Paywalls & Subscriptions

Our Panelists
• Rob Hunter : Founder : www.4thhero.com
• Lance Knobel : Co-founder and Publisher : www.berkeleyside.com
• Caitlin Roman : Product Manager : Medium
• Andrea Valdez : Editor : www.wired.com

In 2015, Ben Thompson published, Popping the Publishing Bubble (https://stratechery.com/2015/popping-the-publishing-bubble/) to describe how online advertising would evolve and how subscriptions would play an important role in any publisher’s business model.

Three years later much of what Ben predicted has come to pass and we are seeing many sites put their articles behind a subscription login as publishers look to re-engage with their most loyal readers.

We’ll hear from two publishers with different approaches. Wired launched their metered paywall in February and Berkeleyside has a membership model. What aspects of their readership led them to their approach and how has that driven how they bring readers to their site? What is their “funnel” and has it been successful? Have there been any unexpected secondary benefits? We’ll also hear from 4th Hero, an startup that tackles the problem from the consumer’s perspective.

Schedule
• 6:00pm - Chit-chat, food & drink
• 6:30pm - Introductions and panel discussion
• 7:30pm-8:00pm - Network and hangout over more drinks

We hope you join us for what is sure to be a fascinating discussion. As always, bring your questions!