Top 5 Paywall Models For Digital Publishers

Paywalls are a fundamental part of subscription. For any successful subscription business model, publishers need to learn about the different paywalls and break down their subscription plans for their users. Your target audience may be a diverse variety of people. They needn’t all be subjected to the same plan. This is where paywall management comes in. If you’re having trouble with paywalls, we recommend you to try our monetization tool Accesstype - your one stop solution for everything around content monetization.

1. Hard paywalls

This is when a website has all of its content behind a paywall - no money, no content. Much like newspapers back in the day. Legacy publications like the Wall Street Journal follow this paywall. For the media houses that have established their value to the readers, hard paywalls work well. A hard paywall works well if you’ve established a subscriber base. This also is effective if your subscription rates are low or if you follow the “pay-per-article” model. This would make your content less discoverable but with good journalism, subscribers will indefinitely grow.

2. Soft paywalls

Unlike the hard paywall, this model teases the subscribers just enough to keep them invested. Soft paywalls allow users to access some digital content, some chosen content by the publisher is provided for free keeping the rest over the paywall. This is often referred to as “metered”. The purpose of this paywall is to show your readers the quality and nature of your content before asking them to commit. It is less extreme and allows publishers to bring in casual visitors as well. This also opens room for other channels of revenue. They can also put a price tag after a certain point of the story creating a sense of suspense that could lead the user to subscribe after all.

3. Freemium paywall

Some publishers can also restrict premium content. This is done by providing a large amount of content for free. This makes your content more accessible to a wide audience. However, in order to gain access to your exclusive content, users need to subscribe. This strategy works as it creates a brand familiarity which encourages users to slowly convert into a subscriber under the right subscription plans. This model helps publishers also use ad revenue to support their in-house efforts.

4. Hybrid Paywalls

This is what happens when you mix the two mentioned above. The hybrid model, or the dynamic model is one where you can choose which articles will be free and which ones will be over the paywall. This way the premium content can still make you the revenue you wish while not blocking off the new readers. This can help build a steady wave of regular readers who can later be convinced to become subscribers. Hybrid model also gives room for ads and surveys. You can expand your revenue channels with this model as well, there’s no commitment and a lot of room for experiment.

5. Dynamic paywalls

Not sure what your readers would appreciate more? This is where you give them a subscription model that fits them. This takes into consideration a variety of things such as - geography, device type, browsing history, content consumption, visit behavior, subject matter, device or other metrics. Using an AI, one can predict a user’s likelihood of subscribing. They are shown subscription plans accordingly to ensure that they get a personalized experience on the website.

The benefits of paywall

If you’re looking forward to a subscription focused revenue plan, a paywall is the right place to focus. Here are some perks of having a strategic approach to paywalls.

User management

With a proper pricing strategy, you can categorize your audience efficiently. Asking people to pay for a subscription can start a principled cycle of building a close relationship with readers which can then be used for generating revenue strategies. Having a good understanding of your audience allows you to filter your stories and utilize your resources.

Bias control

The readers enjoy a critical point of view and a daring perspective, this is nearly impossible if your company is backed by funds from elsewhere. It is also easy to understand what the slant of your audience is with increased interactions on the platform or through social media feedback.

Introducing Accesstype

Accesstype is our content monetization solution designed for today’s media industry. We’ve helped many clients perfect their paywall strategy and build something that works best for them. Here are some benefits of our product -

• Multiple Monetization Models

• Pay per story

• Unlimited subscription groups and plans

• Flexible plan management

• Subscription Management & Renewals

• Coupons & Campaigns

• Provides in-depth insights into revenue

• Seamless integration with leading payment gateways

• One-time & recurring subscriptions

• One-step subscription renewal