We have been keeping an eye on the debate over whether paid content online will replace advertising based models like the one found at Castanet.net that are very successful. "Half of Newspaper Publishers Believe Online Pay Walls Will Work" from MediaPost furthers the debate....
"68% of publishers said they thought that, even if readers object to paying for content, they would have a difficult time finding that information in other places, while 52% said they thought it would be either very easy or somewhat easy for readers to find replacement content.
More data from the study:
- 58% of publishers said they are considering charging for content, but 49% said they have no timetable in mind for how that will play out. 12% said they plan to charge for content by the end of the year, 18% said they will do so in the first quarter of 2010, and 10% said they would begin charging by the beginning of next summer
- 10% currently charge for some portion of the web content
In terms of how charging for content might play out:
- 38% say they will limit full access to stories to monthly subscribers
- 28% say they will likely offer monthly subscriptions as well as micropayments for individual articles
- 15% expect to offer monthly subscriptions, micropayments, and ?day passes?
- 19% expect news articles to remain free but that they will produce content specifically for the website which would be behind a pay wall
- 9% say they may adopt a system which would make visitors pay separately for each story they want to read.
The poll was completed by 118 newspapers of all sizes in all parts of the country."
My opinion remains that the community you live in determines a lot of the outcome, just as the sales skills of the staff, their belief in the business model, and how they are trained. I believe that the advertising based model remains superior as a business but the sales staff is the essential element to make it a success or a failure.