Three years in, the Winnipeg Free Press’ attempt to get readers to pay by the article is still producing less than $100,000 a year — but it also produces data that allows for more targeted upsell efforts.
Read now, buy later: “We defer the time when you have to register and pay to a later stage, letting you convince yourself of the content, of the quality of the content, of the benefits that are offered to you.”
Last year, the Canadian daily became the first North American paper to introduce per-article payments. It’s found fewer takers than expected, but they’re buying more on average.
The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time, and more are now publishing on the Netherlands-based micropayment platform. Will a market awash in free content be interested?
“I’m an optimist about human nature — I like to think that most people aren’t freeloaders, they just might not want to compensate sites by dealing with advertising.”
About 1,300 readers are paying 27 cents a story. “It’s going to take time for people to recognize that they can enter into this agreement with us to read now and pay later and willingly refund.”
Lichterman, Joseph. "Six weeks into its micropayment strategy, The Winnipeg Free Press preps for a “slow building process”." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2023.
APA
Lichterman, J. (2015, Aug. 17). Six weeks into its micropayment strategy, The Winnipeg Free Press preps for a “slow building process”. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2015/08/six-weeks-into-its-micropayment-strategy-the-winnipeg-free-press-preps-for-a-slow-building-process/
Chicago
Lichterman, Joseph. "Six weeks into its micropayment strategy, The Winnipeg Free Press preps for a “slow building process”." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified August 17, 2015. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.niemanlab.org/2015/08/six-weeks-into-its-micropayment-strategy-the-winnipeg-free-press-preps-for-a-slow-building-process/.
Wikipedia
{{cite web
| url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2015/08/six-weeks-into-its-micropayment-strategy-the-winnipeg-free-press-preps-for-a-slow-building-process/
| title = Six weeks into its micropayment strategy, The Winnipeg Free Press preps for a “slow building process”
| last = Lichterman
| first = Joseph
| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]
| date = 17 August 2015
| accessdate = 27 March 2023
| ref = {{harvid|Lichterman|2015}}
}}
