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Paywalls: Golden Goose or Brand
Killer?Kristi Dougherty1105 Media Public Sector GroupAAMP 2014 Conference
Paywalls: Brick by Brick
1997: Wall Street Journal2010: The Times (London), Financial Times, Variety*2011: New York Times, The Onion2013: Weekly World News, Toronto Star, Sports Illustrated, Esquire*
Commonalities:Authority/expertise; niche/specialized content
Paywall-able Success Factors
• Unique, vertical, regional content• Authority/expertise• Audience support• Editorial buy in• Limited/no site traffic concerns• Ad sales education
Types of Paywalls
• HardRequires paid subscription for ALL content
• CombinationOpen access to select content, premium content behind a paywall
• Soft/MeteredAccess to a specific number of articles before requiring a paid subscription
Times of LondonHard Paywall Model
Wall Street JournalCombination Paywall
Model
New York TimesSoft Paywall Model
Case Study #1:Washington Technology
Strengths•Strong website traffic •Loyal audience•Trusted brand in marketplace•No direct competitors
Challenge•Shift in ad spend/decline in ad revenue
Timeline & Strategy
Nov-Dec 2012Research, modeling, budgetJan-Feb 2013Programmer and ad sales meetingsAudience interviewsFeb-Mar 2013Site design, CMS tags built, prelim marketing, and fulfillment vendor prepApril 2013Launch
Selling the Concept
• Editorial buy in• Interviewed audience and took
feedback on options & pricing• Ad sales team education ahead of
launch on how to sell around paywall• Integrated marketing campaign
Marketing Strategy
• Mystery emails 3 weeks prior to launch
• House ads on site and in PSMG brands
• Continued emails around benefits• Post-expire efforts• Price testing• Development of enterprise members
WT Combination Paywall
Why Did WT Work?
• Specialized marketplace content• No direct competitors• Authoritative market voice/EIC• Loyal audience• Low online ad sales volume – no
traffic concerns• Ad sales focused on events & lead
gen
Case Study #2:Federal Soup
Strengths•Forums traffic•Loyal audience•Trusted brand in marketplace•Rapid growth in ad revenue
Challenges•Many free competitors•Muddled brand history in last five years•Poor understanding of audience price point
Timeline & Strategy
Oct-Dec 2013Research, modeling, budgetJan-Mar 2014Programmer and ad sales meetingsFeb-Mar 2014Site redesign, CMS tags built, prelim marketing, and fulfillment vendor prepApril 2014Launch
Selling the Concept
• Editorial buy in• Ad sales team education ahead of
launch on how to sell around paywall• Integrated marketing campaign
*What’s missing? – Audience Input!
Marketing Strategy
Full blown marketing blitz:Metro billboardsRadio adsEvent boothDirect mailEmailsList rental for direct mail and emailsHouse ads
Positive market feedback but NO ORDERS
FS Combination Paywall
Why Did FS Sort of Work?
• Unique concept of topic research plus content development
• Expansion of access to popular content• Retention of existing audience
(somewhat)• Expansion of traffic from forums across
site to increase ad impressions/ad revenue support of brand
Why Did FS Sort of NOT Work?
• No audience research!• Over-reliance on brand history• “If you build it, they will come”• Difficult marketplace for paid content• Numerous free competitors
Getting Started
• Plan for 3-12 months process• Involve your audience!• Build pricing models/worst case/best
case scenarios• Test all programming – a lot• Assess impact to traffic vs ad sales• Don’t do it in desperation! Make it a
win-win for you and the audience
Top 3 Considerations
• Content management – how will you gate?Programming considerationsMetering vendors
• Site design – how does audience know about gates?Mark gated content?Blocker page/landing pageAd skins
• Subscriber access – should be instant!Can your fulfillment provider handle?Password – automatic or self generatedeNL vs subscriber access vs resource access
Send me your questions!
Kristi Doughertykdougherty@1105media.com(720) 387-8468
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