To help you zero down to the best one for your news website, in this article we will look at different paywalling models, and news paywall examples implemented by various publishers. You might want to mix and match two or more paywalling options to build your paywall strategy — depending on the content type, sections of the website or app, or different user segments (ranging from fleeting users to loyalists).

Should you feel like getting expert advice on deciding the right paywall model for your media business, please feel free to reach out to us at Conscent.ai

Hard Paywalls : Convert your loyal readers faster

(ConsCent.ai powered hard paywall on Mid-Day.com)

Publications such as Mid-Day, The Times of India, and The Financial Times use hard paywalls (paywalls that prevent complete premium content access without payment) to boost their subscription conversion rate. There is something in common between these publications: their content is appealing, they have a huge captive audience, and they have all been around for a long time.

It is worth implementing a hard paywall if you have a segment of loyal and engaged readers who are ready to convert right from “Day 1” or have content that would easily not be available elsewhere, like long forms, analytical stories, and explainers. To increase the paywall conversion rate, segmentation is crucial based on content engagement, the propensity-to-pay score of the user, along with the pricing and plans offered.

Publications such as Mid-Day, The Times of India, and The Financial Times use hard paywalls (paywalls that prevent complete premium content access without payment) to boost their subscription conversion rate. There is something in common between these publications: their content is appealing, they have a huge captive audience, and they have all been around for a long time.

It is worth implementing a hard paywall if you have a segment of loyal and engaged readers who are ready to convert right from “Day 1” or have content that would easily not be available elsewhere, like long forms, analytical stories, and explainers. To increase the paywall conversion rate, segmentation is crucial based on content engagement, the propensity-to-pay score of the user, along with the pricing and plans offered.

Metered Paywalls : Target your most engaged users

(News website metered paywall examples_mid-day.com)

Publications like Digiday, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and The Indian Express use metered paywalls to drive user engagement. Metered paywalls are to limit access to premium content until after the reader has reached a specific limit per month or week basis. This can be done to acquire user interest in your premium content and then ask them to pay or register for content access.

Subject to experimentation based on data and analytics that capture user interest and engagement, metered paywalls gained popularity amongst news publishers and other content subscription platforms. Eg, Medium.com

Some possible combinations for metered paywalls:

Newsletter > Premium Content > Limit Exhaust > Subscription Paywall > Premium Content > Limit Exhaust >Micro-paywall | Registration Wall

Freemium Model: The art of not losing users in the initial days

(IndiaToday showcases free content on the homepage with the Premium content tab on top)

The freemium model allows publishers to gate some stories behind a hard paywall while keeping most of the content free to consume. In the build-up phase of the subscription lifecycle, this allows publishers to retain freemium users, drive platform engagement and digital ad revenue while giving enough opportunity to the publisher to showcase premium content to a larger number of users. However, in this model, the publisher has to ensure that premium content is exposed to a decent number of users on the platform.

(IndiaToday Premium content section access is offered at a price)

Let’s take the example of Indiatoday.in that follows freemium model best practices. It has premium content tabs on its homepage (Pg.1), but the rest of the content is free. Premium content is behind a hard paywall that is subject to subscriptions on both a monthly and a yearly basis.

Data Walls: Collecting User Information for Stronger Engagement

This simple concept allows aids publishers with user data collection in exchange for access to specific segments of the website. In a current situation, where we are heading into a cookiepocolypse, data walls come in handy to gather first-party data and other valuable details across multiple touchpoints on your content platform. Further, the user data can strengthen engagement  (via news content personalization) with relatively newer user segments.

Besides, registered users also become the platform’s most loyal users and can be used to build a strong subscription funnel.

Followed up by newsletters, surveys, or brand-building activities, and even extending special offers, data walls are a great way to precede the subscription buying process.

Micropayment: A first hook to gather paying intent

(ConsCent’s micro-paywall on IndiaToday.com/magazine).

Indian publications such as Outlook India and  India Today use pay-per-article model as a great way to convert fleeting users into payers. In fact, Outlook India noticed an 8X growth in its paying user base when it implemented a micro-paywall on the magazine stories section of its website in 2021.

Despite popular belief that micropayment can cannibalize subscriptions, they can help publishers sell more subscriptions by building a long-term relationships with their users. Micropayment model enable a publisher to understand paying intent and interest - unlike metered paywalls that only capture user interest, micropayments act as a bridge between zero and recurring revenue.

In price-sensitive economies like South Asia, micropayment revenue model can do wonders to build a subscription journey.

• 💡What is the difference between Micropayment Paywall and Metered Paywall? Which one is better?
  
  - Metered paywalls allow readers to access a certain number of articles before being asked to pay for a subscription. Micropayment paywalls allow readers to pay for a single article or a bundle of articles.
  
  - Metered paywalls are better for capturing user interest, whereas micropayment paywalls have the advantage of capturing user interest and their paying intent.
  
