A Paywall is the publisher’s lemonade stand. If the product is good people will pay for it. If not they will stop coming back. There is some confusion about what the Open Web means when it comes to paywalls, and there are those who throw the paywall under the bus and say all content should be free. Readers are fed up with poor quality journalism, confused by fake news, and are looking for sources they can trust. Providing well-researched content with value costs something. Paywalls give publishers the tools they need to focus on journalism and content, rather than being distracted by indirect methods of keeping the lights on, such as advertising, affiliate marketing or appealing for voluntary donations. Publishers shouldn’t be afraid to charge a dime for their all-natural, freshly squeezed, 100% lemonade. We can drink to that. -Key Takeaways- It’s about trust and quality, and people are willing to pay for that. * Paywalls and paid content strategies are not the enemy to the open web * Paid content as the primary revenue source drives better quality and potentially less bias * People are paying for trusted news sources in the wake of fake news * Why gimmicks aren’t worth the time, most of the time -Talk Outline- Juxtapose paid content to advertising using analogies. Journalism, well researched reporting and fact finding, is a service that should not be thrown into an enemy camp against the open web. It should be embraced and supported. Quality is something people pay for, something people need. Too much advertising hinders the experience. Paywalls don’t have to be completely closed down. Publicly important information can be free. Social media, a necessary tool, but a dangerous source for empirical information. The problems of fake news. Publishers will try a lot of acrobatics to get people to subscribe. Free pizza or zoo passes with an annual subscription. These things can be nice, but most of the time they are or difficult than they are worth. Focus on the content and lower the barrier of entry, everything else is a distraction.
WordCamp for Publishers – Chicago
August 8-10 in Chicago, IL