Comment
Should you be charging for content?
By Becky Rehn
The implementation of online paid content modules has been generating a lot of interest as of late.
Restricting content unless paid for would be the most logical method for newspapers to generate additional online revenue during these tough times. However, ideas on how to effectively implement this model have left publishers scratching their heads.
Free Content ModelThe biggest fear that publishers have with the online paid model is that their readers will begin accessing news through other sites that do not require payment, thus greatly decreasing their Web site traffic. A decrease in traffic also results in a loss of advertising revenue.
According to the Newspaper Association of America’s report entitled The Free v. Paid Online Content Debate, “... search engines such as Google do not crawl content that requires a paid subscription, limiting search results from the newspaper’s Web site — and also limiting traffic. Ad revenue may also suffer.”
Most online readers have become accustomed to viewing their local newspaper’s content for free and would have a hard time transitioning to a paid model. They would likely continue to access news content — whether it is local or not — for free until they are absolutely forced to pay for access.
NAA’s report also states that “Web users are not above sharing passwords with their associates or through sites like BugMeNot.com or hacking their way around firewalls and payment systems.” Unless your paid model includes pass-along protection, a preventative measure that only allows one account to be used from a specified number of IP addresses within a 24-hour period, there is no way to prevent multiple readers from using one account.
Offering a paid content model could also eventually lead to piracy. “Some argue that if newspapers pull their content back behind a pay wall, the industry then may end up fighting the same battle against piracy the RIAA and MPAA have been fighting for more than a decade,” according to the NAA report.
Paid Content Model
Many ideas have been introduced about how to implement a paid model on a newspaper Web site. Recently, Bill Mickey, writer for Audience Development: Connecting Media and Markets, wrote an article entitled Attempting to Crack the Online Paid Content Code. In this article, he gains perspective from executives in the industry on how a paid model would successfully work.
One point of view comes from Colin Crawford, founder and CEO of Media 7 Consultancy. He claims that you need to focus on the value of your audience. By understanding the needs of your audience, you will be able to charge for content that will relate well to them. Just research the needs of your audience and you will be able to set a reasonable fee for the content on your site.
Crawford states, “The goal should be to determine how to deliver appropriate content at the right time and place . . . If content is to be sold to users, it has to have a very unique differentiator where the value proposition to the consumer is obvious.”
According to Joe Pulizzi, founder and chief content officer for Junta42, readers will only pay for unique packages of content. He says, “The content needs to be packaged in such a way that is different, saves times, saves money, let’s them work more productively, and so on. Where most publishers get this wrong is that they expect people to pay for content just like it was presented in a magazine.”
An article entitled Papers try to bridge print, Web revenue gap by Marcel Duran of News & Tech, mentions how the New York Times plans to generate additional revenue from their Web site.
In an article entitled Journalism Online: The Answer to the Paid-Content Question?, Jennifer Saba says “According to an All Things Digital Conference survey conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, 92% of respondents said they would be willing to pay something for online news — an average of $25 a month.”
The Times is considering “either a membership system or the establishment of a framework that would enable readers to peruse the Web site freely until they hit a predetermined limit, after which a fee would be assessed.”
For more information on free or paid models, refer to the full NAA report at www.tinyurl.com/NAA-report. While there are many other methods that have been introduced in the industry, TownNews.com also offers solutions to help you implement a paid online content model.
TownNews.com Solutions
TownNews.com provides two solutions — registration and subscription — that will allow you to implement a paid content model on your Web site.
Registration is generally used to allow print subscribers free access to sections of your site. There is also an option to include a charge with registration for those who view your newspaper only online. Information on this solution can be found at www.townnews.com/solutions/online_registration.
Online subscription allows your newspaper to earn additional revenue by requiring readers to purchase login information in order to view certain sections of your Web site. It permits readers to have immediate access by creating a user name and password when initially signing up. Information on this solution can be found at www.townnews.com/solutions/online_subscriptions.
Prior to implementing a paid model, your staff should research all available options and devise a plan that will work well for your paper. For more information on the TownNews.com solutions, please contact your regional sales manager or submit a support ticket at support.townnews.com.
