Paywalls get softer, and a little-used method to increase subscription renewals

It’s not a good start to a relationship.

Feeling pushed away, locked out and rejected.

How crazy it happens hundreds of millions of times a day in an industry that’s supposed to be good at communication.

I’m talking about paywalls.

Those charming little screen barriers that even before you’ve drawn breath, introduced yourself or started to get to know your new friend, come flying out to greet you with their demands.

I don’t have statistics, but my guess is that customers are bouncing off hard paywalls (the asking for money type) at the highest rates ever.

(Paywall fans please correct me if this is wrong).

How do I justify this assertion?

Because it’s a set-up that simply doesn’t make sense any more (if it ever did).

Warm leads, landing on a website, being confronted with a stick-up. 

Content publishers need revenue, but they aren’t any longer going to succeed with this ageing, increasingly frustrating generation of barricades.

So signs that paywalls are starting to change are not before time.

Industry specialists are dropping the “pay” part and talking about “conversion” walls that present a softer, more friendly approach, including:

+ The publisher not jumping in straight away

+ A registration and/or newsletter sign-up offered instead in return for limited access.

+ Being more polite

+ Giving first time users more content

+ Restricting content for persistent uncommitted users

A softer kind of wall, inviting readers to register to continue to read free content, instead of just asking for a subscription.

One proponent of this new approach is “audience conversion company” Poool, a French business now targeting UK news and magazine publishers. There are others of course, and this is not intended as an endorsement.

Poool's job is to help find the sweet spot between audience engagement and frustration, and of course, it’s a balancing act, different for each audience and each segment again.

Studies show, perhaps not surprisingly, there’s a positive link between giving some non-payers access to premium content and getting them to convert to paying subscribers.

Underlying everything is the thoughtful approach, as outlined by the company’s Madeleine White, to lead your user across stepping stones, gradually increasing their engagement and propensity to subscribe.

There are a few ways to do this but my favourite is the “newsletter” wall, which says, yes you can carry on reading this content, but only if you provide your email address and sign up to our newsletter.

Sounds like a better deal than a slap in the face with a paywall.

#paywall #newsletter #newsletters #magazine #newspaper #publishing #content

Here’s a secret that increases subscription renewals.

Strangely, not many publishers are on board with this.

The secret is based on reciprocity.

What has reciprocity got to do with subscription renewals?

People have an instinctive urge to repay a favour.

Give your readers one or more unexpected “love gifts” during the course of their newsletter, magazine or newspaper subscription.

Love gifts don’t have to cost much, and they can be free.

1. Give away valuable information - a report or guide that has previously been sold and demonstrates true value as a gift.

2. Produce a bonus edition or issue, funded by advertising.

3. Give readers an actual birthday present on their birthday, not just an electronic message. A token works just fine and doesn't have to be expensive.

4. Send a useful special report, guide, checklist, or tool, created from repurposed content.

5. A personal message from the editor thanking them for being a reader and getting them involved by asking for feedback. To go the extra mile, how about a handwritten postcard?

Love gifts spark loyalty and reciprocity and help your readers love you.

They build up a reserve of goodwill, loyalty and positive intention towards the provider.

The main way readers can return the favour is to renew their subscription.

Keeping existing subscribers costs less than finding new ones and the idea of a subscriber retention budget dedicated to this is worth considering.

+ Nurture your readers 

+ Show them that you care

+ Surprise and delight to win their hearts

It’s the thought that counts.

#lovegifts #subscriptions #subscribers #renewals #newsletters #magazines #newspapers