Transcript slides
Paywalls:
Golden Goose or Brand Killer?
Kristi Dougherty
1105 Media Public Sector Group
AAMP 2014 Conference
Paywalls: Brick by Brick
1997: Wall Street Journal
2010: The Times (London), Financial Times,
Variety*
2011: New York Times, The Onion
2013: Weekly World News, Toronto Star, Sports
Illustrated, Esquire*
Commonalities:
Authority/expertise; niche/specialized content
Paywall-able Success
Factors
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Unique, vertical, regional content
Authority/expertise
Audience support
Editorial buy in
Limited/no site traffic concerns
Ad sales education
Types of Paywalls
• Hard
Requires paid subscription for ALL content
• Combination
Open access to select content, premium
content behind a paywall
• Soft/Metered
Access to a specific number of articles before
requiring a paid subscription
Times of London
Hard Paywall Model
Wall Street Journal
Combination Paywall Model
New York Times
Soft 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 2012
Research, modeling, budget
Jan-Feb 2013
Programmer and ad sales meetings
Audience interviews
Feb-Mar 2013
Site design, CMS tags built, prelim marketing,
and fulfillment vendor prep
April 2013
Launch
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
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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?
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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 2013
Research, modeling, budget
Jan-Mar 2014
Programmer and ad sales meetings
Feb-Mar 2014
Site redesign, CMS tags built, prelim marketing,
and fulfillment vendor prep
April 2014
Launch
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 billboards
Radio ads
Event booth
Direct mail
Emails
List rental for direct mail and emails
House 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?
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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 considerations
Metering vendors
• Site design – how does audience know about gates?
Mark gated content?
Blocker page/landing page
Ad skins
• Subscriber access – should be instant!
Can your fulfillment provider handle?
Password – automatic or self generated
eNL vs subscriber access vs resource access
Send me your questions!
Kristi Dougherty
[email protected]
(720) 387-8468