How QCity Metro’s Bethany Lane grew donor revenue with honesty, humor & bold asks
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
How QCity Metro’s Bethany Lane grew donor revenue with honesty, humor & bold asks
-
Narrated by:
-
By:
About this listen
In this episode of Keep It Local, host Ryan Welton talks with Bethany Lane, revenue strategist at QCity Metro in Charlotte, N.C., and a Local Media Association Innovator of the Year.
Bethany shares how she helped the Black-owned digital publication grow from about 100 donors to record fundraising campaigns — all by getting comfortable with direct asks, using human-centered video and deeply understanding their audience.
They also dive into culturally specific fundraising strategies, overcoming the fear of unsubscribes and new frontiers like AI-read articles and community food festivals.
💡 Key takeaways✅ Be direct — local journalism can’t survive on passive goodwill.
✅ Humor + human connection beat polished, generic pitches.
✅ Build campaigns around what your community actually values.
✅ Don’t fear unsubscribes; fear building a list of disengaged people.
✅ Think beyond stories: events, AI audio, and social experiments all fuel sustainability.