  - Choosing a paywalling strategy depends on your goals and unique user behavior, for which experimentation is necessary. Read to the end for a step-by-step overview of how to find the best paywalling strategy for your media business.

TipJar Model : Allowing Users to Support Publishers Without Obligation

In the TipJar model, there is no monetary obligation. Users can pay what they want (or nothing) as a token of gratitude to publishers. This model has no gating or access limitation. The idea of this model is to allow users to support the publishers and the content creator as they see fit rather than asking for a fixed fee.

While the TipJar model increases accessibility and engagement on the platform, there is no reliable way to predict revenue and monetize the content.

Timer Paywall: Boost Your Conversions with a Timer Paywall

Pioneered by ConsCent, this paywall aims to create FOMO (fear of missing out). Spice up the subscription offers by calling it a ‘Limited Time Offer” or “Flash Sale for 24 hours”. Timer paywalls are a way to get quick conversions with a limited-time offer. Inspired by the e-commerce industry, the timer paywall drives faster purchases at a relatively lower price and can be used by publishers worldwide to drive weekend sales; nudge engaged users who have been delaying the purchase for quite some time quicker closures and achieve revenue targets.

Temporary walls: Entice readers with special offers

Publishers can use temporary walls to capitalize on special occasions, holidays, or sales periods by offering limited-time promotions on exclusive content.

For example, an enticing offer on the paywall during Christmas/New Year may increase click-through rates across all audience segments as users are motivated to take advantage of limited-time holiday discounts or access certain seasonal content. This wall is quite similar to Timer Paywall, but instead of seeing a timer on a specific offer, readers see an offer for a limited duration.

Anti-churn wall: Reduce churn and secure commitment

Publishers can fire this paywall on subscribers whose subscription is nearing their end. Offering attractive incentives or discounts, such as extended access or exclusive content to such subscribers, can entice them to continue their subscriptions or rejoin as paying members.

Imagine a subscriber whose annual subscription is about to expire. As their renewal date approaches, an anti-churn wall pops up, offering them an exclusive 20% discount on the following year's subscription if they renew within the next 48 hours. This personalized offer will encourage the subscriber to continue their membership, reducing churn and securing their commitment for another year.

View paywall: It’s either this or that

A view paywall model allows readers to access a paywalled article by either watching a commercial or subscribing to the platform. User segments that are fleeting or fly-bys on a content platform can be monetized using a view paywall tactic where the revenue is derived in an either or fashion.

This paywall type is useful for publishers that have a huge network of advertisers as an active part of their revenue strategy and are not relying solely on just subscription revenue.

Upsell wall: Promote premium plans

Using an upsell and cross-sell wall to increase revenue from users depends on leveraging their consumption capacity, interests, and spending patterns. Using the upsell model, readers who subscribe to a lower-priced plan or are micro payers are encouraged to upgrade to a more comprehensive or premium plan.

Hybrid or Intelligent Paywall: Personalize Your Paywall Strategy with an AI-Based Hybrid Paywall

This is best suited for the evolved platform, which has millions of new and old users coming to the platform. Powered by artificial intelligence, paywalls are only shown to users with the propensity to subscribe. You can customize your offering for users based on loyalty segments – driven by behavioral patterns of reading and frequency, and time spent.

The good part is that an AI-based scoring Fsystem can choose user sets to show a paywall and content sets to put behind a paywall. This kind of paywalling also has the least impact on digital ad revenue, as paywalls are visible only to users with the highest propensity to subscribe.

If the publisher chooses to gate content and not users, using propensity, only the content that has the propensity to get subscribed goes behind a paywall. Rest remains open. If a content’s propensity drops, the paywall lifts – causing the least damage to digital ad revenue.

Also, because of the propensity, publishers have the best conversions. For example, The Wall Street Journal's flexible paywall has 60 variables and adapts to reader behavior. It measures reader activity across 60 variables and then adapts the wall to each reader's behavior, delivering a free-story limit only in the areas of their interests. This gives subscription marketing teams unique powers to monetize interest and intent.

Similarly, Hearst Newspapers replaced its simple paywall in March 2018 with a flexible paywall, allowing first-time readers to access as much content as they want. The system detects a reader's interests and focuses on those specific interests, such as sports fans getting inside stories, art lovers getting cultural offers, and food lovers getting a pitch about recipes or restaurants. At Hearst's Albany (New York) Times-Union, the total number of digital subscribers has doubled since it started tests in September 2018.

Revolutionize your paywall strategy with Conscent.ai, the cutting-edge subscription stack designed for the future of news media companies. With powerful analytics and personalized customization options, you can identify key segments, optimize paywall scenarios, and measure KPIs for maximum engagement and conversions. With a 360° view of your audience, Conscent.ai helps you unlock your growth potential and achieve the best revenue outcomes. Get in touch with us to experience the future of paywalling today.