You may have heard the news by now: INMA will conduct the news industry’s first major exploration of the emerging art and science behind engaging digital subscribers November 8-9 in Miami.

The Consumer Engagement Summit aims to tackle four urgent subjects:

• Reader engagement
• Reducing subscriber churn
• Content discovery
• Personalization

Click here for complete information and register online

All the details:

• When: November 8-9
• Where: Miami
• Venue: SLS Brickell
• Pre-Summit Bonus: Miami Study Tour for Media
• Early (Discounted) Registration Deadline: July 30

We want to expand upon INMA’s April London meeting on digital subscription sales by focusing on the vexing next-generation challenge: Once you have mastered the sales processes of getting subscribers, what best practices do you need to keep them?

Synthesizing a lot of research worldwide, INMA members now know that frequency is the No. 1 determinant of a retained subscriber. Across two days in Miami, we will attack this finding by looking at:

1. Why engagement matters
2. Learning more about the power of habit
3. Getting the data and analytics correct for engagement and retention
4. Best practices in churn propensity modeling
5. Best practices in newsletters and alerts
6. Defining newsletter opportunities (and knowing when to kill them)
7. What drives engagement and what drives down churn
8. Identifying measurements of success: breadth, depth, frequency
9. What content most engages existing subscribers

Is engagement a challenge at your company? Are you trying to figure out what KPIs work for you? Are you trying to entrench these mindsets into your corporate culture? How well are you doing in positioning the newsroom to take charge?

The INMA Consumer Engagement Summit in Miami is going to be a practical, roll-up-your-sleeves, from-the-heart look at a raw subject for many INMA members. If this is a challenge for you, consider sending your team members who are wrestling with this today. I know this stretches across departments.

Not only do I promise a world-class program on a subject INMA is taking the lead, your team will be in the same room as peers trying to figure this out, too.

As a bonus and if your time and budget allow, INMA also is putting together a pre-Summit study tour of Miami’s leading companies in technology, journalism, intelligent marketing, and data visualization. Check out the early program by clicking here and book the study tour and Summit as a package.

INMA is committed to continual knowledge improvement, and nothing is more important these days than digital subscriptions – acquiring them and keeping them. I hope our Miami initiative meets the high expectations of our industry.

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Take Charge America Shares Surprising Facts About Your Credit Score

Nonprofit credit counseling, debt management agency sheds light on eight little-known credit score facts

PHOENIX – (July 10, 2018) – Most people know their credit score is an important factor in securing a mortgage, auto loan or even an apartment. They also know that missing a credit card or loan payment can damage their score. However, there are other lesser-known facts that could make or break that three-digit number.

“Nothing affects your financial health more than your credit score,” said Michael Sullivan, a personal finance consultant with Take Charge America, a national nonprofit credit counseling and debt management agency. “But, there’s a lot of mystery surrounding credit scores, including how scores increase or decrease.”

Sullivan sheds light on eight surprising facts about credit scores:

• It affects insurance rates: In many states, insurers base your rates on your credit score. If it’s 700 or better, you can lock in the best prices. Likewise, a score below 600 means higher insurance rates.
• Employers may review your credit: If you’re applying for a job requiring a security check, expect the company to check your credit report and score, too. If you’re hoping to work in the financial services industry, you most likely need a good score to secure a job.
• It won’t improve if you cancel a credit card: It may seem counterintuitive, but closing an old credit card can actually hurt your credit score because it impacts your credit utilization, which is a factor in determining the score.
• Overdue library fines can affect your score: You might be shocked to learn that libraries often work with debt collectors to collect fines. And, while libraries don’t report to credit bureaus, collection agencies do.
• So can outstanding medical bills: Similarly, unpaid medical bills are sent to collection agencies and have the same effect on scores.
• No debt does not equal good credit: Many people assume that having no credit cards or other debt will get them a higher credit score, but this isn't true. Without a history of past debts and repayments, creditors can’t predict how you will repay your debt. This makes it difficult to secure a loan. On the other hand, running up a bunch of credit card debt won’t help your situation either. Aim to pay off all balances monthly.
• Neither does a hefty savings account. Your account balance has no bearing on your credit score. 
• Errors are common: The Federal Trade Commission reports that more than 20 percent of Americans have a “potentially material error in their credit report,” meaning their score may be lower than it should be. Not surprisingly, credit reporting is the second biggest source of complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It’s important to review your report at least once a year to check for errors. You can request a free report from each of the three credit bureaus annually at annualcreditreport.com.

For more tips or information about credit counseling, budgeting, debt relief or student loans, visit takechargeamerica.org or call (866) 528-0588.

About Take Charge America, Inc.

Founded in 1987, Take Charge America, Inc. is a nonprofit agency offering financial education and counseling services including credit counseling, debt management, student loan counseling, housing counseling and bankruptcy counseling. It has helped more than 1.6 million consumers nationwide manage their personal finances and debts. To learn more, visit takechargeamerica.org or call (888) 822-9193.

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STATEMENT on the pardon of Dwight and Steven Hammond

DENVER—In response to President Trump’s pardon of public lands arsonists Dwight and Steven Hammond, the Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:

“Pardoning the Hammonds sends a dangerous message to America’s park rangers, wildland firefighters, law enforcement officers, and public lands managers. President Trump, at the urging of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, has once again sided with lawless extremists who believe that public land does not belong to all Americans.”

The arrest and arson conviction of the Hammonds inspired the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016.

For more information, visit westernpriorities.org. To speak with an expert on public lands, contact Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org. Sign up for Look West to get daily public lands and energy news sent to your inbox.