Biggest Success Factors

By prioritizing the newsletter as its primary journalistic product, Bürgerportal has successfully cultivated a considerable organic reach and established itself as a dependable digital daily newspaper, reliably delivered to readers' inboxes at 7 a.m. This autonomy over reach, independent of external factors, constitutes one of the two critical success factors for the platform.

The other pivotal factor is the "Freundeskreis" community, which not only contributes significantly to the revenue mix but also serves as the heart of Bürgerportal. The entire community journalism approach revolves around this community. Through deep and regular engagement with its members, Bürgerportal has become deeply integrated into the city's social fabric, a feat unmatched by competitors like the Kölner Stadtanzeiger. Moreover, it is through this community that Bürgerportal fulfills its mission of being a comprehensive local journalism provider for Bergisch Gladbach, as community members contribute stories on topics that would otherwise be overlooked due to the constraints of the small team.