Paywall drives newspaper revenue after initial backlash

BY HIS own words, publisher of the New Hampshire-based Concord Monitor John Winn Miller, the idea of a paywall was not to his liking.

But the small paper has managed to keep traffic numbers steady and grow revenue since the paywall went up in May 2011. Initially, the paper saw a minor year-over-year three per cent drop in unique visitors, but visitor numbers were up by August.

Miller added that some advertisers that left when paywall launched are beginning to come back. Overall, the paper has seen year-over-year increases in online revenue and print circulation. After three months, the newspaper attracted more than 100 online paid subscribers, which projects to about US$25,000 a year in extra revenue. In the long term, Miller expects the increase in circulation numbers to also drive an increase in advertising revenue.

subscription revenue

The Monitor also has gained incremental subscription revenue by changing its print rates to account for digital content. The paper required subscribers to opt out of paying US$0.25 more a week (US$17 a year) for unlimited Web access. Miller was pleasantly surprised when 90 per cent of print subscribers did not opt out, resulting in a "tremendous boost to revenue".

Furthermore, print circulation has gone up. The Monitor chose the paywall model after analysing their own traffic and the experiments in other newspapers, particularly in the Northeast.

They paired the new pricing structure with a complete redesign of the website, including more of a focus on breaking news and including new features like stock picks and movie listings. The newspaper decided to put only local copy behind a paywall and offer some content, such as wire stories and classifieds, for free. In the future, mobile content will also be behind the paywall.

While some readers were initially upset at the change, the backlash has subsided, Miller said. "It has been so successful for us that I can't believe everybody hasn't been doing something like this," he said. He said home delivery revenue is up significantly, as well as Sunday sales.