Media pro 2 nov 2010 carolyn morgan free to paid

Free to paid Growing reader revenue across digital channels Carolyn Morgan Mediapro 2 Nov 2010 @carolynrmorgan www.penmaen-media.co.uk http://www.slideshare.net/CarolynMorgan

What’s great about free?
Cover the market/ no barriers
Max reach for advertisers
Search visibility
Expand internationally
Sample your content
Easy to share via social media
Tough for competitors
Build database to market paid-for services

But…
Infinite inventory
Ad revenues/yields falling
Commerce revenues below expectations
Feeding the content monster
High cost/low revenues
Many visitors view one article and go

What’s great about paid?
Niche audiences profitable at low volume
Closer relationship with audiences
High value, focussed group from advertisers
Cross-sell other products/services
Predictable revenues (subscription marketing)

But…
Difficult transition if content has been free
Tough if you have a free competitor
Need high quality content
Not visible to search engines
Smaller audience for advertisers
Hard for casual readers to sample
Can’t share content on social media
Payment management complex

Combining free and paid services
Deeper relationships Target specific groups Reach the entire market For advertisers Membership services Build a community Create a database Build relationships Sample new readers Build a reputation For publishers Paid Registered > Free >

FT
Free for up to 30 articles a month; then £3 a week
180k subscribers (up 50% in last 6 months)
400k downloads of ipad app and £1m ad rev
Print advertising just 40% of revenue

Econsultancy
Free blog: >850k visitors a month
Registered users: 100,000
Paid-for membership research reports: 5,000
Revenue shares 2010
15% ads
35% subs & pay as you go
50% events, training, consultancy and data
Revenue growth 30% pa

Advanstar: the column
Free digital magazine reaches 140k chromatographers worldwide
Free ning community has 2000 members
Developing e-learning materials: subs at $200pa

K9 Media
Free websites for dog-owners
Paid-for digital magazine and e-books
Extra offers and services for members
Flexible deals for advertisers: data, enewsletters, ads, commerce links

Runners World
Free articles on website
Extra benefits for registered users: rate and enter races online
Subscribers get exclusive content and advance race booking
10 years of subscriber growth

Songlines
Niche publisher – for world music fans
Free digital sampler – song samples and links to and from Amazon
Drives growth in paid subs to print and digital mags

Tips on managing free and paid
Extensive free content to draw in audience
Valuable e-newsletter/ privileges to drive registration
Don’t try to charge for what was free
Exclusive reports, specials, ebooks for subs package
Include “money can’t buy” access or events

Why it works for publishers
Free replenishes database
Protects from competitors
Close to audience
Multiple income sources
Why it works for advertisers
Wide reach of market
Targeting opportunities
Deeper relationship with core

Carolyn Morgan
15 years at specialist publisher Emap
Launched, acquired, sold events, print, digital media businesses
Work with specialist media businesses on digital strategy
Launched Specialist Media Show in 2010
Write & speak on digital publishing strategy: Inpublishing, Publishing Expo, Ipex, Media pro, Media futures, themediabriefing
Follow me on twitter: @carolynrmorgan
Join the Specialist Media Network on Linked-in
www.penmaen-media.co.uk
www.thespecialistmediashow.com

Media pro 2 nov 2010 carolyn morgan free to paid

by Penmaen Media on Oct 31, 2010

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