AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

Newsletter open rates plateau. Subscriber counts stagnate. When no one owns the strategy connecting editorial output to audience acquisition, a media property loses ground to competitors who do. The Audience Development Manager answers that problem directly, holding responsibility for growing, retaining, and monetizing reader and viewer audiences across digital channels including newsletters, SEO, social platforms, and paid distribution. Sitting inside editorial-led organizations - from B2B trade publishers to broadcast newsrooms to multi-masthead media groups - this role reports into marketing or brand leadership and is measured on traffic, subscription volume, and engagement depth. The work demands equal fluency in data analysis and content strategy.

As the Audience Development Manager, you own the subscriber acquisition, engagement, and retention strategy for a media organization's digital channels, translating audience data into actionable campaigns across newsletters, search, social, and paid platforms. You work across editorial, sales, and marketing teams, with scope spanning from day-to-day campaign execution to long-range channel strategy for both existing publications and new product launches.

Career Impact: Mastery of audience segmentation, editorial SEO, and newsletter monetization positions an Audience Development Manager as a sought-after specialist in a media market where first-party data strategy has become a primary revenue driver.

Business Impact: The subscriber lists, NPS scores, and traffic growth this role directly moves determine how effectively a media property sells advertising inventory and retains its paying audience.

Growth Opportunity: Experience owning multi-channel audience programs - spanning SEO, paid social, CRM, and newsletter operations - builds the competency profile that leads to Director of Audience Development or VP of Marketing roles within media organizations.

• Own newsletter strategy and execution, from campaign creation through performance optimization, to grow subscriber counts and engagement rates.
• Lead SEO strategy across written and video content, advising editorial teams on best practices to increase organic search traffic and improve rankings.
• Design and execute multi-channel audience acquisition campaigns using email, paid social, display advertising, and organic search methods.
• Analyze audience data and engagement metrics to build audience personas, identify growth opportunities, and deliver insights to editorial and sales stakeholders.
• Manage subscriber database integrity, including segmentation, deduplication, and the production of targeted output files for promotional use.
• Collaborate with editorial, sales, and marketing teams to align content programming with audience growth priorities and revenue targets.
• Develop launch strategies for new publications and newsletter products, including acquisition plans and distribution channel setup.
• Monitor and report on campaign performance across all channels, presenting findings to leadership and recommending strategy adjustments.

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, journalism, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 3 or more years of audience development, digital marketing, or content marketing experience, with demonstrated ownership of subscriber or traffic growth goals.
• Proven ability to analyze qualitative and quantitative audience data to inform campaign strategy and content decisions.
• Experience building and executing email marketing campaigns, including segmentation, automation, and A/B testing.
• Working knowledge of SEO principles, including on-page optimization, metadata strategy, and search performance analysis.
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to write clear copy for newsletters, campaign briefs, and stakeholder reports.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects across editorial, sales, and marketing stakeholders under deadline pressure.

• Experience managing paid social or paid search campaigns, including budget oversight and performance optimization.
• Familiarity with customer data platforms or marketing automation systems used for audience segmentation and lifecycle marketing.
• Prior work in a newsroom, trade publishing, or multi-title media organization, with exposure to print-to-digital audience migration.
• Experience developing YouTube channel strategy or managing video audience growth alongside written content programs.

• Newsletter subscriber growth rate, measuring net new opt-ins against churn each reporting period.
• Organic search traffic volume, reflecting the effectiveness of editorial SEO strategy on ranked content.
• Email open and click-through rates, indicating how well campaign targeting and content resonates with segmented audiences.
• Audience database health score, measured by deduplication rate and percentage of complete, actionable records.
• NPS survey completion rate and post-survey score movement, tied directly to survey execution ownership.
• Typical tools: email and marketing automation platforms (commonly Omeda, Iterable, or similar); web analytics suites (commonly Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics).

• Base Salary Range: $65,000 to $95,000 annually, varying by market and organization size.
• Bonus: Annual performance bonus of 5% to 10% of base salary, tied to audience growth KPIs.
• Equity: Rarely offered at this level in media; occasional RSUs at larger publicly traded publishers.
• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer typically covers 70% to 80% of premiums.
• PTO: 15 to 20 days annually, plus standard federal holidays and occasional publication-specific closures.
• Common Perks: Media subscription access, remote or hybrid schedule flexibility, professional development stipend for industry conferences.

Figures are estimates based on general US market benchmarks and may be outdated. Adjust based on location, company size, and seniority level.

Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Candidates requiring reasonable accommodations during the application or interview process may request them at any time. Offers of employment are contingent on successful completion of a background check. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.

The Audience Development Manager owns cross-company audience strategy, leading digital marketing campaigns, newsletter programs, PPC execution, and NPS survey management to grow and retain audiences across assigned industries. Working alongside editorial, sales, and marketing teams, this role delivers measurable gains in audience engagement and subscriber growth by combining data-driven segmentation with hands-on campaign execution.

Key Responsibilities

Manage audience processes, best practices, and training across the company, including presenting to marketers, onboarding new team members, and revamping workflows.

Act as a lead to audience development and support specialists, helping identify priorities and the best approach.

Present new ideas to increase audience growth and engagement, leveraging experience in previous marketing roles.

Work with assigned publisher to define valuable audience segments.

Create, test, support, and execute digital marketing campaigns to grow, nurture, and engage the audience within assigned industries using marketing automation and other platforms.

Collaborate with editorial, sales, and marketing teams by providing regular audience insights and co-developing strategies to increase engagement, retention, and value.

Create marketing emails, triggered campaigns, automated campaigns, and promotional emails; manage newsletter inclusions and ad placements for sponsored content.

Develop strategy for new publication and newsletter launches, including audience acquisition plans, email setup, and PPC.

Analyze audience data to help market leaders understand engagement levels and create audience personas; manage NPS survey execution and create post-survey PowerPoint decks.

Execute and manage PPC advertising on search and social platforms such as Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in management, marketing, communication, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years of marketing experience.
• Detail-oriented and data-driven, with the ability to use qualitative and quantitative insights to develop audience-driving campaigns.
• Experience with marketing automation tools, CDP, Google Ads, and Google Analytics; Omeda experience a plus.
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities collaboratively.
• Intellectually curious, comfortable working in a complex and ever-changing environment, and able to work cross-functionally.
• Some travel to Washington DC and NYC offices will be required.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Brand Marketing and Audience Development, the Audience Development Manager shapes NOVA's audience reach by managing editorial SEO strategy, a twice-weekly newsletter program, and the organization's YouTube channel across multiple platforms. Partnering with PBS stations and internal production teams, this role builds sustainable audience growth by combining data-informed content optimization with mentorship on social and emerging platform strategy.

Primary Duties

• Develop and execute editorial SEO strategy; optimize SEO for written and video content; write SEO headlines and metadata for the website and YouTube.
• Manage NOVA's YouTube channel, write and optimize headlines and copy, and identify strategic opportunities for audience growth.
• Write twice-weekly email newsletter; implement rigorous testing, optimization, and audience growth strategies for NOVA's email program.
• Manage analytics and reporting for SEO, newsletter, YouTube, and all social platforms.
• Support social media efforts and expansion on emerging platforms as needed.
• Support development and production of projects related to audience development or emerging platforms as needed.
• Mentor and advise PBS stations on social media and audience development growth and strategy as required under NOVA Tentpole Projects.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
• 2–4 years of relevant experience, preferably at a media organization.
• Proven experience using data and editorial judgment to optimize content and growth strategies for newsletters, SEO, and YouTube.
• Proven experience developing content strategies for social media that drive growth and engagement.
• Experience using analytics and publishing tools including Google Analytics, Sprout, and Iterable; experience with a CMS required.
• Strong writing skills with the ability to produce clean, clear copy reflecting brand voice and platform conventions.
• Careful attention to detail, adherence to journalistic accuracy, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Interest in science and knowledge of basic science reporting principles preferred.

Sitting at the intersection of audio content and social media marketing, the Audience Development Manager leads audience growth and community engagement for News Corp's NewsCast podcast portfolio, creating campaigns and social content for flagship shows including The Matty Johns Podcast and Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage. Operating across editorial, social, and video teams from mastheads including The Australian and news.com.au, this role builds loyal listener communities while driving awareness and profitability across platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Duties

• Lead, conceptualize, and execute audience development programs that actively engage current and prospective podcast listeners.
• Own and lead audio-specific social media audience development strategies for key podcasts, ensuring best practice across platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
• Devise and lead new marketing strategies outside of social media to grow podcast audiences.
• Create high-quality, shareable multimedia social content to increase awareness, audience, and profitability of podcasts.
• Build, own, and manage communities around flagship podcasts to drive dialogue and engagement with loyal listeners.
• Work with key editorial stakeholders and social teams to ensure social content and activations are adopted and advocated.
• Stay abreast of social media trends and changing algorithms; regularly share best practices with the wider team.
• Advise and coach talent on social media best practices and strategies to drive podcast growth using their owned channels.
• Work with video personnel to distribute and develop engaging social video across channels; monitor and report on performance across channels to continuously improve activations.

