Subscription GrowthProposal
A strategic partnership for subscriber growth.
Cigar Journal is the world's only magazine devoted entirely to giving cigars the depth of attention serious enthusiasts want — a 148-page bilingual publication (English/Spanish in the US, English/German internationally) built for home reading, not quick consumption in a shop. With roughly 35,000 subscribers in the US and 75,000–80,000 internationally, Cigar Journal has already built the kind of loyal, niche readership most publishers spend decades chasing.
NPS Media Group has spent 35 years helping subscription publishers grow that kind of base further. This proposal focuses on three levers we can pull now, independent of the September website redesign: re-engaging lapsed subscribers through email, finding the right price point through disciplined testing, and reaching new readers through targeted Meta paid media — expanding beyond the retail cigar-shop shelf, where Cigar Journal competes for attention against more lifestyle-oriented titles.
NPS will serve as Cigar Journal's marketing partner across strategy, email, pricing, and paid acquisition, at a monthly retainer of $2,150 — with a recommended $1,250/month in Meta ad spend billed directly by Meta — a focused, accountable program built around the audience Cigar Journal has already earned.
What we'll achieve together.
Re-engage lapsed subscribers through a targeted email win-back program
Identify the optimal price point through structured US/international testing
Acquire new subscribers through targeted Meta paid media beyond the retail shelf
Protect and strengthen existing renewal and retention performance
Align acquisition-friendly requirements — CTA placement, checkout pricing — with the September website redesign
Expand the subscriber base without diluting the serious-collector audience that differentiates Cigar Journal from lifestyle competitors
A focused program for retention, pricing, and growth.
NPS will manage four connected workstreams — strategic direction, email re-engagement, pricing strategy, and paid acquisition — each reporting into a single monthly cadence so every channel reinforces the others.
Strategic Direction & Consulting
Ongoing strategic guidance across the engagement, prioritizing the roadmap against results as they come in, and keeping the acquisition path aligned with the upcoming website redesign.
- —Monthly strategy check-ins and quarterly business reviews
- —Coordination with the website redesign partner on subscribe/pricing requirements
- —Industry benchmarking for subscription publishing and niche/collector audiences
Email Marketing & Subscriber Re-Engagement
A win-back and retention program built around Cigar Journal's existing subscriber and lapsed-subscriber data.
- —Win-back campaign for subscribers lapsed in the last 12–24 months
- —Welcome and nurture series for new subscribers and newsletter opt-ins
- —Renewal reminder sequence to protect current retention
Pricing Strategy & Testing
Structured testing to find the price point that maximizes revenue without harming retention, across both core markets.
- —A/B testing of price points above and below current pricing
- —Testing segmented by market — US vs. international
- —Recommendation and rollout plan following the test window
Paid Media & Digital Acquisition (Meta)
Targeted paid social to reach new collectors beyond the current subscriber base and beyond the competitive retail shelf.
- —Audience targeting toward premium spirits, whisky/bourbon enthusiasts, and cigar lounges
- —Full campaign strategy, creative development and testing
- —Ongoing optimization and monthly performance reporting
Where we'll reach your audience.
Paid acquisition in this engagement is concentrated on Meta, where interest and lookalike targeting can most efficiently reach adjacent niche audiences.
Meta — Facebook & Instagram
- +Interest-based audiences: premium spirits, whisky/bourbon, cigar lounges and accessories
- +Lookalike audiences built from the current subscriber base
- +Retargeting audiences: website visitors and email non-converters
- +Creative testing across static and video formats
Investment.
A one-year partnership.
We propose an agreement with a twelve (12) month term for the retainer services, beginning August 1, 2026. The agreement auto-renews for successive 12-month terms unless either party provides 60 days' written notice prior to term end; either party may terminate early with 60 days' written notice.
Already delivered, at no cost.
A separate memo outlining easy, near-term website fixes — subscribe CTA prominence, pricing visibility earlier in checkout, and email capture — has already been sent to your team ahead of the September redesign. These are recommended for Cigar Journal's own team to implement directly and are not part of this engagement's fee.
- —Subscribe CTA and navigation prominence
- —Pricing display earlier in the subscription/checkout path
- —Newsletter-to-subscription funnel recommendations
Let's get started.
Review and approve this proposal
Execute the agreement
Schedule kickoff meeting and confirm ESP/Meta account access
Begin work August 1, 2026
A collector's magazine.A subscriber base ready to grow.The right partner.
Cigar Journal has built something genuinely rare: a title serious enough that its readers treat it as a reference, not a rack-side impulse buy. That's a hard thing to build and an easy thing to grow from, once the right subscriber is in front of the right offer.
NPS Media Group brings 35 years of subscription-marketing experience to make that growth deliberate — re-engaging readers who've already shown they value Cigar Journal, finding the price point that works for a global, bilingual audience, and reaching new collectors who haven't found you yet. We're looking forward to building this with you, Reinhold.