When publishers start charging for digital memberships, there is often an initial fear that traffic will plummet. Where you actually put the paywall barrier is an extremely important strategic decision. Leadership needs to balance various business objectives: advertising, affiliate marketing, lead acquisition, and of course direct monetization through membership subscription fees.
The Paywall Options
Here is a menu of options to choose from:
How Do You Decide Where the Paywall Goes?
There is no universal rule of thumb. The right model depends on your content, audience, and value proposition.
Here is a five-step process to help determine the right paywall strategy for you:
One Paywall Maxim
No matter which model you select, make sure you follow one hard and fast rule: your paywall logic must make sense to the customer. If it’s confusing or overly complicated, then your conversion, engagement, and traffic will suffer.
What other paywall business models have you tried? Please post in the comments below.
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Rob Ristagno is the CEO and Founder of The Sterling Woods Group, a firm that builds new revenue streams for media companies and publishers. He is an expert in direct monetization of content. Prior to creating The Sterling Woods Group, Rob served as a senior executive for several niche media and e-commerce companies. He most recently was the Chief Operating Officer of America’s Test Kitchen, considered to be the gold standard in the niche media world for building diversified – and often digital – revenue streams.
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