![\"Paywall](\"https:\/\/blog.atinternet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/paywall-blog-media-guide-AT-Internet-2-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAs the online publishing world continues to evolve at an exponential rate, deciding which strategy to adopt for monetising your site is key to staying ahead of the game. Get up to speed on your paywall strategies and go a step further by downloading our Media Guide. Following the release of our digital analytics guide for the media industry<\/a>, we are running a series of offshoot articles that focus on specific challenges in today\u2019s rapidly evolving online publishing world. If you haven\u2019t read them already, please check out our blogs on working with ad blockers<\/a> and optimising your audience retention<\/a> strategy. In the third instalment, we delve into the challenges faced by media publishers when they try to monetise their content via the use of paywalls.<\/p>\n Consumers have enjoyed access to free Paywalls are systems that prevent online Soft paywalls<\/strong> such as metered access<\/strong> provide readers with a number of free articles before asking them to become a member and subscribe in order to access more content. By adopting data walls, businesses can collect more detailed information about their audiences and develop their customer profiles. This personalises the reader experience as it shows them the type of content they can find on a site and whether it\u2019s valuable for them. The effectiveness of metered paywalls has been repeatedly called into question.\u00a0 \u2018Metered\u2019 business models can be off putting for readers who have a limitless range of other media sources at their disposal. They also cause user churn as they \u201creward future traffic rather than the authority and prestige that come from years of honest, serious reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n The Telegraph abandoned its metered paywall for a freemium model in 2016 as it was impossible to differentiate between subscribers and those who were reading a story for free. They were therefore unable to target their content appropriately and were failing to retain their audience. They now run a payment system where free and premium coexist to fuel the subscription part of the business. <\/p>\n Nevertheless, metered paywalls can be effective revenue models. The New York Times reportedly spent $40 million over 14 months to build the infrastructure required to collect necessary data and present their readers with a metered paywall. Although it involved a large investment and significant marketing budget, the online publication reached 4.3 million subscribers at the end of 2018 and this continues to expand. COO Meredith Levien stated their main focus was the \u201cbreadth of reporting\u201d and the goal was to improve their overall value by adding journalists and extending their product range. <\/p>\n Freemium content paywalls<\/strong> restrict access to select \u201cpremium\u201d articles, while the reader can view all the available free articles. By subscribing, the reader pays a recurring monthly amount for unlimited access to all of the website\u2019s content. Freemium allows content providers to maintain their advertising revenue while boosting conversion and retaining the most volatile readers. Although they can enhance audience loyalty to a particular website, they can lead consumers to change their habits and switch to alternative news sources, search for loopholes or other creative workarounds.<\/p>\n The Guardian operates a freemium model where visitors can access certain articles for free but have to view adverts. If they subscribe to the daily edition, the ads are removed, and the user can access premium articles. The publication also runs a support message at the bottom of each article \u2013 where it politely requests that users pay a monthly fee that will allow them to continue producing free articles. Online publisher Digiday has taken freemium paywalls a step further \u2013 as well as offering premium research articles, they provide their members with exclusive site access and a copy of their print and digital magazine.<\/p>\n Hard paywalls<\/strong> typically only The Times (London) introduced a hard paywall in 2010 and reportedly saw a 90% dip in visitors. It has since managed to recover a large proportion of its lost audience over time and through the quality of its reporting and reputation. It now boasts well over half a million daily readers and hails the success of its paywall strategy. Despite experimenting with alternative methods of gaining revenue from its online media, The Times is resolute in keeping its hard paywall. According to Digital Director Alan Hunter. \u201cThe [online audience] goes elsewhere to read news to be informed, but they come to us to get well informed. They can go deeper beyond the story to find out what\u2019s really going on.\u201d<\/p>\n The Financial Times\u00a0<\/a>will not allow readers to see anything other than the title and subheading of their articles and they have to choose from a range of subscription fees. However, their paywall model has worked as its 900,000 digital subscribers represent two-thirds of its total revenue (overtaking income from advertising). CEO John Ridding commented that \u201cA lot of the industry was too quick to dismiss the ability to charge for content. If you have something that differentiates you, something that makes you special \u2014 it could be a brand identity, it could be a columnist, it could be a sector of coverage \u2014 you have the ability to charge.\u201d The FT defends hard paywalls by saying that it wants to \u201cachieve the habit in digital that people used to have in print\u201d \u2013 and that metered models are counter-productive as they \u201cration\u201d content. <\/p>\n Dynamic paywalls address readers by customizing content and targeting users according to their level of commitment. With personalized segments, publishers can reach readers based on their specific profile. By collecting, interpreting and actioning data around each individual reader\u2019s online behaviour, it\u2019s possible to assess their likelihood to subscribe.