Requirements

• 8+ years of social media and marketing experience for a newsroom or client/brand.
• Experience in marketing and social promotion of digital audio and podcasts.
• Experience driving digital marketing initiatives to grow audiences from strategy to completion.
• Proficiency in Canva, Adobe Suite including Audition and Premiere Pro, and social scheduling tools.
• Ability to use data and insights to create compelling content.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and a passion for creativity.

Embedded within Smithsonian Enterprises' media division, the Audience Development Manager leads the full newsletter and direct email business from product ideation through list management, while building paid social and digital display strategies that monetize audience distribution. Working closely with Editorial, Print, and Advertising colleagues, this role advances subscription growth, digital traffic, and revenue across newsletters, virtual events, and syndication partnerships.

Core Functions

• Collaborate with Editorial, Print, and Advertising colleagues on the creation and execution of all newsletters and direct emails to drive audience acquisition, engagement, digital traffic, and revenue.
• Develop new audiences for the virtual events business and drive ticket sales by managing day-to-day marketing strategy across creative, social media, email, and display ads.
• Manage digital, email, and social paid advertising from production to optimization, using data to ensure successful delivery and exceed client expectations.
• Identify opportunities for audience engagement and growth with new digital products, including newsletters, social platforms, and podcasts.
• Work with syndication partners including Apple News and Pocket to identify relevant content for promotion and republishing.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience, plus 5–7 years of related experience.
• Minimum 3 years' experience in audience development or a similar role, including newsletter, paid advertising, and social media platforms.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to manage and parse data to inform digital and audience strategies.
• Fluency in HTML, Adobe Photoshop, word processing, Excel, and web-based content management systems including social media and email marketing management systems.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills with excellent attention to detail and ability to manage shifting priorities.

A key member of the audience team, the Audience Development Manager builds and executes data-driven subscriber engagement strategies, overseeing the Omeda Customer Data Platform, marketing automation campaigns, and social media acquisition programs to meet KPI targets. Collaborating with the Audience Development Director and external vendors, this role sustains database integrity and drives subscriber growth across print and digital channels.

Functions

• Oversee the Omeda Customer Data Platform, managing and maintaining key audience segments; run database queries, produce segmented output files for marketing promotions, and pull stats for sales.
• Process magazine issue closes through the fulfillment house and provide print instructions to the printer.
• Assist the Audience Development Director in developing data-driven audience engagement strategies to drive subscriber growth.
• Manage subscription efforts including marketing automation campaigns, telemarketing campaigns, and vendor relationships.
• Assist with the preparation of audience and campaign reports.
• Build a social media strategy to acquire new subscribers through LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
• Maintain relationships with external partners and clean the customer database by researching, correcting, combining duplicate records, and appending missing data.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with a proven track record in audience engagement.
• Experience with email marketing and/or marketing automation technologies.
• Familiarity with social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
• Experience working with the Omeda Customer Data Platform required.
• Excellent Excel skills including XLOOKUPS, VLOOKUPS, de-duping, IF functions, drop-downs, and conditional formatting.
• Strong organizational skills including time management, attention to detail, critical thinking, and excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Sustained growth in digital traffic and newsletter reach depends on the Audience Development Manager, who creates and manages audience acquisition strategy, leads SEO optimization across locally and nationally produced content, and coaches the digital team on YouTube publishing and push alert performance. Based within a broadcast newsroom environment, this role serves as the primary driver of organic audience expansion across search, social, email, and app store channels.

Accountabilities

• Create and manage audience acquisition and growth strategy; establish KPIs and coach the digital team on tools and strategies to achieve goals.
• Work with the newsroom to maximize digital traffic, leveraging both locally and nationally produced content.
• Lead SEO optimization efforts, including editing and optimizing content, advising digital content creators on best practices, and monitoring analytics to identify growth opportunities.
• Develop and execute strategy to grow engagement on the station's YouTube channel, including content optimization and coaching the digital team on publishing best practices.
• Take a hands-on role in newsletter strategy to expand email distribution potential; monitor quality and performance of push alerts.
• Maintain the station's app store presence and create graphic elements to support and promote digital coverage across platforms.
• Other duties as assigned.

