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One of the most exciting things we have seen over the past 10 years is the shift towards a greater willingness to pay. We see this across all levels of journalism, from the largest newspapers with massive subscription strategies, to very small independent creators asking people to pay via Patreon or other platforms... all of them have a much easier time converting people than anything we saw 10 years ago.
However, what we also now see is that the market is becoming incredibly saturated. With thousands of publishers of all sizes asking to pay, it is increasingly difficult to stand out, and to get people to choose.
We hear people talk about subscription fatigue, but that's not really where the problem is. The simple fact is that people have a limited time and budget. And so, if we go from 100 to several thousand publishers, there is simply not going to be enough money for everyone.
So, let's talk about how to fix that. How do you define what you do in such a way that it makes people want to pay you? Mind you, I specifically say: "pay you". We can't get people to pay for everything, so the focus must be to figure out how to get them to pay just for you.
But let's put this into a system.
Before I get defining this, I just quickly want to mention three things that I know people will email me about after this article, all of which won't help here. I just want to get this out of the way.
Bundles don't solve this: The first thing people are likely going to say is "why not do a bundle or create a Spotify for news?"
No ... just no. Remember, the problem is that the public is only willing to spend a limited amount of money on media and that there are too many publishers competing for it. So putting all the publishers into one big bundle literally solves nothing.
I'm never going to subscribe to all the newspapers: This is another thing I hear all the time. But here is the thing. You are not supposed to do this either. There is no reason to buy more than one newspaper. All the newspapers are still just covering the same stories.
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Baekdal Plus is your premium destination for trends and analysis for the media industry. Every year you get 25 reports about the future media trends, business and editorial strategies, monetization analysis and insights about how to use analytics specifically for publishers.
As a subscriber, you also get full access to all the Plus reports (more than 200) published over the past 8 years, as well as the ability to share what you read.
Yes, of course, please write to plus@baekdal.com and I will send you a regular invoice that you can pay via your bank. I will need your company name, address and VAT number (if within the EU). Also, please note that due to this process being manual, this will be for an annual subscription only.
Yes, please write to plus@baekdal.com for details. But for 25-99 users: the price is 20% off the subscription price ($79/year per user), 100+ users is a fixed price at $5,000 (for all combined).
Yes, please head over to Baekdal Media to read about consulting where I can help you with strategy reviews, trend and strategy reports, and strategic guidance for you media company or a specific publication.
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Founder, media analyst, author, and publisher. Follow on Twitter
"Thomas Baekdal is one of Scandinavia's most sought-after experts in the digitization of media companies. He has made himself known for his analysis of how digitization has changed the way we consume media."
Swedish business magazine, Resumé
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