Far better to ask – will they pay for my brand?
Are you thinking hard enough about what you really provide to them – rationally and emotionally?
Is it really only news you sell, or is it reassurance? Or a signal for other people of your status? Is your magazine selling entertainment – or is it a way to pass the time? Or feel connected? Or feel good about yourself?
How can you take these underlying values and translate them into other product forms (guide books, insurance services etc)
I’ve previously written about my view that people will pay for content if you make it easy. But if they won’t pay for your brand, you really are in trouble
2 replies on “Will people pay for content? Wrong question”
Is it also a question of – where will they pay for my brand?
I’d buy National Geographic, I wouldn’t pay to use their website but I might buy an application for my phone or possibly in the future buy a digital edition for an ebook.
As your article you reference points out the touch points to buy content need to be specifically designed to make it as easy as possible or people wont bother.
Users also gain ownership if they download an app. I don’t think users feel so much ownership of content that they browse past or are ‘allowed to access’ and have no tangible relationship with.
spot on Carl. Trouble is, lots of second-rate market research companies are asking people the wrong question like this, and once it’s hard data people start to see it as truth.