Technical Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field preferred.
• Experience working at a digital publishing organization with a focus on organic traffic growth preferred.
• Thorough understanding of SEO techniques and tools and passion for SEO-driven results.
• Social media expertise across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
• Experience using Adobe Photoshop to create graphics and content management systems for publishing.
• Adobe Analytics, Chartbeat, and WordPress experience a plus.
• Passionate about interpreting data and identifying key insights; exceptional writing, copyediting, and fact-checking skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with strong attention to detail; thrives in a hands-on, collaborative, fast-paced environment.

As the Audience Development Manager at FounderMade in New York, this role leads ticket registration strategy and community relationship development for summits, building partnerships with retailers, investors, influencers, and corporate partners across the company's verticals. The FounderMade team relies on this work to achieve registration quotas, grow community awareness through marketing campaigns, and coordinate guest experience across main and ancillary events.

Activities

• Establish ticket registration objectives, develop pricing strategies, and project expected ticket registrations and profit for the summit.
• Strategize and execute ticket registration plans and actions to achieve quota and goals.
• Proactively identify opportunities with community partners for registration campaigns and source call lists for targeted outreach.
• Effectively lead ticket registration efforts; track and report progress against milestones.
• Help source, train, and manage new Audience Development team members.
• Collaborate with marketing to develop campaigns to drive awareness and grow the FounderMade community.
• Collaborate with production and sales teams on managing invitations, guest lists, and event communications for ancillary and main events.

Position Requirements

• 3–5 years of experience in audience development and/or sales; ticket sales experience is an advantage.
• Experience working with Salesforce.com or similar CRM.
• Excellent organizational, time management, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Detail-oriented and meticulous on data hygiene.
• Able to confidently communicate with potential clients and present information about the summit.
• Strong phone presence with experience dialing high call volumes.

Audience Development Manager leads The Drum's newly formed Audience team across the US and UK, overseeing content distribution, newsletter growth, SEO optimization, and social media strategy to maximize reach for The Drum's video, audio, and written output. Success in the position means delivering measurable increases in page views, Drum Plus subscriptions, newsletter registrants, and social media followers while ensuring the team operates with current trend intelligence and cross-functional alignment.

Operational Focus

• Manage a team consisting of content execs, social media manager, newsletter editor, data and insights exec, and subscription sales manager.
• Ensure native content across video, audio, and written formats is distributed as widely as possible and repurposed in evergreen, SEO-optimized, and premium forms for Drum Plus subscribers.
• Ensure editorial, marketing, and audience teams have the latest trend insights to reach the right audience at the right time through the most suitable media.
• Grow audience loyalty through increases in newsletter subscriptions, social following, and Drum Plus pay-to-read subscriptions.
• Collaborate with the SEO exec, audience data and insights exec, and social team to optimize content, surface trends and opportunities, and maximize distribution.
• Ensure content ties in with wider company initiatives including festivals, deep dives, and awards where possible.
• Deliver measurable increases in page views, sessions per user, pages per session, Drum Plus subscriptions, newsletter registrants, registered users, and social media followers.

Knowledge Skills & Abilities

• Minimum 6 years' experience in an audience development role at a publisher.
• Demonstrable management experience.
• Strong understanding of digital content in all its forms including audio, podcasts, video, social media, newsletters, and SEO.
• Familiarity with GA and other relevant analytics tools.
• Ability to analyze and present complex data clearly to key stakeholders across the business.
• Strong verbal and impeccable written communication skills with a keen eye for trends and willingness to adapt and implement change.

The Audience Development Manager owns multi-channel campaign strategy across organic and paid channels, managing audience segmentation within a customer database platform and collaborating with editorial, content marketing, and digital teams to grow site traffic, content downloads, and subscriber counts across media properties. Working across marketing, editorial, and sales functions, this role delivers measurable audience acquisition and retention results by combining SEO proficiency, paid digital execution, and data-driven content promotion.

Key Deliverables

• Manage and maintain key audience segments within the customer database platform; use marketing performance analytics to refine strategies for audience growth and retention.
• Orchestrate multi-channel campaigns to acquire, re-engage, and nurture key audiences through organic and paid methods.
• Report on growth, activity, and engagement of key audience groups; segment the database to enable and promote marketing services to external clients.
• Collaborate with editorial, content marketing, and digital marketing teams to develop and promote long-form content, reports, and whitepapers to increase search traffic, content downloads, and new subscribers.
• Work with editorial teams to review content engagement by key segment, identify new opportunities, and deliver growth in site traffic to media properties.
• Liaise between marketing, editorial, and sales on content programming and community sizing; refine social media strategy across media properties to foster top-of-funnel and subscriber growth.

