The Tyler Loop: Growing membership with events and newsletters

The Tyler Loop co-founders, Chris Groskopf, far left, and Tasneen Raja, far right, are joined by Loop readers who came to their first taco tour. The pair toured Tyler, ate tacos and shared information on The Loop’s site, newsletter and community events. (Photo courtesy of The Tyler Loop.)

Posted Monday, July 29, 2019 12:00 am

By Ebony Reed, director of innovation and the RJI Futures Lab

This summer, Innovation in Focus is speaking to news organizations that are exploring new, emerging or unique revenue models

In a small town with slightly more than 100,000 people, known for its annual rose festival, news site The Tyler Loop is growing a membership model with events and a newsletter to collaborate, not compete with, other local news organizations.

The philosophy is somewhat unique in journalism because limited community resources can create more competitors than collaborators. Co-founder Tasneem Raja moved to Tyler with her husband, Chris Groskopf, and started the site to increase community journalism, events and community partnership. Raja's lessons from the last two years can help other news startups. Her business model includes donations, sponsorships and memberships.

The Tyler Loop: Growing membership with events and newsletters

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