The ‘free stuff’ principle
Everyone likes free stuff. And most people want more free stuff. The whole paywall system is based on the belief that people, having had the free sample, will come back and buy the whole platter.
But there are always people who will find ways to fill up on the free samples and never purchase anything. These readers find ways to bypass the metered paywalls designed to stop them.
Fortunately, one small extra measure can stop them from sneaking past. And that measure actually is the perfect way to tip them over into your subscription funnel, starting them on the path toward a full, paid subscription.
All you need is IP Blocker.
Meet IP Blocker
There are three main ways that people bypass the paywall. Most of them open an incognito window in their browser, keeping the site from recognizing them as a previous reader. The rest will either visit from an entirely new browser or they will keep a second browser app on their mobile devices.
IP Blocker catches and circumvents all of these methods.
With IP Blocker, Leaky Paywall records the actual IP address that the visitor comes from. Even when a sneaky reader switches their approach, their IP address stays the same. That means that Leaky Paywall will still stop them if they’ve run through their free metered articles.
The best part is that IP Blocker just enforces your existing meter. It doesn’t change anything about its permeability. It can still be searched and shared and read in all the same ways.
It’s just that easy.
Converting the incognito reader to a paying subscriber
Running IP Blocker on your site stops people from sneaking around the paywall. But since it also feeds those readers back into Leaky Paywall’s subscription system, it gives you the opportunity to turn them away from the dark side.
The answer to this transition is the free level registration.
People try to bypass the paywall to get more free stuff. Offering them more access for the low, low price of an email address does exactly that.
And once you have their email address, you have the perfect way to slow cajole them into purchasing a full subscription.
Tease them with your great content, remind them of your mission, offer them a limited-time discount. Eventually, most of them will be convinced.
IP Blocker protects your revenue
While incognito browsing is a problem all publishers face, there are a few for whom it is particularly pressing.
A publisher who publishes high-value, low-volume content can’t afford to give away more than the one or two articles the meter offers.
Similarly, a publisher of real-time news attracts readers who require instant access for the content to carry value. They won’t wait a week for the meter to reset. Enforcing the meter keeps them from bypassing the paywall. That leaves them with only one option.
Just ask Walt of the Heisenberg Report, which publishes real-time political and financial news.
“The number of subscribers per day has skyrocketed since you installed that IP plugin,” he tells us. “And that’s awesome.”
Want to find the best solutions for turning your content into revenue? Let’s talk.
