Paywall-Access Publishing Guide People will pay good money—hundreds of dollars a year in some cases—for access to your digital content, if: A good example is
RainToday.com, which offers articles, white papers, case studies, how-to guides, webinars, and other resources for marketers of professional services. Some of RainToday’s basic content is free, but the “premium” content can be accessed only by members who pay $299 per year. The site also sells research reports for hundreds of dollars, offering substantial discounts to members.
Monetize Digital Content with
Subscriptions,
Membership Fees, and Micro-Payments
(updated 4/27/09)
By David M. Freedman
about the author
The tiered model—basic content for free and premium content for a fee—is becoming more common among digital publishers.
Subscriptions vs. memberships
What is the difference between subscription-based and membership sites? "Subscription management is a function of a membership site," says Steve Robson, a sales rep at
SubHub. "Subscription management relates to the automation of recurring payments, logins, passwords etc. A membership website is any site that requires people to sign up (free or paid) to access premium content or pages."
Corporations are more likely to subscribe to valuable online content than individual consumers, according to Business Week (“Making Money Without Mad Ave,” by Robert D. Hof, Nov. 3, 2008, page 90.)
Three Kinds of Solutions for Publishers
There are three kinds of vendors that sell software and/or services for building and operating websites with which you can sell access to digital content:
- Hosted e-commerce
- Hosted content management system (CMS)
- CMS software
All of these systems
except Zuora offer your customers both one-off access (micro-payment for a single download) and recurring access (subscriptions or memberships) to your digital content.
Hosted e-commerce
This is primarily a transaction service. You maintain your own website, either on your own server or on an outside host server. On your website, you describe the features and benefits of your digital content and offer it for sale. When customers decide to purchase content, they click on a link that refers them to the vendor, a third-party e-commerce site. The vendor (a) processes the transaction, (b) refers paid customers to a page where they can download the digital content, (c) maintains sales records and statistics for you, and (d) deposits the sales proceeds in your account, in some cases taking a small percentage of the sale price.
In some cases, the third-party e-commerce site can be customized or “themed” to look like your own website. Some of these services also provide disk space where you can upload and store your digital content, where it can be downloaded by customers after a completed transaction. Vendors in this category including the following (see chart below):
Hosted CMS
With this option, you operate your website (typically called a membership site) on the vendor’s server. The vendor company provides user-friendly content management system (CMS) software that lets you build and maintain your site. The hosted site processes transactions, stores digital files for downloading by customers, and maintains sales records. The vendor deposits proceeds into your account; typically charging you a monthly fee that varies according to the amount of disk storage that your content occupies and the volume of transactions and/or downloads. Vendors in this category include the following (see chart below):
| HOSTED CMS (updated 4/8/09) | |
|
Vendor Name & URL |
Pricing |
|
iGroops
|
Startup fee $99
Monthly fee $99 up to 10,000 members |
|
MemberGate
|
Hosting fee $35 per month, plus: $6,495 up to 2,500 members and 5,000 content pages
$9,495 up to 5,000 members and 10,000 content pages
$14,995 up to 15,000 members and 30,000 content pages
$29,995 for unlimited members and pages |
|
Memberstar |
$50 setup fee |
|
Net Member Services
|
$3,000 + setup fee $50
|
|
SimplStart
|
Projected $49.95 per month |
|
SubHub
|
$97 per month or $997 per year
Professional design services $997
|
CMS Software
You purchase a license to use content management system (CMS) software designed specifically for membership sites and subscriptions to digital content. You install the software on your own server or outside host server. All transactions, downloads, record-keeping, and transfer of funds are handled at your end, not by the software vendor. You pay a licensing fee (in most cases a one-time payment up front). The fee may vary depending on how many sites you operate, or the number of domains. The vendor typically provides technical support, free for a limited period and then for a fee. Vendors in this category include the following (see chart below):
| CMS SOFTWARE (updated 4/27/09) | |
|
Vendor Name & URL |
Pricing |
|
aMember
|
License fee $179.95 (free installation)
|
|
Caribou CMS |
License fee $299 or $29 per month |
|
EasyMemberPro |
License fee $137 for one site; $297 for unlimited sites |
|
MemberKit |
License fee $299 first site, $99 each additional site |
|
Membership Site Manager
|
License fee $127 |
|
MemberSpeed
|
License fee $1,070 per year or $1,997 lifetime
|
|
Omni-Secure
|
License for one domain $197 For 3 domains $347 For 10 domains $697 |
|
Simple Member Pro |
License fee $397 |
| CMS SOFTWARE -- WORDPRESS PLUGINS (updated 12/23/08) | |
|
Vendor Name & URL |
Pricing |
|
WP-Member |
License fee: |
|
WordPress WishList Member |
License fee $97 per year for one site |
Note: You can also find membership-site modules for Drupal and Joomla (open-source CMS).
Disclaimer: Inclusion of a product or service in this chart does not necessarily imply an endorsement or recommendation. Omissions may be inadvertent, and do not necessarily imply disapproval of a product or service.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David M. Freedman has worked as a financial, legal, and technology journalist since 1978. He has also been a website content developer since 1999. (more)
Copyright © 2008-2010 David M. Freedman
