Pay for Content Means New PR Strategies in the Future
Posted by sparkprmarketing on September 21, 2009
The results of a survey of newspaper publishers by the American Press Institute have been released, indicating that half of respondents believe readers are willing to pay to access online newspaper content. (It’s at 51 percent, which means with margin of error, we’re right at one-half).
The half who believe that charging for content will work also report believing that readers will not be able to access the material elsewhere. Here’s the breakdown, supplied by Media Buyer/Planner this morning:
• 58% of publishers said they are considering charging for content
• 49% said they have no timetable in mind for how that will play out
• 12% said they plan to charge for content by the end of the year
• 18% said they will do so in the first quarter of 2010
• 10% said they would begin charging by the beginning of next summer
• 10% currently charge for some portion of the web content
According to the study:
• 38% of the respondents say they will limit full access to stories to monthly subscribers
• 28% say they will likely offer monthly subscriptions as well as micropayments for individual articles
• 15% expect to offer monthly subscriptions, micropayments, and “day passes”
• 19% expect news articles to remain free but that they will produce content specifically for the website which would be behind a pay wall
• 9% say they may adopt a system which would make visitors pay separately for each story they want to read
(Thank you, Media Buyer/Planer!)
You can see the original report here: http://www.slideshare.net/NiemanLab/api-itz-belden-revenue-initiatives-survey?src=embed
What does this mean for Public Relations?
It means that posting news releases to free sites such as PR Web will become more and more necessary in order to ensure online searchers will find your information.
I believe that the publishers planning to charge for content are either deluding themselves or they have outlets such as the Wall Street Journal – in other words, truly exclusive material and news. General newspapers and other news sites, which are essentially aggregates, will be skipped over by the vast majority of readers who will expect they can find the headlines elsewhere. It’s a cynical view, perhaps, but I think a realistic one.
Online news outlets desperately need to find a business model that works, as the print outlets are dying quickly and the model of having advertisements cover the overhead costs of newsroom, reporter’s salaries, technology, etc., is fading fast. Advertisers used to pay top dollar for newspaper ads because newspapers were the only way to reach people in large numbers, right on their doorstep, where the paper was delivered.
Today, fewer are willing to turn pages and get ink on their hands. They want to scroll through the headlines on the web. Advertisers have many more options to reach the audience and aren’t willing to pay inflated rates. It’s a conundrum for publishers, and as a former newspaper reporter, it’s hard for me to watch. But that’s reality and we have to roll with it.
Perhaps we are moving toward a time when online media outlets really will offer exclusive content, that people are willing to pay for. That means – the news release of old is just as dead as the three-inch-thick newspaper at the stoop.
