Paywalls / Paid content as a success model for publishers

The media houses and publishing houses have long been concerned with the opportunities and possibilities of monetizing the new digital channels. Payment models such as micropayment, digital subscriptions and shops are now part of the tried and tested standard.

A currently very popular model is the use of the so-called "paywall", also known as a payment barrier, which displays certain contents of a website only after a fee has been paid or, for example, a subscription has been taken out. In addition to the "Freemium" and "Metered Paywall" models, a combination of both ("Hybrid") is also established as a payment model.

The Freemium model is based on the division of content into a free and a paid premium area. The premium content is often exclusive reports or background articles. Information and news, which are also available free of charge on other websites, usually also remain free of charge with this model. In many cases, the decision as to which content is offered for a fee or free of charge is made by the editors themselves. Advantageous is the low risk factor for sinking user numbers by the further freely accessible ranges of the Website, whereby the range can continue to rise and the advertising incomes remain significant.

With the metered paywall, customers can spend a certain number of views or a certain amount of time with content. Only then does a notice appear indicating the possibility of a purchase or subscription, which blocks the reading of further articles for a specified period of time. Index pages, i.e. mainly overview pages, are usually not affected by this; only the article pages are blocked. This means that search engines will continue to find all articles available online, and even customers who reach a certain content via a search engine or an external link will be able to read the corresponding articles. The block therefore only applies to surfing on the website. The advantage is obvious: first-time readers or visitors who only rarely use the offer can continue to do so. Only regular use and therefore users who are already convinced of the quality of an offer will incur costs.

InterRed supports digital subscriptions and market-relevant paywall models such as Freemium, Metered or Hybrid and offers the appropriate solution in conjunction with its web content management and editorial system.