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal implemented a dynamic paywall in 2018 based on a propensity score. It measures more than 60 signals such as whether the reader is visiting for the first time, the operating system they\u2019re using, the device they\u2019re reading on, what they chose to click on, and their location etc. They then used machine learning to create a flexible paywall that provides the user with precise targeted content and payment options. It has since introduced a new comments strategy that seems to be paying off<\/a> \u2013 it has reduced the number of articles open for comments and put them all behind a paywall. This has resulted in a better quality of comments (from subscribers only), follow-up storied based on top comments and crucially, better Customer Lifetime Value. <\/p>\n When deciding which types of content and Reader visitors can essentially be grouped The profile of a likely subscriber can be Quality digital analytics can also give The perception of paywalls has changed significantly over the last few years. Back in 2015, many publishers were convinced that consumers were unlikely to ever pay for online content and were increasingly blocking ads. Fast forward to 2019, and all signals point to a future where considerably less revenue will come from advertising and the ad business model will be supplanted by subscription-based paid content. The editor of the Spectator went as far as to say \u201cPaywalls are the only future for journalism: if the quality of writing is good enough, then people will pay\u201d.<\/p>\n With more and more advertising revenue going to the tech giants who can offer advertisers unduplicated reach, targeted ads and low overheads, an increasing number of publishing companies have launched digital subscription models \u2013 including the New York Magazine, Bloomberg Media, The Atlantic and the Cond\u00e9 Nast magazines Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Wired.<\/p>\n This has also come about through a shift in the audience approach to consuming paid content \u2013 primarily thanks to subscription models on platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Spotify. A recent Deloitte study predicted that by the end of 2020, revenue from subscription will be on an even par with advertising for digital publishers \u2013 as recently as 2012, revenue from ads covered about 90% of the market. These days audiences are not necessarily opposed to paying for the media they consume \u2013 they are often looking for accessible, reliable, centralised and credible content \u2013 with an eye on supporting local news and journalism.<\/p>\n There are also a range of other factors that have caused a shift in reader behaviour \u2013 the numerous fake news scandals that have called into question the trustworthiness of major social media platforms, and the overwhelming dominance of the tech giants in the digital advertising market. Audiences are increasingly inclined to pay for quality reporting from a source they are familiar with and trust. This has inevitably fuelled the growth of subscription paywall and premium<\/a> offer financial models.<\/p>\n In 2021, AT Internet joined Piano<\/a>, a customer experience optimization platform. It provides a software suite that enables leading global media companies and brands to accelerate their subscription, advertising, analytics and personalization initiatives with the goal of engaging, monetizing and measuring their content experiences. One of the solutions, Piano Composer<\/a>, offers publishers the ability to design and drive personalized audience monetization programs. Check out the platform now for a free trial<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to learn more about orienting your paywall strategy, don\u2019t hesitate to download our new comprehensive e-guide \u2013 \u201cWinning the data game \u2013 Digital analytics tactics for media groups\u201d<\/a>. <\/p>\n As the online publishing world continues to evolve at an exponential rate, deciding which strategy to adopt for monetising your site is key to staying ahead of the game. Get up to speed on your paywall strategies and go a step further by downloading our Media Guide.Article originally published on 22nd May, 2019 Following the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12033],"tags":[12577,16253,33892,11124,5715],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-61105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analytics","tag-audience","tag-behaviour","tag-paywall","tag-strategies","tag-understanding"],"yoast_head":"\n
Article originally published on 22nd May, 2019<\/em><\/p>\nPart 3: creating a paywall strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nonline newspapers and magazines since the birth of the internet. However, over
\nthe last few years, an increasing number of online media publications have been
\nshifting away from advertising-funded journalism and are charging for their
\ncontent \u2013 and more people are ready to pay for what they read online. In this
\nblog, we look at different approaches toward subscription and paywalls and how
\nAT Internet can help you to optimise audience interaction with your online publications.<\/p>\nWhat is a paywall?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nusers from accessing specific website content unless the user pays a fee. They
\ncan restrict access to a specific site, story or publication and there are varying
\nlevels of restriction.<\/p>\n
\ndisplay an article title and a few paragraphs before demanding that the reader
\npay. They are becoming increasingly common, particularly among professional and
\nfinancial \u2018niche\u2019 publications. Although renowned for causing a sudden \u2018drop
\noff\u2019 in the digital audience in the short term, they can be effective over the
\nlonger term \u2013 subscriptions
\nhave the effect of aligning a content provider\u2019s goals with that of their
\nreaders. Creating accounts increases the connected user base and generates a
\nhigher average income per user.<\/p>\nDynamic paywalls \u2013 the solution to monetising your online content<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Digital analytics: the key to understanding and segmenting your audience<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nhow much should go behind a paywall, it is important to understand your
\naudience\u2019s behaviour \u2013 and what drives them to purchase an article or subscribe
\nto a site. By using digital analytics data, it is possible to segment your
\nnon-subscribers and offer them customised paywall options.<\/p>\n
\ninto three types:<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\nsummarised as follows: <\/p>\n\n
\ninsights into visitor interactions, their multi-device usage, and frequency of
\nvisits, etc. It can give you more information on the categories of pages and types
\nof articles viewed on a site \u2013 and help you to assess if your paywall is effective
\nacross your full range of articles, e.g. news, sport, or just one type.<\/p>\n
\nPaywall trends<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Digital](\"https:\/\/blog.atinternet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/digital-analytics-tactics-for-media-groups-banner.jpg\")
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