Urban MKE Announces Membership Program

Urban Milwaukee Expansion

In July of last year The Salt Lake Tribune tried something new, launching an online membership drive for $9.99 a month. The basic deal: you get an ad-free environment, you get invitations to special events with newsmakers, and most importantly, you help support a publication you value. In three months 600 readers had signed up to become members.

Around the same time the independent, online Charlotte Agenda launched a similar membership drive, and has already surpassed 600 members.

Which brings us to Urban Milwaukee’s new membership program, which we are launching this week. Our publication continues to grow its editorial, publishing more than 35 stories and 70 press releases per week, and its readership, now at 150,000 regular users and 500,000 page views per month. But we need more financial support to keep this going — and to continue growing.

We’re also responding to the many readers who’ve asked over the years how they can support Urban Milwaukee. This is your chance to do so.

What will you get by becoming a member? Quite a lot, actually:

• An environment free of banner ads that provides faster page loads and a unique, editorial-only experience
• A better, faster photo browser on the website
• Invitations to member-only events and online chats with a chance to meet and converse with Urban Milwaukee staff
• Behind-the-scenes tours of new, under-construction and classic Milwaukee buildings
• The chance to get free tickets to concerts, festivals and other events as they become available through our partners
• Access to an advertising-free version of our daily or weekly email update of all stories
• Providing support that will assure Urban Milwaukee can continue focusing on smart, substantive news coverage rather than clickbait

And the price for all that is $9 month or $99 a year. Either way of paying is fine with us (signing-up is easy).

This is not a paywall, but simply an option for readers who like the idea of becoming Urban Milwaukee insiders who get invited to special, editorial-oriented events. Or who simply want to support a valued publication. Readers who don’t want to subscribe won’t notice any changes in the publication and will continue to view ads that also help support Urban Milwaukee.

Those who’ve followed Urban Milwaukee for years have seen how we’ve grown 25-fold in readership and content. Since our crowd funding drive last year, we’ve launched a new events calendar, the city’s only Political Contribution Tracker, and will launch a new Dining Guide before the end of the year. We continue to work towards launching all the new features we announced last year.

Meanwhile, our membership program is about generating sustaining support to assure Urban Milwaukee can continue to excel and continue growing. We are committed to building a fiercely independent, powerful publication that champions Milwaukee and smart urban solutions for this city. If you think that’s important or you simply like being a reader in the know, we hope you will consider becoming a member. Just click here to sign up.