The Guardian's Liz Wynn on building robust audience relationships

Welcome to the latest season of The Publisher Podcast, bringing you the best of the main stage sessions from The Publisher Summit. This week’s episode features Liz Wynn, Chief Supporter Revenue Officer at The Guardian, interviewed by Craig Llewelyn-Williams, SVP for Customer Strategy at Woodwing. Everyone is feeling the effects of industry headwinds like falling traffic, AI summaries and unreliable social media referrals. The message is clear for those seeking growth: building direct audiences is a top priority. The Guardian has seen heavy investment in apps, newsletters, podcasts and its websites over the past few years, from key hires to app launches like Feast. This is paying off in both audience growth and revenue, with their email subscribers alone going from 1 million to 8 million in just 2 years. Liz has helped drive the business to over 1.4m recurring supporters. She talks about the importance of direct connections, how the Guardian’s product strategy supports those relationships, and what works across different geographies, particularly in the context of the Guardian’s US expansion. Thanks to the Summit's premium sponsors; Pugpig and Beehiiv, and to the digital sponsors; qwoted, Adestra, Woodwing and Warners for their support.