The Payoff of Paid Content Walter B. Potter Sr. Conference Community Newspapers: Tomorrow has...
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The Payoff of Paid Content Walter B. Potter Sr. Conference Community Newspapers: Tomorrow has arrived Reynolds Journalism Institute Oct. 20, 2011
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Transcript of The Payoff of Paid Content Walter B. Potter Sr. Conference Community Newspapers: Tomorrow has...
The Payoff of Paid Content
Walter B. Potter Sr. Conference
Community Newspapers: Tomorrow has arrived
Reynolds Journalism Institute
Oct. 20, 2011
Andy Waters | October 2011Community Newspapers: Tomorrow has arrived
Reynolds Journalism Institute
Over the past
10 years, the
number of
newspapers
charging for content
online
has skyrocketed,
accelerating
in the past
three years.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
'01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11
Annual increase Cumulative total
Paid content on the upswingat U.S. daily newspapers
Source: NAA, PaidContent.org
ColumbiaTribune.com
launched paid content
on Dec. 1, 2010. Why?Why? Advertising-only model
not working
Eliminate incentive to stop buying print edition
New revenue stream
Metered model – 10 free/month $8/month online-only $1/month for print subscribers Premium: All staff-produced
local content (photos, video, news, sports, blogs, obits, etc.)
Only subscribers can comment Free: Everything else (section
fronts, wire, weather, contests, classifieds, etc.)
How does it work?
One year later: How’s it going? 3,000,000 pageviews/mo. – 3x net revenue in January 500,000 unique visitors – Non-subscribers are returning Local advertising unaffected – Non-issue for advertisers More than 8,000 paying – Online-only and bundled Opt-out is key – Transparency goes a long way Few objections from readers – Quality journalism at stake
The metered model was part
of a process that started in 2006.
Steps to a metered model
Began Local Initiative
Expanded programming department
Invested in DTI
Steps to a metered model
Restructured newsroom
Redesigned website
Focused on customer service
The Tulsa World metered model
Launched April 4, 2011
Print + Digital and Digital-only subscriptions
Digital: $14.99 a month per year
$15.99 a month per 6 months
$16.99 for one month
Set website to 10 page views every 30 days
Mobile and all apps require subscription
The results so far …
One of only three major American newspapers to increase market penetration in its metro region (including print and online readership) in the last year.
The results so far …
Unique monthly visitors are upVisits to the website are upOnline advertising revenue is upCirculation revenue is up Number of “cross trainers” are upSocial media refers are up
The results so far …
Each week, more than 70% of Tulsa area adults read the Tulsa World.
