In March 2016, the Danish member-driven newsroom Zetland launched as a daily publication with the goal of adding curiosity and complexity to public conversation. Over the next three years, they charged toward 10,000 members. They developed a loyal fan base. They brought together hundreds of members in Copenhagen for live journalism events and launched an audio strategy to deepen their relationship with their readers.

They were changing how journalism is done in Denmark, and how audience members participate in it.

But in early 2019, CEO and co-founder Jakob Moll was forced to acknowledge that although the enthusiasm was still there, the sustainability they hoped would follow just wasn’t. Zetland’s expenses were consistently exceeding its revenue, and they needed to try something new if they were to ever get out of the red.

At the time, Zetland had 10,500 members. Moll calculated that if they reached 14,000 members, their revenue would cover their expenses, and then some.

Zetland wanted to grow their member base in a way that showed members how important they were to Zetland’s future, and that charted a new relationship between the newsroom and its strongest supporters. And, they wanted their strategy to go beyond throwing money at a Facebook acquisition campaign, or relying on only their high-profile members to recruit new members.

Thus, the “members getting members” ambassador campaign was born.

In just one month, they reached that 14,000 member goal, achieving the most important goal of all for the future of Zetland: they closed out 2019 as a sustainable media company.

This case study will show how Zetland turned its most ardent supporters into powerful drivers of growth, including how they inspired their members to become ambassadors, how they trained them, and how they maintained momentum throughout the campaign.