Publishers should use their data to drive their paywall strategy

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For several years, publishers have set up paywalls to develop digital subscriptions and diversify their sources of revenue (see the state of paywalls adoption in the United States). This is increasingly present and scrutinized in the media industry: how to find the right formula to transform readers into subscribers?

We experienced an intense first period during which the (online) paying model appeared, intensified, present in different way (freemium, metered, hard, datawall, …). Although present in different models, paywalls remained “simple” because offering the same experience to all readers. A “one fits for all” model that allowed publishers to frustrate 1–2% of their core readers and turn them into subscribers. Today, subscriptions represent a huge potential for publishers, and probably a healthier model where readers pay for content.

A legitimate question arises: how can we go further to develop digital subscription?

To illustrate this question, I personally like Frederic Filloux sentence: “let’s fill the rest of the plane” in his same name article. Meaning: we sold a good part of 1st class seats, how to make money with the rest of the plane?

Use data to drive paywall

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