Charging for Content : A Look at the Costs
There is a lot of buzz circulating around the blogosphere about sites that many have sourced for information, be they design blogs or world news providers or any other niche from the far corners of the internet’s reach, beginning to charge for their content. And they are certainly within their right to do so. However, this does raise some interesting questions and does contradict one of the main bases that always made the internet such a popular place to turn. That information is free. Online, it is often much more than free, it is alive.
Now we don’t mean alive in the classic, strictest, most Webster proper sense of the word ‘alive’, but it is most certainly somewhat of an electronic elemental. Otherwise, how could the information shared within the cloud go viral? It is almost as if it has a mind of its own. Once an idea is proposed online and put out in to the internet aether it becomes discussed, shared, re-expressed, and even evolves as an idea through this process. And it undergoes this process beyond the control of the original person who first proposed this idea. So information has been granted a semblance of mobility and viral like qualities via the interwebs
which is more than likely what made this global network take off the way it has (well, that and the mass access to p0rn it provided the public, but we are focusing more on the information). LifeHacker recently reported on The New York Times intent to charge their frequent readers for content, and there have been others who are attempting to follow suit. Taking the online information age in a potentially costly new direction. Now this idea of monetizing content is not remotely new, and in the blog realm, it has been around for a bit, but this growing into more of a trend does raise a minor flag. A flag of mission deviation.
A Slight Change in Course?
As we mentioned, this idea is nothing new, in fact, in the design community especially has seen subscription fees for full access to site content, especially with regards to tutorials. This is an accepted practice, and many subscribe to this idea. Tutorials are seen as a worthy content charge concept, and that may be due to the fact that we are taught that higher education should carry a price tag, and we accept this as the norm. But what about sites that are just providing information and sharing ideas? Even with a high level of quality, is there a need to charge for the content? And does it go against the idea of the internet being an accessible source of free information?
So to fully examine this, we will take a look at the answers to both of those questions trying to reason out the costs this will have if it continues to catch on with other content creators, and if this shift in cost for content would foster an air of intention that steers the web away from the way it was sold to so many of its users. Now this is more a look at the potentially problematic path this can lead us down, and what it might actually mean for your content. This is not a post condemning anyone out there for attempting to generate revenue from the content they create, but more an examination of the questions that this possible new direction raises for us as more blogs climb aboard this bandwagon, and just where the answers to these queries lead us in this discussion.
Is this a Necessary Evil?
Let’s face it, the economy is in a pretty crap state and several people who were at one time freelancing in the content creation blogosphere as a part-time project, now find themselves relying on this avenue to help with the revenue stream. So for some people populating the sphere, finding ways to create a little cash flow from their content is a necessity. For others, the time and energy spent on generating the awesome content they put into the community leaves them time for little else. Without a means of finding financial reward for these efforts, the community may find itself lacking that original voice as they have to turn their time and energies elsewhere. So there is no doubt, that there are those content creators who only have this route to explore, and for them, it is vital to their continued online existence and contributions.
But that is not always the case. In the instance of The New York Times we see a one time exclusive print publication accustomed to a financial front end for their work, moving into the online aether and now looking for that same payout for their content. It is certainly within their right to do so, but is it necessary? Naturally the expenses that come from operating a site and staff that size is going to come with its expenses, but it also comes with valuable online real estate prime for advertisers. But what happens when a high volume of users surf through the cyberseas with ad block actively affixed to their browsers, leaving the ad space not only unfollowed, but often unseen? Advertisers are becoming less likely to spend the money to set up in these waters. Which could effectively leave larger sites with higher expenses not generating enough revenue in standard means to cover them.
So these sites, too, are left wondering how else to keep the content coming and still cover the costs that making said content available en mass comes with. But how to do this effectively still is an issue that many are struggling with. Some have opted to charge for partial content access, while still maintaining a free reach into their stream, which may even act to entice users to delve deeper into the site. This may be the most effective method, but we still may have a variety of tactics that others will employ, we just haven’t seen them yet. However the content creators decide to approach this issue, will ultimately be up to them, just as it will fall to the community to determine their perceived value and worth of the contributions offered and whether or not they will foot the bill. It can be a bit of a gamble, and with only around 25% of the online populous creating the content that makes up, and defines the online experience for the other 75%, it is hard to say whether or not this gamble will pay off…
What It Means to Users
As we mentioned, it will now become up to users to determine if they value your content enough to pay for it, or for all of it as it is in some cases. This doesn’t mean that they set the price, just whether they think it is worth what you are charging based on their perception of your work. So this is not an automatic recipe for success, as some users may in fact be turned away from your content as a result, if they deem it not as valuable as you do. Also, given the fiscal discombobulation that many are experiencing, they may have no choice but to do without your content if they cannot work this new cost into their budget. To some, a monthly five dollars or more may not be anything that would need be budgeted, but not all the online populous live within the same bubble of stability.
