#25 — Are micropayments the answer for monetisation?

Hey there! It’s been an interesting week for news in publishing with lots of talk about subscriptions and paid content. Here are the best handpicked highlights for your reading pleasure 👉

💯 Top picks

The Correspondent launches in the United States, raising $650,000 in 4 days of crowdfunding

The member-funded Dutch publisher is breaking into the U.S. and have now launched a sister publication, The Correspondent. Their mission? To “unbreak” the news. Early signs are off to a great start. One to watch!

💸 Business models

Could micropayments platforms provide new ways to monetise from a paywall?

Media consumers are becoming more demanding for quality content, and equally more willing to pay for it - making way for a rising challenge of how much they are willing to pay. The Global Editors Network interview two micropayment platforms, LaterPay and SatoshiPay, so find out more about their unique solutions to media driven revenue.

Six questions you should ask yourself before launching a membership business

The latest research and training programme at News Impact Academy gathered twenty media professionals, and was led by Emily Goligoski, Research Director of the Membership Puzzle Project. This article shares six key takeaways that make us feel like we attended.

How many news subscriptions would you pay for?

Another take on a similar topic: Discussing the rise of “paywallisation” in news and media and how consumers are going to manage this rising trend.

✍️ Modern journalism

Medium is a poor choice for blogging

Pesky ads, popups, sponsored content, untidy feeds and a lack of RSS feature in this extensive post about the experience for readers and writers on Medium.

👩‍💻 Technology

See how your newsletter performs compared to others

Tracking your own metrics and analytics is one thing - but what about comparing them with other companies so that you can benchmark your success effectively? This new tool can help you do that.

Patreon's new plan: Expand from donations to services

Many people know Patreon as the place to support creatives by donating a nominal amount to get access to exclusive content. Co-founder Jack Conte says the next step is to help creators get business services like bank loans and health insurance.

🤷 WTF?

UK publishers form an alliance to smash the duopoly

Dozens of alliances have sprung up among publishers and broadcasters, including a project called Ozone, between the Guardian, The Telegraph, News UK and Reach. They’re aspiring to build their own ad tech stack with a server-side container using prebid technology.