A subscription for kids, written by kids
Every publication has different needs. And different needs require versatile tools.
Stone Soup is a literary magazine written entirely for children, by children. For almost 50 years, it has printed art, stories, poetry, submitted by kids 8-13, with a (more recent) digital edition as well. In addition to the monthly issue, it posts individual works on the website.
Its unique needs revolve largely around the different groups who want to access it.
Individual children, friends and relatives who want to give it as a gift to a child, schools, libraries, other children’s groups: these require a number of different subscription types.
That’s where the versatility of Leaky Paywall comes into play.
Strong Foundations
First of all, the monthly issue is published through IssueM, allowing Stone Soup to easily gather and display the selected articles together, separately from their other content.
With IssueM, unlike a PDF or flipbook, Google can actually see and archive all content. This makes all of Stone Soup‘s rich content visible by search. It also allows for a better mobile experience and for social sharing.
This is where Leaky Paywall begins to shine. While IssueM puts the content on display for readers and search engines alike, Leaky Paywall manages the access. Readers can choose a few articles to read for free, before the meter runs out and they are prompted to subscribe. And whatever they can read, they can share.
Stone Soup is able to set their individual meters for their differing content types. They can limit different numbers of articles versus posts, allowing a freer exploration of the content by unsubscribed readers.
They’ve also opted into UniPress, allowing for a seamless integration into the mobile experience offered by iOS and Android apps. Having an app increases their subscription pool as many readers actually discover the publication through the app store. An app can actually increase paid subscriptions by 10-30%.
The Leaky Paywall/WooCommerce integration is Stone Soup’s final foundation stone. WooCommerce was their original, chosen source-of-truth for digital and print subscribers. Unfortunately, on its own, WooCommerce didn’t allow any flexibility in content access.
Leaky Paywall offered that functionality without requiring a migration to a different database. And with WooCommerce, publishers also have their choice of payment portals.
Working together, Leaky Paywall and WooCommerce allow Stone Soup to provide a number of different subscription options to its audience.
Different Strokes
Gift subscriptions are simple with WooCommerce and Leaky Paywall, allowing the donor to purchase the subscription but adding the recipient to the customer database.
With Leaky Paywall, Stone Soup presents two different types of group subscriptions for the different organizations that want to offer access.
School subscriptions work through IP exceptions: any computer within a given IP range is granted automatic access to the magazine and its supplemental content.
Corporate subscriptions work for organizations more geographically scattered than a school. It allows access to anyone with the designated email extension (@yourschool.edu or @yourgroup.org or @yourpeople.com).
Leaky Paywall and WooCommerce allow Stone Soup to cater to their subscribers, in whatever form they come, easily and without any additional burden.
Want to find out more about what Leaky Paywall can do for your subscribers? Let’s talk.
