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Case Study: How Rest Is History’s Producers Scaled to £15m/Y Using Subscription Best Practices

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2026-02-10

9 min read

How Goalhanger scaled to £15m/year from 250k subs — a replicable subscription playbook for creators monetizing history and longform shows.

Hook: From discovery friction to sustainable income — a real blueprint

Creators of longform, niche, and history-focused shows face the same brutal bottlenecks: audience discovery is slow, per-fan revenue is low, and producing high-quality bonus content feels expensive. If you want to stop trading single-episode spikes for feast-or-famine advertising and build a predictable, high-LTV business around your work, Goalhanger’s rise with The Rest Is History is a blueprint you can copy in 2026.

Quick headline: the result you want

By January 2026 Goalhanger reported more than 250,000 paying subscribers across its network and average annual revenue per subscriber near £60 — a run rate that translates to roughly £15m/year in subscription income. That scale didn’t come from a single trick; it came from productizing content, building cross-show funnels, and turning community benefits into recurring value.

Press Gazette, Jan 2026: Goalhanger exceeds 250,000 paying subscribers — a network strategy delivering membership across multiple shows and benefits like ad-free listening, early access, and exclusive content.

Why this matters now (2026 context)

Three trends make Goalhanger’s playbook especially relevant in 2026:

First-party subscriber infrastructure matured in 2024–2025: creators can own billing, lists, and paywalls while complying with new privacy rules.
AI-powered repurposing now enables low-cost clip creation, searchable transcripts, and personalized recommendations that supercharge discoverability and member value.
Audience expectations shifted: fans expect communities, early access, and exclusive deep dives — especially for evergreen niches like history where research depth is the product.

What you can replicate: the Goalhanger playbook (10 core elements)

Below are the core, replicable elements behind Goalhanger’s scale, reframed as tactical moves any creator can implement.

1. Productize your content into repeatable, purchasable units

Stop selling single episodes as the only product. Turn your research, interviews, and episodes into packaged products:

Paid RSS feeds for bonus episodes or ad-free listening
Serialized, members-only deep dives (multi-episode miniseries)
Downloadable research packs: annotated transcripts, primary-source links, reading lists
Micro-courses or companion guides based on popular episodes

Why it works: productized assets create clear value that justifies recurring billing and reduce friction when scaling across audiences.

2. Use tiered pricing with an annual-first strategy

Goalhanger’s average subscriber pays about £60/year, with roughly a 50/50 split of monthly vs annual. That skew toward annual membership improves cashflow and reduces churn.

Offer a discounted annual plan (e.g., £60/year vs. £6/month) and emphasize savings at checkout.
Present annual as default in email flows and checkouts to nudge higher ARPA.
Reserve the most exclusive community perks for annual pledges (early ticket access, giveaways) to increase conversion.

3. Build a multi-show network and cross-sell aggressively

Goalhanger monetized across multiple shows. If you host a longform interview series, those listeners are prime candidates for related niche programs.

Bundle multiple shows into a single pass (network pass increases perceived value).
Cross-promote in-episode: 30–60 second member spot explaining bonuses for fans.
Use a unified subscriber backend so one sign-up unlocks benefits across shows.

4. Create high-frequency, low-cost member content

Retention beats acquisition. Members churn when they feel they’re not getting ongoing value.

Weekly short bonus clips (behind-the-scenes, five-minute annotations) — cheap with AI editing.
Monthly members-only Q&A or listening party (live ticketed events provide scarcity).
Regular newsletters with annotated show notes and research links — these become searchable assets driving SEO.

5. Turn community into product: Discord, chatrooms, and live shows

Community is both a retention lever and discovery channel. Goalhanger uses members-only Discord rooms and early access to live show tickets as member benefits.

Set up tiered Discord channels for different membership levels.
Offer members-only pre-sale access and meet-and-greet opportunities for live events.
Leverage community-generated content (fan notes, debate threads) for clip ideas and episode prompts.

6. Build a discovery funnel that converts listeners to subscribers

Your funnel should be predictable, measurable, and repeatable. Typical funnel stages:

Discovery: free episodes, short-form clips on TikTok/YouTube
Engagement: email capture via lead magnet (research doc, transcript)
Conversion: paywall for bonus episodes or an introductory discount
Retention: member-exclusive content and community touchpoints

Actionable tip: use a free “anchor” episode to promote a members-only two-part deep dive — it's a low-friction offer that showcases member value.

7. Optimize technical stack: own your list, automate flows, and protect feeds

In 2026, owning your subscriber list is table stakes. Technical checklist:

Host public feed for free content; host a gated RSS feed for members (Supercast, Acast+, Memberful, or self-hosted with Stripe).
Use a CRM that supports automated lifecycle emails and cohort tracking.
Integrate SSO between your membership system and Discord or Circle for frictionless sign-up.
Protect content with tokenized RSS URLs and expiry dates to reduce sharing abuse.

8. Diversify monetization around subscriptions

Subscriptions are the backbone, but scale multiplies when you layer other income streams:

Merch drops timed with seasons or popular episodes
Ticketed live events with VIP upgrades
Licensing archival content and repackaging into audiobooks
Sponsorships on the free tier to subsidize growth

9. Measure what matters: unit economics and cohort analysis

Track these KPIs weekly:

Subscriber growth (new vs churned)
ARPA (average revenue per account — monthly vs annual)
Churn rate by cohort (first 30/90/365 days)
CAC by channel (organic vs paid)
LTV:CAC ratio — target 3:1+ for scalable growth

Use analytics tools like Chartable plus in-house cohort dashboards to instrument experiments and LTV calculations.

