Blog: paid content

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Time Magazine gets it wrong...so wrong.

Aug 2 2010

"Abridged" versions online?  What a bad idea for the online reader and the publisher. Instead of full stories, Time Magazine's online readers get an abridged version (a puny little paragraph) followed by three possible upsell suggestions: 

  1. You can buy the issue on the iPad... that's helpful, thank you, when I am currently reading the article on a clunky old PC and needed yet one more reminder that my digital world is limited.
  2. You can buy a Time Magazine subscription... why would I buy a print subscription when I am currently consuming the content online... yes, that would be great, please mail me the magazine so I can read the full article in 7-10 days.
  3. Or you can buy a digital Time Magazine subscription... but I only care about this one article, I don't want a whole subscription... so why not make a few bucks by allowing me to just pay for the article... or how 'bout a day pass where I might discover more of your great content and possibly consider subscribing to the digital version?

No, that makes way too much sense.

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paidContent.debate

Dec 7 2009

The debate continues.  Or resurfaces, as the case may be.  Now that ad revenue is tanking again, content publishers are revisiting their model. This pendulum has been swinging for almost a decade. The answer is not admonishing the ad model.  And it certainly is not arbitrarily walling off content.  Access to premium content...stuff you can't get anywhere else...should be paid.  And paying for it doesn't necessarily mean your experience will be advertisement free.  Engaged users who pay for content are that much more valuable to advertisers. 

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