By Madeleine White, Editor-In-Chief at The Audiencers and VP of Marketing at Poool, and Ariel Burkett, VP of Global Sales & Marketing at Mather Economics
September 17th, 2024
Dynamic paywalls have come a long way—from early versions leveraging simple rules-based triggers to advanced AI-powered decision engines. But one thing remains constant: the importance of putting the audience first. Whether optimizing the initial paywall decision (no-wall, regwall, or paywall) for total revenue, or personalizing the experience and messaging based on a user’s profile, audience-first strategies drive results.
So how do you make your paywall audience-first?
Given that every visitor to a publisher’s website is unique, the foundation of any dynamic paywall strategy lies in robust audience segmentation. This approach enables tailored paywall messaging, subscription offers, and engagement journeys to optimize conversion rates across your readership.
You can segment your audience based on a variety of factors, such as:
- Their device preference: desktop, mobile, tablet
- Where they are from: local in-market vs. out-of-market readers
- How they came to your site: social media, newsletter, news aggregator, etc.
In this example, The Kyiv Independent displays a donation banner specifically targeted at U.S. readers, encouraging them to support independent journalism.
The Kyiv Independent
- Their content preference: politics vs. sport, or a long, in-depth read vs. a short news update
Le Journal du Dimanche
- Their level of engagement: often measured using an RFV score (recency, frequency and volume of visits): at Poool, the dynamic paywall solution, audiences can be natively segmented into Volatiles (the least engaged), Occassionals, Regulars, and Fans
- Their user type: anonymous visitor, registered user, former subscriber
Medium’s paywall for logged-in readers is personalized based on the user and the content they’re trying to access.
Medium
Which paywall levers can be tailored to the reader?
1.The type and timing of the call-to-action
Deciding how many free articles to allow before the paywall, the strictness of the paywall (whether it’s closable or not), or whether to offer registration or pre-subscription options all require strategic, data-driven decision-making. It’s important to meet the reader where they are in their journey.
For instance, publishers have found that readers arriving via social referrers often have a lower likelihood of subscribing. To address this, some opt for a more lenient paywall experience for these readers, aiming to boost engagement. Additionally, they may offer targeted promotions or special deals to encourage conversion, striking a balance between engagement and revenue growth.
Poool
Without a dedicated team, optimizing your strategy and paywall for total revenue can be challenging. That’s why many publishers rely on paywall intelligence solutions like Sophi, which help identify the best revenue-driving action for each visitor.
Integrating this intelligence into a best-in-class paywall platform like Poool allows publishers to effortlessly achieve and maintain the ideal intercept rate, striking the perfect balance between business goals and user experience.
2. Personalizing your design or messaging
Personalizing the call to action takes the power of a dynamic paywall to the next level. By tailoring the value proposition, the images, and the subscription benefits to the reader’s profile, publishers can drive greater reader engagement and conversions.
In this example, ELLE Magazine France tested adapting the heading and first two highlighted subscription benefits based on the newsletter from which a reader visited the site. Click here for more examples of how Poool has helped publishers optimize their paywall designs to boost engagement and conversions.
Elle
3. The subscription offer
A well-crafted offer not only attracts new subscribers but also maximizes lifetime revenue. Publishers must balance short-term incentives, like discounts or trials, with the overall subscription value to drive sustainable growth and retention.
Here are our top two tips for publishers with, or seeking to launch a dynamic paywall
1.Test, test, test! The most important factor for success in a dynamic model is continuous testing from the outset. A/B testing is a low-risk way of innovating with new designs, messaging and user journeys, and something that the most successful media houses have mastered. Tests can be run within each audience segment, allowing you to find the optimal wall for different types of readers.
For instance, this Christmas/New Year paywall creative increased click-through rates across all audience engagement segments, but to different extents:
- +58% globally
- +75% volatiles
- +146% occasionals
- +149% regulars
- +65% fans
2. Assess your subscription performance and paywall maturity: If you’ve implemented a freemium or metered model and have hit a plateau—or if you’re spending excessive time analyzing reports to optimize your strategy—it may be time to elevate your paywall decisioning with AI-driven intelligence. Publishers using AI solutions have seen up to a 20% increase in subscriptions and a 45% boost in registrations, unlocking new growth opportunities.
For a truly audience-centric dynamic paywall, Poool and Sophi provide an intelligent, data-driven solution that helps modern publishers optimize paywall performance and boost revenue.
Discover how Mather and Poool can help you convert audiences into members and subscribers, more intelligently.
