--- title: How Two Small News Outlets Grew Their Texting Audience description: Your texting audience isn't a one size fits all. See how The Oaklandside and Rapp News took creative approaches in growing their texting audience. Learn more. image: https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Grow%20your%20audience%20-%20news.png --- [![Subtext Logo](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/subtextlogo.svg "Subtext")](https://joinsubtext.com/) Menu - Customers Open Dropdown Close Dropdown [Newsrooms & Media Newsrooms & Media Headlines, current events, local news…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/media) [Music Music Artists, labels, festivals...](https://joinsubtext.com/v/music) [Sports Sports Athletes, game coverage, podcasts…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/sports) [Marketing & Commerce Launches, events, affiliate marketing…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/marketing) [Creators Creators Influencers, podcasters, thought leaders…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/creators) [Politics & Advocacy Politics & Advocacy Politicians, PACs, organizations…](https://joinsubtext.com/v/politics) - Features Open Dropdown Close Dropdown [Features Overview Features Overview View all Subtext features at a glance](https://info.joinsubtext.com/features)[The Subtext Platform The Subtext Platform Broadcast composer, subscriber inbox...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/subtext-platform)[Subscriber Growth Tools Subscriber Growth Tools Landing pages, embeds, keyword sign-ups...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/subscriber-growth-tools)[Engagement Tools Engagement Tools Auto-replies, SMS surveys, drip sequences...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/engagement-tools)[Audience Segmentation Audience Segmentation Audience tags, segments, personalization...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/audience-segmentation)[Analytics, Subscriber Data & Reporting Analytics, Subscriber Data & Reporting Monthly reports, live analytics, 1st party data...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/analytics-reporting) [API & Webhooks API & Webhooks SMS API, subscriber management...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/api-webhooks) [Security, Compliance & Support Security, Compliance & Support 10DLC registration, audit logs...](https://joinsubtext.com/f/security-compliance) - [Case Studies](https://info.joinsubtext.com/case-studies) - [Blog](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog) - [Log In](https://joinsubtext.com/dashboard) - [Book a Demo](https://joinsubtext.com/#sign_up) ![](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Grow%20your%20audience%20-%20news.png) # How Two Small News Outlets Grew Their Texting Audience Published by [Subtext](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/author/subtext) on Sep 8, 2021 There isn't a one size fits all when it comes to growing your texting audience. It is important to cater your campaign growth strategy to you and your organization. The Oaklandside and Rapp News are small local news outlets that took creative approaches to growing their texting subscriber base. **The Oaklandside** An Oakland, California based non-profit publisher, [The Oaklandside](https://oaklandside.org/), started a [texting campaign](https://joinsubtext.com/oaklandside-covid-vaccine-guide) earlier this year that would act as a guide to the COVID-19 vaccine. They turned to a more traditional advertising method to get the word out about this new service. The Oaklandside distributed postcards and flyers in Oakland neighborhoods hardest hit by the coronavirus. They say their signs “point people to a free text number where anyone can reach out to our reporters and editors with questions about vaccination sites, eligibility, and anything else they’re confused about related to the shot.” ![Screen Shot 2021-03-12 at 10.51.46 AM](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202021-03-12%20at%2010.51.46%20AM.png?width=272&name=Screen%20Shot%202021-03-12%20at%2010.51.46%20AM.png) This creative method helped The Oaklandside grow their subscribers over 50% in a couple of months. ![The Oaklandside](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Oaklandside.png?width=730&height=602&name=The%20Oaklandside.png) **Rapp News** [The Rappahannock News](https://www.rappnews.com/) covers a small-rural county of about 7,000 people in Virginia. In 2020, they started [texting](https://joinsubtext.com/rappnews) their readers daily news updates as well as asking them how they feel about certain issues. ![Rapp News 2](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Rapp%20News%202.png?width=730&height=605&name=Rapp%20News%202.png) In addition to running an ad in their print newspaper and daily email newsletter the editor used referrals among existing texting subscribers to grow their audience. The former reporter who started the service says because they are in a small county, word of mouth helped them grow their campaign too. “I’ve had several subscribers say a friend pointed them to the service, and I’ve gotten feedback that they’re enjoying getting daily updates this way.” These strategies, plus consistency despite staffing changes, mean Rapp News has seen a trend of upward growth and engagement since its launch. *Want to start texting with your community? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to hello@joinsubtext.com.* Tags: [Use Cases](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/tag/use-cases) [Back to Blog](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog) ### Ready to start texting? [Schedule a Demo](https://info.joinsubtext.com/book-a-demo) ## Related Articles ## [The Story of Subtext](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/story-of-subtext) Subtext Makes Connecting Simple Again Subtext started with one concept in mind: simplify how people... [Read More](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/story-of-subtext) ## [SMS Texting Generates 17x More Revenue than Email](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/texting-generates-17x-more-revenue-than-email-and-12x-than-twitter) Media organizations are thinking non-stop right now about revenue as ad dollars dry up and the... [Read More](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/texting-generates-17x-more-revenue-than-email-and-12x-than-twitter) ## [Texting the Midterms: The Subtext Playbook](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/texting-the-midterms-playbook) The 2022 midterm elections are set to drive the news cycle for the second half of the year. It’s... [Read More](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/texting-the-midterms-playbook) [![Subtext Logo](https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Morgan/subtext_footer_logo.svg "Subtext")](https://joinsubtext.com/) Subtext was founded in 2019 in New York City by Advance Alpha Group. © 2026 Subtext. All rights reserved. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinsubtext/) [X (Twitter)](https://twitter.com/joinsubtext) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/joinsubtext/) [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/JoinSubtext/) --- --- Help - [Host Portal](https://help.joinsubtext.com/) - [FAQs](https://joinsubtext.com/faq) - [Developers](https://joinsubtext.com/docs/api) - [Contact Us](https://info.joinsubtext.com/contact_us) --- About - [About Subtext](https://info.joinsubtext.com/sms-platform-faq-subtext-sms-marketing-engagement) - [Features](https://info.joinsubtext.com/features) - [Case Studies](https://info.joinsubtext.com/case-studies) - [Blog](https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog) - [Press](https://info.joinsubtext.com/press-mentions) --- Legal - [Website User Agreement](https://info.joinsubtext.com/alm-user-agreement) - [Website Privacy Policy](https://info.joinsubtext.com/alm-privacy-notice) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Subtext", "url" : "https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/author/subtext" }, "dateModified" : "2024-01-22T19:49:14.079Z", "datePublished" : "2021-09-08T16:30:00.000Z", "headline" : "How Two Small News Outlets Grew Their Texting Audience", "image" : [ "https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Grow%20your%20audience%20-%20news.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://info.joinsubtext.com/blog/how-two-small-news-outlets-used-grassroots-methods-to-grow-their-texting-audience", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://info.joinsubtext.com/hubfs/Logomark_white.png" }, "name" : "Subtext" } } ```