Why Paywalls aren't Working

I was hoping to see an industry where the 80/20 principle doesn't work.

But the journalism sector also works on 80/20.

While Bloomberg and New York Times have been doing well with paywalls, the smaller brands have been hurt.

The issue is that people have choice.

Alternatives are only a click away.

So, paywalls create a contextual problem for media houses.

The user is taking an action within a context and cannot be persuaded by a wall.

In fact, resistance always leads to further rejection.

Many times, the brands are awesome journalism experts but not neuromarketing experts.

So, the audience refusal to enter the paywall is often misconstrued as a price issue and not a context issue.

Looking forward to hear from media leaders ... Carly Schwartz, Annemarie Dooling, Lea Ann Leming, Jermaine Spradley, Neil Katz, Elizabeth Yuan, Craig Kanalley, Yunita Ong.

Melissa Cantor, Samantha Lee, Ali Clarke, Mark Stenberg, Ritesh Mohan retailritesh