past decade.
Examples of for-profit and non-profit subscriptions.
Advice around starting a subscription at a for-profit or non-profit.
Robbie’s experience and knowledge from 20 years in the industry across more than 100 companies.
I’ve written extensively about sustainable giving in the subscription economy. Here are some recent Wave Reports on the topic:
6 Key Shifts Driven by the Subscription Economy, Part One (and Part Two)
Trend: Subscriptions, recurring revenue, and how to leverage them in 2023
💡 Takeaway: Translating subscription insights into sustainable giving is a core part of my life’s work, and our work at Imago Consulting. Nonprofit leaders can learn a lot about growing recurring giving by understanding the world of subscriptions and the Membership Economy with experts like Robbie Kellman Baxter.
Until next week… Surfs Up! 🌊
- Dave
About the Author | Dave Raley
Consultant, speaker, and writer Dave Raley is the founder of Imago Consulting, a firm that helps non-profits and businesses create profitable growth through sustainable innovation. He’s the author of a weekly trendspotting report called The Wave Report, and the co-founder of the Purpose & Profit Podcast — a show about the ideas at the intersection of nonprofit causes and for-profit brands.
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