While many newspapers have begun to rethink paywalls as an effective means of generating digital revenue, one startup is offering an alternative approach. Drizzle, a micropayment and section-specific subscription platform, enables online publishers to earn additional revenue for its premium content. As part of Cox Enterprises’ first-ever Techstars Atlanta Accelerator Program, Drizzle currently works with a few dozen websites including Breaking Muscle, Kabbage and Alt_driver.
The platform has also received verbal approval to pilot with Cox Media Group’s “Fans First Media” department, a portfolio of websites delivering consumer news, pop culture, politics and sports.
“We want to be an extension to whatever the publisher may already be doing. When it comes to micropayments, instead of just throwing up this barrier to the reader in the form of a paywall, Drizzle lets publishers engage with its users,” said Morgan Drake, director of business development for Drizzle. “It creates an opportunity where you have a bread crumb trail to an actual subscription.”
The platform provides publishers the option to choose from three tiers of pricing for content: 25 cents, 50 cents and $1. The pricing can be applied to any type of content beyond standard articles, such as videos, podcasts and images. Additionally, this micropayment option, Drake said, offers a convenient option for users who may not necessarily have any loyalty or preference to a particular site. However, a subscription option can be made available for regular readers as well.
Drizzle charges publishers a 2 percent fee on payouts and users a 20 cent fee for each website where they purchase content and 30 cents for every transaction. Readers who make micropayments are not charged until they reach at least $10. Subscriptions are considered individual transactions.
Publishers also have the ability to utilize Drizzle as a lead generation tool by allowing users to continue reading a site’s premium content after they enter their name and email.
“Instead of just blaring pop-ups at the reader, we can put a simple ‘Read More’ button that asks to enter your information to continue reading,” Drake said. “It’s a lot less invasive than having a bunch of pop-ups come up on your screen.”
Readers can either manually enter their email into a form field or take advantage of a two-click verification process through Facebook. During this procedure, users never leave the site, as the opting-in occurs through a Drizzle sidebar.
Drake said the startup has also begun to experiment with other free models such as granting access to an article to a reader who turns off their ad block software.
“We’re in a really neat place right now,” he said. “Ultimately, the goal of Drizzle is to work with all types of publishers and revenue strategies.”
For more information, visit getdrizzle.com.
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