Professional Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Development, Analytics, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 3 years' experience in audience acquisition, development, or growth roles with a heavy focus on digital; experience segmenting data in customer data platforms or marketing automation tools and workflow building and management experience.
• Substantial knowledge of email and digital marketing and lead generation programs; proven track record using paid and organic channels to drive audience acquisition and subscriber growth.
• Proficiency with on-page SEO best practices and paid digital platforms including Google Ads, Facebook Business Manager, and LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
• Experience in Adobe Analytics or similar reporting suite; proficiency in MS Office including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Strong understanding of audience segmentation across multiple industries; ability to learn and integrate new software and work effectively with stakeholders across departments.

Sitting at the intersection of search strategy and editorial publishing, the Audience Development Manager works alongside the Head of Audience and the Radio Times team to identify trends and opportunities, running and reporting on tests across search and social while keeping editorial staff current on algorithm changes and platform best practices. Operating across a matrix organization with multiple stakeholders, this role advances reader engagement and content performance by combining data analysis, competitor research, and company-wide training initiatives.

Job Functions

• Work closely with the Head of Audience and the Radio Times team to identify key trends, updates, and opportunities.
• Monitor and report on campaigns, strategies, and performance; conduct regular competitor analysis and provide context of the wider market.
• Conceptualize, run, monitor, and report on tests across search and social; provide contextual data analysis and regular competitor research.
• Stay up to date with the latest industry trends including algorithm changes, product updates, and best practices across search and social.
• Assist with company-wide training initiatives on search and social and upskill the Radio Times editorial team.
• Manage various stakeholders and help the team prioritize their workload.

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong understanding of digital content across audio, video, social media, newsletters, and SEO.
• Solid SEO and social media experience with relevant experience in editorial and publishing.
• Data-savvy with the ability to apply a creative lens and work across multiple projects at once.
• Deep passion for TV and film; passionate about reader experience with fresh ideas on how to boost engagement and performance.
• Great interpersonal, organizational, and presenting skills; comfortable working in a matrix organization.

Reporting to senior leadership at Barron's Group, the Audience Development Manager shapes audience growth across owned, earned, and paid channels by reviewing vendor SEM and SEO recommendations, managing external platform relationships, and building reports from analytics platforms and internal databases. Partnering with internal stakeholders and external partners, this role strengthens the organization's digital reach and ensures audience initiatives align with broader revenue and business goals.

Role Responsibilities

• Act as a key member of the team to achieve overall audience and revenue goals.
• Conduct strategic market analysis to understand market trends and inform which initiatives to pursue.
• Leverage owned, earned, and paid opportunities to grow the audience to Barron's Group sites and products.
• Review vendor SEM and SEO recommendations to determine quality and alignment with business goals; develop strategy, copy, and analysis while holding agencies accountable to performance.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders to ensure support of priorities and maintain relationships with external partners and platforms to identify new opportunities.
• Create and maintain reports from various data sources including analytics platforms and internal databases.

Background & Experience

• BA/BS degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 3–5 years of audience development experience.
• Strong understanding of SEO as it pertains to the publishing industry.
• Experience with Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and Google News Publisher Center.
• Analytical, detail-oriented, and results-driven with exceptional interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to multitask and manage multiple time-sensitive projects with an entrepreneurial, collaborative, and open-minded approach; ability to learn quickly and adapt to a rapidly changing business environment.

Embedded within a collaborative editorial and sales environment, the Audience Development Manager builds and executes event marketing campaigns that drive registrations for both in-person and virtual events across topics and industries, from authoring invitation copy to managing on-site customer experience. Working closely with marketing, sales, and third-party partners, this role expands audience reach by curating targeted invitation lists, identifying new partner organizations, and communicating directly with senior executive prospects.

Areas of Ownership

• Author compelling copy for audience event invitations and collaborate with marketing and sales teams on bespoke invitations and tracking links for specific campaigns.
• Test and measure audience development strategies to continuously optimize output and performance.
• Curate audience invitation lists based on analysis of existing audience database data, segmenting to ensure effective marketing to relevant audiences.
• Identify third-party organizations and marketing partners to develop new audiences.
• Communicate directly with top-level executive prospects to attend in-person events.
• Travel to in-person events as needed and manage customer experience on-site.

Education & Experience

• 3–5 years of experience in events, marketing, or client management.
• Experience working with CRM, registration, or lead generation systems.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to pick up new technologies easily.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with excellent attention to detail and good judgment when handling sensitive information.
• Excellent time management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously under tight deadlines.