So this can not only effectively limit some people’s reach to your content, but it can also in turn, limit the impact and effectiveness of your work given that its reach will also be limited. It does flow both ways, and that needs to be considered. Another impact this could have on the 75% whose online interactions are more about seeking out and sharing content than creating it, is that there will be less content available to share. Not because it is not being created, but because less people are accessing it to then spread the word and circulate it. So users may become overall, less enthusiastic about their online ventures, and once again, the content is less impacted and impactful.
What It Means to You
As we said, this reach limitation needs to be weighed by you, the content creator, as well. How much more valuable is your content if its reach is unlimited? Even though this is not an improved value that leads to you charging your users more for the content itself, but it does place more of a premium on your available ad real estate. Then you may have to weigh the cost you charge for your content, versus any possible interference to your ad revenue that this could create. Through a stunted impact on your site’s traffic as a lull in sharing may occur. That is if you are in fact doing both, charging for access, and selling ads, though one would hope that both would not be necessary.
What else this means to you as the content creator is that once you start charging, you are effectively setting the bar and a level of expectation among your readers for that content, that you now have to deliver on…preferably with regularity. Suddenly your timetable for content delivery has expectations on it, rather than anticipation as it once did. Not to mention that your posts may also tend to be critiqued a bit harsher, because of the expectation that the cost of the content has attached to it. There is a big difference between having appealing content that users will check in on from time to time or even freely subscribe to your RSS for, and having content that they will be willing to shell out a few sheckles for.
Where does this lead?
So what does the future hold if more sites start to follow suit and charge for their content? Do we lose full access to the information behind the pricetag if we cannot afford to foot the bill? Will we see less enthusiasm for the internet communities as some of the major content producers’ content moves to a less accessible place? Or will this actually provide the community with more content creators as more move into the this role to fill a newly emptied niche as some lose the means to get the information from their usual haunts? Will users be turned off by the capitalistic turn of the information age to the point that they will turn elsewhere for information sharing? And will this lead to those sites losing their financial viability and eventually fading from the cyberspace landscape?
There are lots of questions that we are left with, that we cannot necessarily answer. But in our own minds, this could lead to a less than stellar web experience, if content connection becomes more limited and the internet we were sold on due to its limitless informational possibilities will be relegated to the role a cherished memory from our past. A memory of times when content sold itself, and brought in revenue from advertisers anxious to be associated with the site putting out the content we craved. We wish nothing but the best of prosperous futures for all those creating the content that drives our online lives, but we hope that this trend of monetizing the messages doesn’t have consequences overall to the communities the content is created for.
Other ways to monetize your site
Now as we mentioned this trend has arisen for a reason, and many need to rely on their ability to monetize their message and generate revenue for the time and amazing effort that they put into their content. And we thought that we would offer some advice about ways to do this that could perhaps be explored before turning to this avenue of charging.
Ads
Though we mentioned it before, we wanted to mention it again. Selling ad space is not only beneficial to you for generating money, but unlike charging for your content, it also helps those in the community who place ads on your site by possibly exposing them and their service to others. So making ad space available can be a great way to assist you and others,
and if you think that this is no longer a financially viable check out this post on Guerilla Freelancing to see that there is still money to be made through ad space. Simply find new and creative ways to include and work the ads in to your site in order to draw in potential advertisers.
Donations
Setting up a donation system can also prove beneficial to bringing in a little bit of income from your site, and unlike charging for your content, people are obliged to leave what they can, rather than be obligated to give more than they comfortably can. This may also encourage some to give more frequently to you for your content than they would be asked to if you just accept donations over charging for access.
And since the unprovoked compliment is always sweeter, a donation for your content seems like it would feel better than a provoked payment. Because it means that the person was so inspired by your content that they were moved to leave you what they could for your communal contribution, and it is left with no expectations placed on you for future recurring greatness.
Create Passive Income
Another powerful generator of income, that can compliment the other monetization methods we mentioned extremely well, is creating passive income through your site. Wherever your design talents lie, wield them fearlessly to create content that will have a lasting impact on both your site and the community you release it into. Be it through eBooks, themes, templates,
vectors, anything that you can create one time and repeatedly leave open for the community to enjoy and make use of, can do wonders for bringing in income without you having to deliver more and more content with any regularity. Use your strengths and create content that will last and linger in a timeless fashion and you can passively provide a bit more for yourself through your content.
That does it for now, but feel free to leave your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below, we would love to hear what you have to say on this topic. As always, we appreciate you taking the time to read the post.
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