When advertising revenue declines, as it has been, publishers start to think about paywalls, as they have been.
I was talking with a client about this the other day and tried to come up with a list of things to consider when developing a paywall strategy. Here’s a quick summary.
Issues
What is your strategic goal with your content?
- Reach
- Revenue
- Leads
- Data
Some of those fit with a paywall and some don’t. You clearly don’t want to restrict access to content if the purpose of the content is to cast a wide net and attract people to your brand or site.
Is your content homogenous – for example, is it all articles – or do you have different types of content? And what about your audience? Are there distinct segments with different characteristics?
In either of those cases, you might need a different strategy by type of content or by audience segment. For example, short-form articles might remain free, but longer analysis could be gated, or college students get your content for free, while professionals have to pay.
When you present a restriction on access, which I’ll talk about in a minute, are prospects paying for present value or for the promise of future value? There’s a mismatch when a publisher asks for a long-term commitment for something the consumer only wants right now.
Is content the main thing you sell, or is it a draw for something else? Does that differ by type of content?
Restrictions on access cause friction. Is your audience likely to put up with that? If your competitors make it easy and you make it hard, how will that play out?
Restrictions on access can affect search engine optimization. Is that a problem? (Also, will SEO even be an issue a year from now?)
Restrictions on access can also be a means of hiding your content from large language models.
Types of restriction on access to content
There are lots of different ways to restrict content. It’s not just “paywalls.” Here are some possibilities.
- Free registration (how much do you need to collect?)
- Subscription (what’s the term? Monthly, annual?)
- Membership (that includes more than just a subscription)
- Pay per view / micropayments
- Patronage
- Institutional access
- Geo-restricted (you have to live in this city to see this content)
- Content is only available in an app
- Content is only available as a download
You can also mix and match between these.
As you can see, it’s easy to go down a rabbit hole with this concept.
When does metering work?
Content characteristics
- Specialized and unique. Think The New York Times or the Wall Street Journal.
- Perceived scarcity or urgency.
- Exclusive and in-depth.
- Content that retains its value over time.
Audience characteristics
- Loyal and engaged
- Professional
- Affluent
Brand characteristics
- Established and trusted
- Clear sense of value
