andrewducker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
andrewducker) wrote2009-10-15 07:56 am
andrewducker) wrote2009-10-15 07:56 am
Charging for the news
A whole bunch of papers have recently been talking about ways they can make money from their websites. I've not, generally, seen good ways for them to do so. Going pay-only means that you lose the vast majority of your subscribers.
The Economist, however, seems to have found a compromise that might just work. Everything over 90 days is pay only. And so is the main contents page of the print edition.
Which means you can see a page from the most recent issue if someone links to it. And you can see a few major stories via the front page. But if you want to find your way to the rest of it - you'll need to pay for it. Which is just annoying enough that, if you're the kind of person who _wants_ to read The Economist on a regular basis you'll pay for it.
It strikes me as a good balance - nicely done.
The Economist, however, seems to have found a compromise that might just work. Everything over 90 days is pay only. And so is the main contents page of the print edition.
Which means you can see a page from the most recent issue if someone links to it. And you can see a few major stories via the front page. But if you want to find your way to the rest of it - you'll need to pay for it. Which is just annoying enough that, if you're the kind of person who _wants_ to read The Economist on a regular basis you'll pay for it.
It strikes me as a good balance - nicely done.
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