Citizen Media Business Issues: Memberships and Subscriptions
From Ryan McGrady of the Center for Citizen Media...
(This is the fourth in a series of postings about citizen media business issues. See the introduction here. All of these entries are considered to be in “beta” and will be revised and refined as they find a home on a more permanent area of the Center for Citizen Media web site. To that end, your comments, additional examples, and criticisms are welcome and will be invaluable contributions to this process.)
As web-based media becomes more popular, some news and information sites find they can charge for a subscription or membership as a source of revenue.
The benefits of selling subscriptions are many, but the reason magazines and newspapers have been using the model for decades is because it takes some of the unpredictability out of the business — and can help with cash flow with advance payments. It also creates a sort of attachment or loyalty to the content or brand in the customer’s head, perhaps leading to renewals and word-of-mouth publicity.
The magazine and newspaper models don’t translate exactly to internet outfits. Also, what works for online sites of mass media institutions doesn’t necessarily translate to citizen media sites.
Sites with subscription systems are rare, and citizen media sites even rarer. Making content “premium” puts both a monetary and psychological barrier between people and your words. That is to say, some people might not have the money, but the vast majority just simply won’t pay because they’re trained to be cynical about anything on the internet asking for money – after all, they may reason, what can’t be found for free with a Google search? Also, one of the greatest things about citizen media is the connection between publisher and reader.
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(This is the fourth in a series of postings about citizen media business issues. See the introduction here. All of these entries are considered to be in “beta” and will be revised and refined as they find a home on a more permanent area of the Center for Citizen Media web site. To that end, your comments, additional examples, and criticisms are welcome and will be invaluable contributions to this process.)
As web-based media becomes more popular, some news and information sites find they can charge for a subscription or membership as a source of revenue.
The benefits of selling subscriptions are many, but the reason magazines and newspapers have been using the model for decades is because it takes some of the unpredictability out of the business — and can help with cash flow with advance payments. It also creates a sort of attachment or loyalty to the content or brand in the customer’s head, perhaps leading to renewals and word-of-mouth publicity.
The magazine and newspaper models don’t translate exactly to internet outfits. Also, what works for online sites of mass media institutions doesn’t necessarily translate to citizen media sites.
Sites with subscription systems are rare, and citizen media sites even rarer. Making content “premium” puts both a monetary and psychological barrier between people and your words. That is to say, some people might not have the money, but the vast majority just simply won’t pay because they’re trained to be cynical about anything on the internet asking for money – after all, they may reason, what can’t be found for free with a Google search? Also, one of the greatest things about citizen media is the connection between publisher and reader.
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