Category Archive: 'Uncategorized'

Page 2 of 9

Real-Life Case Study: Apple’s Newsstand Helps ‘Popular Science’ Sell More Online

Date: January 3, 2012 Topic: Uncategorized Tags:

Apple seems forever plagued to receive mixed reviews. There are clear MacHeads and clear haters, and then those of us in between just trying to figure out the ever-changing rules of online content distribution.

In November, Paywall Times wrote about how the Financial Times discontinued its use of Newsstand and created its own app in order to dodge Apple’s 30% cut of sales, a particular thorn in the side of many online publishers. But recent data seems to suggest Apple’s Newsstand may be a boon to some online publications like Popular Science. The consumer magazine has seen a noticeable uptick in sales last October, corresponding with the launch of Newsstand. Furthermore, as the chart by All Things D depicts, the pace of sales has been steeper since the launch of Newsstand.

Clearly there’s an algorithm to making Newsstand work for you, and Popular Science may have been helped by the fact that its audience is pretty digitally-savvy. Fortunately our sister site, Subscription Site Insider, has an exclusive Webinar with Popular Science’s Mike Haney, in which he reveals how to design and present app-friendly content, as well as how to work with Apple. Check it our for some real-world tips to help you navigate the changing app world.

Posted by MinalB21
Click here to Twitter This Email this Page

Happy New Year From Paywall Times

Date: December 26, 2011 Topic: Uncategorized Tags:

The staff at Paywall Times would like to wish you and your loved ones Season’s Greetings and Best Wishes for the New Year. May 2012 be filled with joy and prosperity for us all!

We will not be publishing this week, but look forward to resuming our daily posts January 3, 2012. Until then, feel free to peruse our archives, full of handy tips and news highlights from 2011, or drop us a line to tell us what you’d like to read about in 2012!

Posted by MinalB21
Click here to Twitter This Email this Page

‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ Launches With Subscription Pricing

Date: December 22, 2011 Topic: Launches, Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

Just when you thought George Lucas couldn’t squeeze any more money out of his Star Wars franchise, he goes and launches a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game that aims to sell across generations of Star Wars fans.

To say the project is ambitious is an understatement. Players can choose from eight characters, each within a certain “class” story, and each story in contained within a three-part trilogy that requires them to make moral decisions about the path they’ve chosen. And among the smattering of English, German and French dialogue, there’s also 21 different alien languages, sound effects from droids and Wookies, and a soaring musical score that makes the game as emotionally manipulating as any Hollywood blockbuster.

The game is employing a subscription billing model, much like other MMO games. After an initial purchase and 30 days of play, subscribers can continue playing at either $14.99 per month, $41.97 for 3 months ($13.99 per month), or $77.94 for six months ($12.99 per month). The game has similar pricing models for the UK and Europe.

Electronic Arts (and its subsidary Bioware) is taking a big gamble on the game, which cost over $100 million to produce, so we would have liked to see them release the game a bit sooner in order to take advantage of the holiday shopping season.

But “Star Wars: The Old Republic” has one draw its direct competitor, World of Warcraft, doesn’t — a huge movie fan base that can enter this emotionally compelling world without any prior knowledge of gaming and easily become engaged. As a non-gamer but long-time Star Wars fan, the game’s 5-minute preview had me hooked. It was the first time I even considered playing a video game, not to mention paying to do so. Which says a lot about how well they know their audience.

Posted by MinalB21
Click here to Twitter This Email this Page

New Job Opening For Great Online Subscription Marketer at Our Parent Company

Date: December 21, 2011 Topic: Classifieds, Uncategorized Tags: ,

Anne Holland Ventures, Inc., a publisher of B2B premium content for five niche industries is seeking a fulltime marketer who will drive traffic and market memberships, event tickets and ebooks. For more information and to apply, please use the online form here http://www.formstack.com/forms/?1149386-ZUjOInXs9K

Posted by MinalB21
Click here to Twitter This Email this Page

Louis CK’s Draws $500K Online, Making Paid Content Cool

Date: December 16, 2011 Topic: Revenues, Uncategorized, paid content Tags: , , , , , ,

When it comes to marketing, almost nothing can surpass “coolness.” While trends vanish, and hip is for hipsters, coolness can cut through almost any demographic. It’s why everyone loves TED talks and no one disses the Beatles without looking utterly foolish.

Paid content is not cool. At least not yet. Those of us in the business meet skepticism and outright disdain from time to time. But comedian Louis CK’s recent online success may be an inflection point in the “paid content x coolness” bell curve.

Through humor and honesty, CK gambled his crop of jokes by posting them online for viewers to download for $5. He didn’t put any restriction on how they could view it — a move that’s usually ripe for torrenting. However, he made an impassioned and funny appeal (laced with a bit of profanity) explaining his production costs and reasons for charging (i.e., feeding his wife and kids).

In four days, he collected $500,000 in revenues, and claims to have made $200,000 after expenses (his math is a bit fuzzy). He’s also added attitude and grit to best practices — his “Add to cart” button says “Buy The Thing”. Talk about knowing your niche.

Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if CK is able to continue reaping dollars months from now. Loyal fans who visit CK’s site may be willing to fork over $5, but a wider audience may not. And CK could have saved money by ditching PayPal and going through more traditional payment processing gateways. But it’s an interesting experiment to keep an eye on.

Because it’s Friday and you’re probably looking for a way to procrastinate at work, here’s a free outtake to view (warning: some profanity and explicit language… but still very funny). Enjoy!

Posted by MinalB21
Click here to Twitter This Email this Page