Last week The Economist had a story about how 2010 will be the “Year of the Paywall”–the year when many newspapers will begin charging for access to content on their websites for non-subscribers to the paper. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp’s head honcho, is quite adamant about introducing this practice across his publications.
The problem I have with paywalls? They’re a step backwards for an industry that can’t afford it.
A Temporary Solution At Best
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t doubt that adding a paywall would increase revenue in the short term for fledgling papers. But the thing that’s going to keep them in business? Loyalty. The thing that most newspapers don’t have right now? Loyalty. Loyalty to papers used to be assumed because of geographical restraints. ‘Tis no longer so.
The Wall Street Journal has been a long-upheld model of how a paywall can work. But even their paywall is based on the strength of their brand and the loyalty of their customers to that brand. I would argue as time goes on and information (especially about finance) gets more and more real-time, the value of paying for the Journal online will be seen by even the most loyal of customers as slim. And as sharing via social networks becomes an increasing source of news, content locked down on websites won’t be shared (the Journal is already trying to figure out how to deal with this.)
Adding a paywall to content, especially when the content used to be free, might as well be putting one foot in the grave. Instead of trying to alienate fans, newspapers need to go social in a big way. Most news organizations currently have only embraced social media as a platform for promoting their content. But the great potential of social media is its ability to create loyal communities around an idea or an organization.
Loyalty is Being Created On the Social Web
I don’t have to go very far to find examples of papers finding creative ways to engage with their fans. Colonel Tribune has been a fantastic success in the social sphere for the Chicago Tribune due to its (his?) humanity and ability to connect with audiences. It’s going to be papers that think creatively like this that will keep users engaged and loyal on the Web.
The bottom line? A paywall will be seen as punitive. The most loyal customers (read: oldest) will stay and support the model in the short term, but younger, tech savvy news consumers will seek their news elsewhere.
What do you think? What are some other ways newspapers can gain loyalty (and revenue) from consumers? Let’s throw around some out of the box ideas.
Photo credit: fotologic
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