New York Times Ties Free Digital Trial to Newsstand Paper Sales

When trying to balance the shift from print to digital subscriptions, a number of newspaper and magazines have created print+digital bundle packages that have

When trying to balance the shift from print to digital subscriptions, a number of newspaper and magazines have created print+digital bundle packages that have succeeded in migrating print subscribers online.But what should legacy print publications do about their newsstand sales?On November 3rd, The New York Times is attempting to remedy the problem of single-issue print sales by offering anyone who buys a newspaper four weeks of free digital access:

New York Times print free digital access trial

The key to this promotion is the peel-back sticker; consumers will be forced to buy a paper to access the code needed to activate the promotion.An alternate promotion might include a QR code, especially for subscription sites that see a heft amount of traffic through mobile.Of course, this sort of promotion doesn’t need to be limited to acquiring new subscribers. It’s also a great retention and engagement tactic for existing print+digital subscribers who haven’t yet synced up their print, online and mobile accounts.