{"id":2161,"date":"2019-08-20T20:46:05","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T20:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ona19.journalists.org\/?p=2161"},"modified":"2019-08-22T20:33:09","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T20:33:09","slug":"the-future-of-the-metered-paywall-sponsored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ona19.journalists.org\/2019\/08\/20\/the-future-of-the-metered-paywall-sponsored\/","title":{"rendered":"The future of the metered paywall [Sponsored]"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Silberman, <\/b>SVP Strategy, Piano<\/b><\/p>\n

Is the metered paywall seeing its final days?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a question that\u2019s taken center stage among digital media providers, and I expect it will come up as part of the panel and hallway discussions at ONA19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The recent release of Google\u2019s Chrome 76 browser has only added to that conversation. The news that the internet giant put an end to the loophole that allowed companies to track who was using Chrome\u2019s incognito mode means an avenue has closed that previously allowed sites to detect users trying to circumvent their metered paywalls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That announcement alone has put a lot of companies on alert, but the truth is the release of Chrome 76 is just the latest change that\u2019s weakened the technology that makes metered paywalls possible. Before it, an update to Apple\u2019s Intelligent Tracking Prevention technology, also announced earlier this year, made it more difficult to track onsite behavior even using first-party cookies, opening up the risk that returning visitors using Apple\u2019s Safari browser might not be identified.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And those are just the changes that made the news. The truth is, users have always found ways to get around the meter \u2014 whether that means clearing cookies or using multiple browsers and devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the Meter<\/h3>\n

Changing up your model from a metered paywall to something that protects content at the server side \u2014 a freemium product, for instance \u2014 can help, and there are <\/span>other actions you can take<\/span><\/a> to realign your paywall strategy. Or you can go beyond just tracking page views and make the limitations of this new digital environment less of a factor, with a personalized paywall that doesn\u2019t rely on tracking page views in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through our work with over 150 mid-market and enterprise companies, Piano has had the opportunity to help guide customers through these decisions. And it\u2019s part of what inspired the recent release of our machine learning framework, <\/span>LT[x]<\/span><\/a> (Likelihood To [Act]).<\/span><\/p>\n

With LT[x], companies can predict future user behavior based on dozens of user actions that go beyond just page views \u2014 making them less vulnerable to those technology changes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first propensity model released, LTs, allows media providers to predict likelihood to subscribe. By using a starting base of 76 unique metrics, it allows media companies the opportunity to replace the meter with one-to-one customization based not on a random number of page views but instead on a browser\u2019s specific likelihood to subscribe or not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And what we\u2019ve seen so far isn\u2019t just that there are plenty of variables other than page views that factor into likelihood to subscribe \u2014 but also that the way each of those metrics contributes is unique to every site. No two sites we\u2019ve worked with so far have shown the same path to conversion.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Personalized Paywall<\/h3>\n

So what does all of this mean?<\/span><\/p>\n

By looking beyond page views, companies can target users specifically based on their own behaviors, not a set number \u2014 putting a subscription offer in front of someone more likely to subscribe, for instance, but a registration offer in front of someone who might need more nurturing. In a landscape where the relationship you develop with your users is key, it\u2019s an opportunity to provide a personalized journey and improve your direct-to-user relationship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As technology changes, it\u2019s also a chance to put an end to the metered paywall \u2014 before those changes do it for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Michael Silberman<\/strong>, SVP Strategy,<\/span><\/i> leads Piano\u2019s Strategic Services team, helping clients develop reader revenue strategies and drive success and revenue on the Piano platform. He joined Piano in 2018 after 10 years building the digital media business at New York magazine, and earlier, as one of the top editors launching and growing MSNBC.com in the early days of the consumer Internet.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Silberman, SVP Strategy, Piano Is the metered paywall seeing its final days? It\u2019s a question that\u2019s taken center stage among digital media providers, and I expect it will come up as part of the panel and hallway discussions at ONA19.\u00a0 The recent release of Google\u2019s Chrome 76 browser has only added to that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1779,"featured_media":2203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"start_time":0,"end_time":0,"moderators":[],"hashtag":[],"soundcloud":[],"scribble":[],"viafoura":[],"youtube":[],"vimeo":[],"facebook":[],"trint":[],"slideshare":[],"livestream":[],"resources":[],"video_embed":[],"first_name":"","last_name":"","title":"","organization":"","website":"","twitter":"","_sponsor_url":"","_sponsor_tagline":"","_sponsor_level":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[111,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ona19.journalists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2019\/08\/ArrtPiano.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe future of the metered paywall [Sponsored] — ONA19<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ona19.journalists.org\/2019\/08\/20\/the-future-of-the-metered-paywall-sponsored\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The future of the metered paywall [Sponsored] — ONA19\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Michael Silberman, SVP Strategy, Piano Is the metered paywall seeing its final days? 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