Case Study

How Daily Maverick turned free content into multiple revenue streams with Sailthru personalization

To scale sustainably without introducing a paywall, the team needed to convert engagement into consistent support. That meant smarter targeting, better personalization, and less friction in the user experience.

The challenge: Turning engagement into support without compromising values

Daily Maverick is one of South Africa’s most respected independent news organizations. With a mission to keep quality journalism free and accessible, they built a loyal base of supporters through the Maverick Insiders program—readers who voluntarily contribute to sustain the newsroom and enjoy an ad-free experience in return.

Daily Maverick’s model depends on community, not commerce. But before Sailthru, they lacked the tools to act on years of behavioral data. Convoluted donation flows and limited personalization made it difficult to identify and convert their most loyal readers.

“We’d spent a decade building this audience of engaged readers. Once we connected our tags to Sailthru profiles, it was like everything just clicked, and suddenly we had access to this gold mine of information we couldn’t fully use before.”
— John Stupart, Newsletter Editor, Daily Maverick

The solution: Data-driven personalization and smarter segmentation

After years cycling through local ESPs, Daily Maverick switched to Sailthru in late 2024 and completed their fastest-ever migration in just one month. With support from Marigold’s customer success team, they hit the ground running.

Key Capabilities Included:

  • Interest-based targeting, syncing WordPress article tags to Sailthru profiles
  • Dynamic content rows to deliver personalized CTAs to readers most likely to convert
  • Churn-reduction flows triggered automatically when payment methods near expiration
  • Audience pruning to focus efforts on engaged users and lower ESP costs
  • Smart onboarding journeys that reflect subscriber preferences and behavior
  • Hosted pages and newsletter templates for major campaigns like The Gathering

Results:

  • Faster time to value: Fully migrated and live in one month
  • Reduced churn: Credit card expiration alerts now run automatically
  • Higher Insider conversions: Targeting engaged users with content they care about
  • Smarter list management: Cut inactive users while improving targeting accuracy
  • Expanded revenue mix: Email remains their #1 converter for donations


Expanding success: Local news and event engagement

Next, Daily Maverick is launching its first local bureau in Nelson Mandela Bay. The new Baywatch newsletter will serve as a local touchpoint covering events, businesses, and politics Monday through Friday.

They’re also evolving their flagship event, The Gathering, with Sailthru-powered hosted pages to drive early ticket sales and attendee engagement.

“We’re trying to reboot local news in South Africa, and the newsletter will carry the banner. It’s going to be our bread and butter. Daily, hyperlocal, and built entirely around community relevance.” — John Stupart

Why Marigold

For a lean team with ambitious goals, Sailthru gives Daily Maverick the power to act like a bigger organization. From behavioral targeting to personalized onboarding and dynamic journeys, Sailthru helps them grow sustainably while staying true to their mission: free, independent journalism for all.

From API-based sending to expert deliverability guidance, Sailthru gives them what they need to stay nimble, scale sustainably, and keep their lists healthy. That way, they can focus on what they do best: connecting communities through content that brings people closer to where they live.

“Sailthru is only as good as you make it. Sure, you can just use it to send emails, but if that’s all you do, you’re wasting the best parts. It’s completely changed how we think about newsletters and what they can do.” — John Stupart

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