Best and worst paywalls

Can paywalls be fun?

I think so. But I’ll tell you what. Y’all are slacking on these paywalls.

I started this issue planning to round up only *the best paywalls* for your inspiration, but it was pretty hard to find good ones. So many journalists are just using the default “this post is for paying subscribers.” It’s a bleak scene.

Nothing makes me want to become a paid subscriber like the world’s most boring gatekeeping.

Paywalls are very helpful for small publishers. That’s why we use them. Shouldn’t they be…good? enticing? convincing?

Today, we’re going to do a little marketing school crit of paywalls: the good, the bad and the bland.

Worst paywalls

We’re starting with the bad ones. A bad paywall is one that has been given zero thought. The majority of journalists and worker-owned newsrooms I looked at for this post are using the platform default paywall.

Now, some platform defaults are good and you can use them. The pricing page on Ghost, beehiiv and Substack is an example of this. It works. You can and should use it and in some cases you don’t have a choice.

But none of those platforms have done a damn thing right with their paywalls and your upgrades are suffering for it.

Here’s an example from Luke O’Neil’s Hell World.

Not to put Luke on blast too much because he’s far from alone in using this design (which I think is just part of one of Ghost’s built in themes), but here’s why this paywall sucks.

It doesn’t tell the reader any information. It’s semi-hostile in its messaging and in this case, the color is really not doing Luke any favors.

Here’s another one I was really hoping would be great because Hearing Things has a killer pricing page. But here’s their metered paywall.

You’ll get this after viewing a couple free articles. And it’s certainly better than the platform default but it’s pretty far from awesome.

I “need to become a paying member?” Uhhhh, ok? Sweet talk me, why don’t ya?!

What I’d rather see here:

• A message that frames this as an opportunity, not an ultimatum

• A perk or two that might get me interested

• A pricing anchor—how much are subscriptions?

Hearing Things has such a fun visual and verbal brand. This feels like such a miss at a critical moment where more people could be convinced to buy in.

Can you get away with a basic paywall like these? Yes, you can. But I’d say you’re probably turning away semi-motivated customers and a few quick updates could really help win them over.

To offer you some direction, let’s look at some of the BEST paywalls…

In partnership with Outpost 🪐

I’m about to launch my own Ghost publication and I knew it couldn’t happen without Outpost.

A lot of you ask me when you should start using Outpost. Since I run off subscriptions and sponsorships, it was non-negotiable to add them in before launch.

I know I need automated sequences, failed payment recovery, smart action blocks and member analytics so I can get and keep as many members as possible.

If you run a member-supported publication on Ghost, you need Outpost yesterday. Start your free trial and get Outpost cooking on your revenue.

Best paywalls

Now, we turn to our superstars. Paywalls that really make you think…I should pay these people!

First up, my beloved Flaming Hydra. If there was a hall of fame for paywalls, they would be in it, with one caveat. I loved their last paywall. The one they’re running now has gone a little Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party for me. But I do appreciate that they are experimenting with this key part of their site.

What’s so great about this version of their paywall? So many things:

• “Keep us breathing fire” is an exciting, branded headline

• Including writers faces brings it home that you’re supporting real people (and shows me who they are)

• Teasing the perks (you’re not just getting this post—you’ll also get the member’s newsletter)

• Sharing the price so my expectations are set

• The text styling is fresh and eye catching. Tilting the text makes it feel more activated and highlighting key parts ensures you don’t miss them. The bright colors help too.

I loved Flaming Hydra’s so much that I stole a bunch of ideas for my own paywall which I’ll show you later.

Hard to beat Flaming Hydra, but I also really like HNGRY’s simple but effective pitch.

“Subscribe to continue reading” is less threatening that “This post is just for paying members.”

Matt, who runs HNGRY, added a lot of standout keywords like “community” (sense of belonging) “hundreds” (FOMO) and the brand names (social proof). He’s using Acta alongside his Ghost publication for pay per article functionality which we talked about in another post if you’re interested.

Social proof is a powerful motivator. Here’s another example of how to use it from Queer AF. “Join LGBTQIA+ pros like” with several faces brings the idea of you joining their community to life. There’s people there! It’s these people!

They’ve also incorporated their bigger mission here. “Help rewrite the narrative and change the media” reminds you that your financial support helps others too.

If you’re limited in what you can do with your platform, you might try something like shit you should care about did with their paywall on Substack. The main thing I like here is the perks list.

My final contender for Best Paywalls is Escape Collective’s bottom sliding paywall.

A few things work well about this from my POV:

• The headline “Become a member” evokes a sense that you could belong here (rather than “this post is for paid members” which is exclusionary off the bat)

• The perks highlights “ad-free” “full catalog” “podcasts” and “more” (Escape Collective has some killer perks so they could take this even farther!)

• The image (which cycles between three images) shows some of the reporting staff and reminds the reader of the mission/value of their work.

I promised to show you my new paywall. I’m super proud of it and shout out to Norbert at Bright Themes who made it happen and to Flaming Hydra for making me think bigger about this. What do you think? Did I take my own advice?

Don’t fumble the bag

Your paywall is an opportunity to pitch your reader. You have their attention. What are you doing with it?

Think about what you’d say if you were actually talking to the reader. Make that your headline and pitch text. Bonus points for adding perks, pricing, testimonials, photos or visual flair. And keep your eye on Flaming Hydra. They are leading the way.

All of these paywalls and over 100+ examples from indie journalists are in our Swipe Files.