The article, part of The Earl Blog, is headlined: Getting smarter about subscriptions beyond the meter — and without a silver bullet.

Ironically, I have found myself this week conducting workshops that include latest trends in attracting subscribers, so this was very timely.

While I encourage you to read Earl’s entire piece, I found these takeaways of interest, at a time when publishers are looking for guidance as to what is the best way to attract and to retain customers who will pay for content.

Earl’s piece concludes that after cutting across many presentations in a recent London summit devoted to the subject, the metered model works best for brands with strong identities and a high volume of content — “which, by itself, might explain why local newspapers under-performed so dramatically with the metered model in recent years.”

Freemium works best for brands with unique to highly unique content, offering the best model for converting readers to purchase. The hard pay model works for brands with an extreme connection to their community. Yet make no mistake: The hybrid models of Scandinavia and the dynamic pay gate models are coming on fast.

The INMA research in this area is impressive and gives credence to the effectiveness of freemium models. Research conducted for the London Media Subscriptions Summit confirms differences between the meter and freemium models. INMA surveyed 35 news media companies that were represented at the London summit and who are intimately involved with digital subscriptions:

54% operate freemium models.
34% operate meters.
41% of respondents are unhappy with their model.
67% are looking to switch models.
76% are looking to add new features to their pay model.

I plan to devote more time in the blog next week to the subject of monetization and subscription models.

Of (very) related interest

The Chicago Sun Times has ran a blank front page recently, dramatically emphasizing the need for readers to subscribe if the newspaper is to survive.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/imagine-chicago-without-the-sun-times/

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A good weekend read

Should you design for addiction or for loyalty?

That depends on whether you want users or an audience.

http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/04/should-you-design-for-addiction-or-for-loyalty/

Things we like

I like that The New York Times’ digital briefing now includes an opportunity for us to see how its print edition front page looks. This is especially helpful when we are traveling abroad. Good move.