Paywall earlier
More subscriptions, fewer articles read. Both belong in the same experiment.
Media and publishersIndustry
A/B testing for
media and publishers.
Every subscription hurdle costs reach. Measure both, or you celebrate the wrong winner.
- Main goal: Subscription completed
- Guardrail: Articles read
- Segments by source checked
New product page
RunningAll goalsThe main goal decides
VariationVisitorsSubscription completedRevenue per visitorMain goalArticles readPer visitorGuardrail
AOriginal4,800Baseline0.9%Baseline3.4
BNew page4,800+22.2%1.1%-2.9%3.3
Segments by sourceMain goal, change
Organic search+11.8%
Paid search+13.1%
Email+12.4%
The gain comes from more than one source, not from a single campaign.
The pattern
Measuring subscriptions
and reach together.
Newsletter everywhere
More signups, more bounces. Time on page is the guardrail.
Only the home page tested
Most readers arrive directly in the article from search and social.
Concretely
Tests to start with
Position of the paywall
After paragraph three versus after paragraph six. Goal: subscription, guardrail: articles read.
Newsletter inside the article
In context at the end versus a bar everywhere. Goal: signup.
Read-next recommendations
Editorial versus automatic. Goal: second article.
Subscription page as a redirect test
Short page versus detailed page. Goal: subscription with revenue.
Measuring
The right goal
The main goal is the subscription with revenue. Articles read run alongside as a guardrail, because more subscriptions at half the reach are not a win.
Matching platforms
Other industries