In theory, a flexible paywall allows a publisher’s audience to develop more of a habit, hit advertising campaign goals more easily, and test out more hypotheses. But it also risks confusing readers. In this presentation from Digiday’s Hot Topic: Subscriptions and Commerce, which took place in New York City this past February, hear from Jason Sylva, general manager of consumer marketing revenue at New York Magazine, as he discusses its decision to go with a dynamic paywall. The key hits:
- Information like when, where and how consumers are interacting with your content can help you determine strategic perimeters for the paywall.
- When introducing a paywall, many publishers run into problems with it impacting their advertising business. To find a balance, consider leaving the paywall off of one-off pieces, such as television recaps or event coverage, and instead drive it on some of the more in-depth reporting.
- Optimize, but also learn: Optimizing focuses on existing demand, and learning enables you to build a more sustainable business.
Listen to this presentation on the Digiday Live podcast here.
More in Media
Forbes tests a creator-led audience play to grow off-platform reach
Forbes is yet another publisher tapping creators and their audiences to drive off-platform growth – with a slightly different structure.
How Lipton Ice Tea is using local creators instead of building in-house social teams
Lipton worked with Billion Dollar Boy to activate local creators across six different markets; a new approach to global marketing
How a German publisher JV is turning LLM visibility into a premium brand buy
Germany’s BCN, the joint-venture commercial arm of three major publishing houses – Hubert Burda Media, Funke and Klambt – is rolling out a commercial product that helps brands get properly surfaced and described inside ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants, not just on traditional search results pages.