10. Use experiments and staged investments

Scale is the result of repeated tests. Run short experiments with clear success criteria:

A/B test 3 membership price points for new listeners.
Test conversion messaging: emphasize savings vs perks in checkout flow.
Try time-limited miniseries as a member acquisition promo (e.g., exclusive seven-episode arc).

How Rest Is History applied these elements — concrete examples

Goalhanger didn’t invent community features; they packaged them into a consistent member experience across shows. Key implementation notes:

Ad-free + early access: a simple, easily communicated benefit that appeals to heavy listeners.
Members-only content: serialized bonus episodes and exclusive episodes tailored to paying fans.
Community and events: Discord rooms and early ticket access converted fans into superfans and higher spenders.
Network pass: one subscription giving access to multiple shows increased per-account revenue and lowered marginal CAC.

Pricing playbook: examples you can implement today

Use this sample pricing ladder for a niche history or longform interview show:

Free: full access to public episodes + weekly newsletter (discovery funnel)
Supporter — £5/month or £50/year: ad-free listening, members-only short clips
Insider — £9–12/month or £100/year: bonus episodes, early-access, Discord, 10% merch discount
Collector — £20/month or £200/year: invites to live recording VIP, signed merch, archive downloads

Frame annual as the ‘best value’ and reserve the most scarcity-driven perks for annual subscribers to push higher ARPA.

Technical integrations & tools (2026-ready stack)

Practical toolset to assemble quickly in 2026:

Membership + paywall: Memberful, Supercast, or a Stripe-based self-hosted system
Podcast hosting: Acast/Transistor/Libsyn for public distribution; gated RSS through your paywall tool
Community: Discord (fast), Circle (structured), or Slack for VIPs
CRM & automation: ConvertKit, HubSpot, or a lightweight CRM with Zapier/Make integrations
Analytics: Chartable + in-house cohort dashboards for LTV analysis
AI tools: clip generation (Descript-type AI), searchable transcripts, and automated show notes

Niche-specific growth tactics for history creators

History audiences value depth, credibility, and collectibility:

Publish annotated episode notes and source documents — great for organic search and linkbacks from academic blogs.
Partner with museums, archives, and university presses for co-branded episodes and licensing deals.
Offer limited-edition runs: printed companion booklets or archival print reproductions as collector incentives.
Run short research-backed mini-series timed to anniversaries or topical cultural moments to capture search demand.

90-day action plan: implement the playbook fast

Follow this prioritized plan to move from ad-dependent to subscription-led in 90 days.

Week 1–2: Audit content & audience. Identify top 10 episodes by downloads and engagement. Survey listeners for interest in membership perks.
Week 3–4: Launch a basic paid tier (ad-free + one bonus episode/month) with annual option. Integrate gated RSS via a membership provider.
Month 2: Build conversion funnel — lead magnet (transcript pack), 3-email welcome flow, in-episode CTA for members-only miniseries.
Month 2–3: Deploy community (Discord) and schedule two monthly member events. Start repurposing content into short clips using AI tools.
End of Month 3: Run a pricing experiment on new listeners (3 price points) and measure conversion and churn at 30 days.

Metrics benchmarks you should aim for (realistic 2026 targets)

Benchmarks vary by niche, but for engaged history/longform shows aiming to scale:

Free-to-paid conversion: 2–6% initially; aim for 6–10% as funnel and product improve
Monthly churn: 2–5% (target lower for annual pledges)
ARPA: £40–90/year depending on discount structure and tiers
LTV:CAC: target at least 3:1 for paid acquisition channels

Future predictions — where creators should place bets (2026+)

Expect these trends to shape the next wave of subscriber growth:

Creator-owned subscriber identity: tools that let subscribers use a single identity across podcasts, newsletters, and communities will increase cross-sell efficiency.
AI-enabled personalization: tailored episode recommendations and auto-generated study guides will increase stickiness for knowledge-heavy niches.
Dynamic pricing and offers: cohort-based pricing optimized by purchase behavior will replace one-size-fits-all models.
Hybrid monetization: combining subscriptions with limited NFTs or digital collectibles for superfans, but built on payment rails rather than speculative markets.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Launching an overly complex tier structure too early — start simple and expand after learning customer demand.
Giving away premium perks for free — protect scarcity (e.g., only annual members get event access).
Neglecting discoverability — paid funnels need continuous free-top-of-funnel content and short-form repurposing.
Failing to own subscriber data — rely on platform distribution only at your peril.

Actionable takeaways

Productize — turn research and interviews into bundles, miniseries, and downloadable packs.
Price with psychology — favor an annual-first option and reserve scarcity perks for annual pledges.
Prioritize retention — weekly/biweekly member touches (clips, Q&As, newsletters) beat sporadic one-offs.
Build a network pass — if you host multiple shows, sell one pass to increase ARPA.
Measure hard — LTV, CAC, churn by cohort; make every experiment accountable.

Final thought and call-to-action

Goalhanger’s climb to ~£15m/year proves that niche, research-heavy, longform content can be systematically monetized at scale. The secret wasn’t a single gimmick — it was an engineered product: clear membership benefits, a networked distribution strategy, and relentless focus on retention. If you’re a creator in history or any deep-niche vertical, use this playbook to convert your most engaged listeners into predictable recurring revenue.

Ready to build your subscription playbook? Download our free 90-day checklist and pricing templates, or schedule a 30-minute strategy call to map a custom funnel for your show. Turn your audience into a sustainable business — starting today.

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Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.