Restricting content unless paid for would be the most logical method for newspapers to generate additional online revenue during these tough times. However, ideas on how to effectively implement this model have left publishers scratching their heads.
Free Content ModelThe biggest fear that publishers have with the online paid model is that their readers will begin accessing news through other sites that do not require payment, thus greatly decreasing their Web site traffic. A decrease in traffic also results in a loss of advertising revenue.
According to the Newspaper Association of America’s report entitled The Free v. Paid Online Content Debate, “... search engines such as Google do not crawl content that requires a paid subscription, limiting search results from the newspaper’s Web site — and also limiting traffic. Ad revenue may also suffer.”
Most online readers have become accustomed to viewing their local newspaper’s content for free and would have a hard time transitioning to a paid model. They would likely continue to access news content — whether it is local or not — for free until they are absolutely forced to pay for access.
NAA’s report also states that “Web users are not above sharing passwords with their associates or through sites like BugMeNot.com or hacking their way around firewalls and payment systems.” Unless your paid model includes pass-along protection, a preventative measure that only allows one account to be used from a specified number of IP addresses within a 24-hour period, there is no way to prevent multiple readers from using one account.
Offering a paid content model could also eventually lead to piracy. “Some argue that if newspapers pull their content back behind a pay wall, the industry then may end up fighting the same battle against piracy the RIAA and MPAA have been fighting for more than a decade,” according to the NAA report.
Paid Content Model
Many ideas have been introduced about how to implement a paid model on a newspaper Web site. Recently, Bill Mickey, writer for Audience Development: Connecting Media and Markets, wrote an article entitled Attempting to Crack the Online Paid Content Code. In this article, he gains perspective from executives in the industry on how a paid model would successfully work.
One point of view comes from Colin Crawford, founder and CEO of Media 7 Consultancy. He claims that you need to focus on the value of your audience. By understanding the needs of your audience, you will be able to charge for content that will relate well to them. Just research the needs of your audience and you will be able to set a reasonable fee for the content on your site.
Crawford states, “The goal should be to determine how to deliver appropriate content at the right time and place . . . If content is to be sold to users, it has to have a very unique differentiator where the value proposition to the consumer is obvious.”
According to Joe Pulizzi, founder and chief content officer for Junta42, readers will only pay for unique packages of content. He says, “The content needs to be packaged in such a way that is different, saves times, saves money, let’s them work more productively, and so on. Where most publishers get this wrong is that they expect people to pay for content just like it was presented in a magazine.”
An article entitled Papers try to bridge print, Web revenue gap by Marcel Duran of News & Tech, mentions how the New York Times plans to generate additional revenue from their Web site.
In an article entitled Journalism Online: The Answer to the Paid-Content Question?, Jennifer Saba says “According to an All Things Digital Conference survey conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, 92% of respondents said they would be willing to pay something for online news — an average of $25 a month.”
The Times is considering “either a membership system or the establishment of a framework that would enable readers to peruse the Web site freely until they hit a predetermined limit, after which a fee would be assessed.”
For more information on free or paid models, refer to the full NAA report at www.tinyurl.com/NAA-report. While there are many other methods that have been introduced in the industry, TownNews.com also offers solutions to help you implement a paid online content model.
TownNews.com Solutions
TownNews.com provides two solutions — registration and subscription — that will allow you to implement a paid content model on your Web site.
Registration is generally used to allow print subscribers free access to sections of your site. There is also an option to include a charge with registration for those who view your newspaper only online. Information on this solution can be found at www.townnews.com/solutions/online_registration.
Online subscription allows your newspaper to earn additional revenue by requiring readers to purchase login information in order to view certain sections of your Web site. It permits readers to have immediate access by creating a user name and password when initially signing up. Information on this solution can be found at www.townnews.com/solutions/online_subscriptions.
Prior to implementing a paid model, your staff should research all available options and devise a plan that will work well for your paper. For more information on the TownNews.com solutions, please contact your regional sales manager or submit a support ticket at support.townnews.com.
(Becky Rehn is the marketing specialist for TownNews.com. She may be reached at brehn@townnews.com).
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