Posts tagged Paywall
DoubleRecall
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DoubleRecall featured at paidContent
We’re really pleased to highlight a feature written about DoubleRecall by paidContent’s Jeff John Roberts - Publishers warm to DoubleRecall’s paywall buster,
Farazin is touting the technology as a “complementary solution” which means publishers can try it out alongside other revenue schemes like paywalls that may be in place already. This double-barreled approach is a good idea given that many readers will never accept a paywall at all — more and more, it looks like the future is not about “pay vs free” but instead about finding the right hybrid model in which publishers can reap subscription revenue from a core minority of devout readers while also topping up with ad revenue from casual visitors.
The future is most certainly not about “pay vs free” and we’re really pleased to see Jeff and paidContent’s continued support of the conversation.
Your paywall is leaving money on the table
Over 113M uniques in March 2012.
If you just read this headline without asking the source, you’d be pretty excited about the opportunity. After all, 113M uniques is over 36% of the entire U.S. population.
In March 2012, U.S. newspaper websites saw a total of over 113M unique visitors.
You’re not quite as excited about the opportunity now, are you. Everyone is aware that, despite this amazing reach, the economics of newspaper publishing remain seriously in peril. What should otherwise be viewed as a staggering growth play, newspapers have pretty much become a condemned opportunity.
We’ve been working extremely hard to help publishers reverse this trend - and we’re succeeding.
In March 2012, DoubleRecall publishers saw an average paywall engagement rate in excess of 50%.
You didn’t read that incorrectly. In excess of 50% paywall engagement.
We’re talking about serious economic benefits being delivered on a monthly basis.
How serious? Let’s take a look at two fairly standard paywall implementation models: 1) A monthly subscription model; and 2) a weekly pass model. For this simple analysis we’ll use a unique traffic model of 100K per month and a $10 / month subscription model and a $4 / week pass model for the economics.
First, let’s take a look at the monthly subscription model:
Monthly Subscription Model
Paywall:
- Uniques: 100,000
- Paywall Engagement Rate: 1%
- Paywall Revenue (Monthly Sub @ 1 Month): $10.00
- Paywall Revenue / 100,000 Uniques: $10,000
Now, let’s take a look at the same paywall implementation with DoubleRecall:
Paywall + DoubleRecall:
- Uniques: 100,000
- DoubleRecall + Paywall Engagement Rate: 50%*
- DoubleRecall Revenue (per engagement): $.35 **
- Double Recall Revenue / 100,000 Uniques: $17,500
That’s right. We’re talking about a 75% increase in paid content revenue per month.
However, we still have a weekly pass model to look at:
Weekly Pass Model
Paywall:
- Uniques: 100,000
- Paywall Engagement Rate: 1%
- Paywall Revenue (Monthly Sub @ 1 Month): $4.00
- Paywall Revenue / 100,000 Uniques: $4,000
Paywall + DoubleRecall:
- Uniques: 100,000
- DoubleRecall + Paywall Engagement Rate: 50%*
- DoubleRecall Revenue (per engagement): $.35 **
- Double Recall Revenue / 100,000 Uniques: $17,500
In this case it’s even more profitable - a 337.5% increase.
We’re talking about a material impact on a publisher’s monthly financials - all while staying directly inline with their stated paid content strategies.
This is just the beginning of a pretty amazing story we’d like to share with you regarding our company - and how we can help yours.
Footnotes:
* March 2012 DoubleRecall partner average paywall engagement.
** March 2012 DoubleRecall partner average cost per engagement was in excess of $.50
It’s Time to Change the Paywall’s Negative Perception
No matter how (or how often) you look at it, paywalls have delivered a negative impact on the public perception of news. The reason for this negativity is simple:
Paywall implementations are a mystery to readers.
Whether it’s a metered implementation or a completely locked subscription environment, readers have little to no idea when (or if) a paywall is going to be present.
Whether it’s search, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or email, all readers are trying to do is access a recommended article. In return for their efforts they are met with the equivalent of a not open for business sign.
This is inherently a bad process:
- The reader’s surprise at being unable to access the article leads directly to immediate dissatisfaction.
- Immediate dissatisfaction leads to the reader immediately seeking readily available alternatives.
- The publisher missing out on this revenue opportunity.
In order to change the negative perception of the paywall, publishers must offer their readers an alternative - a way to access the select piece of content to which the reader was referred without having to break out a credit card.
Why not offer a single article “pass” that allows the reader to access what they came for - a single article - and then get on their way?
This is the whole premise of DoubleRecall - to enable access and engage readers while driving net new revenue streams for publishers.
Are we tooting our own horn here? A bit, yes - but this is because we have seen the positive impact this process can have on publishers.
Isn’t engaging a prospective subscriber better than having them tweet to thousands of people how readily available their alternative news sources are?
It’s definitely time to change the paywall’s negative perception - and it can begin today.
Breaking the paywall’s 99% rule
When publishers put up paywalls they inevitably encounter what is not so flatteringly referred to as the 99% rule. This rule postulates that 99% of the readers who hit a publisher’s paywall are going to bounce out of the site, immediately.
This becomes the 99.9% rule when you look specifically at social referrals - those inbound links to a story on a publisher’s site that come from a friend’s email, Facebook post, Tweet or LinkedIn post.
As the image above from noted entrepreneur and investor Chris Dixon illustrates, the frustration readers feel relative to accessing quality media is very real. The friction of paying to read what is likely a single piece of content is simply too high for even a friend’s recommendation to overcome.
What’s missing from the process of paywalls (and social referrals to media) is simply choice.
The ability for a reader to access the protected / premium content without having to directly pay for it is critical - especially when it comes at their friend’s recommendation. Note we’re stating “without having to directly pay for it” not “without having to pay for it.” This is a significant distinction as it is imperative publishers receive payment for their premium content. No one is naive enough to believe publishers can continue to exist and create quality content without revenue.
Today, with any paywall implementation a reader encounters the paywall and has a single choice - pay or leave. That’s it. Break out a credit card and make a purchase for access to, again, what is likely a single piece of content. It’s way too easy for the reader to just leave the site so that’s what they do.
What’s missing from this process is choice. Not “paradox of choice” choice - but a simple choice. An alternative. What’s missing is the opportunity for a reader to engage with a single piece of content while having the access to the desired story funded by a third-party. A simple example of a third-party is an advertiser.
When presented with this engagement opportunity the reader takes < 5 seconds to engage via a simple action and gains access to their desired content. That’s it!
With one very simple option, the paywall’s 99% rule is shattered. Everyone wins.
- Publishers receive revenue for their premium content via a unique engagement opportunity.
- Advertisers receive direct engagement with readers and realize tremendous message recall.
- Readers gain access to the premium content their friend’s suggested they read.
In a market of infinitely complex monetization strategies and highly nuanced business models, sometimes it’s the simple solution that can deliver the highest impact.
