Paywalls:
Golden Goose or Brand Killer?
Kristi Dougherty
1105 Media Public Sector Group
AAMP 2014 Conference
Paywalls: Brick by Brick
1997: Wall Street Journal
2010: The Times (London), Financial Times,
Variety*
2011: New York Times, The Onion
2013: Weekly World News, Toronto Star, Sports
Illustrated, Esquire*
Commonalities:
Authority/expertise; niche/specialized content
Paywall-able Success
Factors
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Unique, vertical, regional content
Authority/expertise
Audience support
Editorial buy in
Limited/no site traffic concerns
Ad sales education
Types of Paywalls
• Hard
Requires paid subscription for ALL content
• Combination
Open access to select content, premium
content behind a paywall
• Soft/Metered
Access to a specific number of articles before
requiring a paid subscription
Times of London
Hard Paywall Model
Wall Street Journal
Combination Paywall Model
New York Times
Soft Paywall Model
Case Study #1:
Washington Technology
Strengths
• Strong website traffic
• Loyal audience
• Trusted brand in marketplace
• No direct competitors
Challenge
• Shift in ad spend/decline in ad revenue
Timeline & Strategy
Nov-Dec 2012
Research, modeling, budget
Jan-Feb 2013
Programmer and ad sales meetings
Audience interviews
Feb-Mar 2013
Site design, CMS tags built, prelim marketing,
and fulfillment vendor prep
April 2013
Launch
Selling the Concept
• Editorial buy in
• Interviewed audience and took
feedback on options & pricing
• Ad sales team education ahead of
launch on how to sell around paywall
• Integrated marketing campaign
Marketing Strategy
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Mystery emails 3 weeks prior to launch
House ads on site and in PSMG brands
Continued emails around benefits
Post-expire efforts
Price testing
Development of enterprise members
WT Combination Paywall
Why Did WT Work?
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Specialized marketplace content
No direct competitors
Authoritative market voice/EIC
Loyal audience
Low online ad sales volume – no traffic
concerns
• Ad sales focused on events & lead gen
Case Study #2:
Federal Soup
Strengths
• Forums traffic
• Loyal audience
• Trusted brand in marketplace
• Rapid growth in ad revenue
Challenges
• Many free competitors
• Muddled brand history in last five years
• Poor understanding of audience price point
Timeline & Strategy
Oct-Dec 2013
Research, modeling, budget
Jan-Mar 2014
Programmer and ad sales meetings
Feb-Mar 2014
Site redesign, CMS tags built, prelim marketing,
and fulfillment vendor prep
April 2014
Launch
Selling the Concept
• Editorial buy in
• Ad sales team education ahead of
launch on how to sell around paywall
• Integrated marketing campaign
*What’s missing? – Audience Input! 
Marketing Strategy
Full blown marketing blitz:
Metro billboards
Radio ads
Event booth
Direct mail
Emails
List rental for direct mail and emails
House ads
Positive market feedback but NO ORDERS 
FS Combination Paywall
Why Did FS Sort of Work?
• Unique concept of topic research plus
content development
• Expansion of access to popular content
• Retention of existing audience
(somewhat)
• Expansion of traffic from forums across
site to increase ad impressions/ad
revenue support of brand
Why Did FS Sort of NOT
Work?
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No audience research!
Over-reliance on brand history
“If you build it, they will come”
Difficult marketplace for paid content
Numerous free competitors
Getting Started
• Plan for 3-12 months process
• Involve your audience!
• Build pricing models/worst case/best
case scenarios
• Test all programming – a lot
• Assess impact to traffic vs ad sales
• Don’t do it in desperation! Make it a
win-win for you and the audience
Top 3 Considerations
• Content management – how will you gate?
Programming considerations
Metering vendors
• Site design – how does audience know about gates?
Mark gated content?
Blocker page/landing page
Ad skins
• Subscriber access – should be instant!
Can your fulfillment provider handle?
Password – automatic or self generated
eNL vs subscriber access vs resource access
Send me your questions!
Kristi Dougherty
kdougherty@1105media.com
(720) 387-8468