The one slide explaining why people pay for content online
How do you earn a sustainable income as an author, blogger, podcaster or YouTuber? We’ve been thinking about this question for years. We’ve talked to more than a hundred small and medium-sized publishers and creators. We have analysed the revenue models out there. In 2016, we came up with a working hypothesis. We didn’t say it’s the holy grail of content monetisation, but it was a well-founded, well-informed theory.
Testing our assumption in the world’s toughest media market
We were so convinced of our theory, we have started a company to prove it. And we did so in arguably the toughest media market in the world, Germany. Europe’s largest economy has the biggest public broadcasting system in the world and one of the world’s lowest rates of credit card usage. Both factors don’t really help if you want to make people pay for content online.
We made our idea into a product. Now, using this product, hundreds of blogs, online magazines, YouTubers and podcasters in Germany earn a regular income. We have seen it proven to work again and again. And now we want to share this theory with you. The secret to earning a regular income is offering a membership.
A membership? That’s it? Yes, if done right, it works beautifully. Memberships combine the personal bond between publisher and audience with an actual tangible value. Memberships tap both emotional and rational sources.
We found that basically all the ways of making money with content can be put in one of four quadrants (the good stuff is always in the upper right quadrant, of course). :)
Not a subscription, not a donation
A membership is not a subscription, even though both ask for recurring payments. But memberships always include an element of personality and passion: members love what their publishers do, but members support their publishers, because people identify with their publishers. This is not the case with your regular newspaper subscription.
But offering memberships is not asking for donations. As a member you get something valuable in return. This could be exclusive content or a regular video chat with their publisher.
Can I offer a membership program?
It’s easy to find out if a membership program is right for you. Ask yourself:
1. Does our team and our content really matter to our audience? This is important because the number one reason people pay for a membership is because they don’t want you to stop doing what you do.
2. Can we offer something extra for members? This could be exclusive content or a regular hangout for fans. This is important because your audience needs a rational reason to pay you regularly.
If you answer yes or even maybe, then it’s about time you launched a membership program. (For all things technical and financial, there’s Steady, which is now available worldwide).
Membership programs provide publishers with sustainable and predictable revenue. Members pay regularly, and are usually very loyal. Memberships is how you build a reliable and lasting business.
We will share our learnings with you on this blog. Issues we will cover are: How much money can you earn with your publication? What are good rewards? What is good pricing?
Which aspects of the membership economy are you particularly interested in? Let’s have a conversation!
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Gabriel Yoran is Co-Founder of the membership platform Steady.
