Author: Matt Ott

Is Wall Street’s Misunderstanding of Subscriptions Behind a Class Action Suit Against Zillow?

Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) was socked today with the announcement of a class action lawsuit. The suit, filed by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, alleges that Zillow concealed its “difficulties” in acquiring new paying subscribers and in dealing with subscription account churn during a recent Class Period in September when the company was making a secondary stock offering. Zillow is an online real estate information site that allows the public to see data on US residential…

Is Wall Street’s Misunderstanding of Subscriptions Behind a Class Action Suit Against Zillow? Read More »

The Houston Chronicle Launches Subscription Site With Teensy Tiny ‘Subscribe’ Button

News / Matt Ott

Hearst-owned newspaper The Houston Chronicle has launched an all-paid subscription content site, HoustonChronicle.com, with what may be the smallest homepage “subscribe” button we’ve ever seen. The paper’s main original site Chron.com, which currently attracts 12 million unique visitors per month, will continue as a completely free news source. Chron.com is typical of newspaper sites – loaded with clutter and advertising. When you compare its design with the new paid HoustonChronical.com’s layout, you can see the design…

The Houston Chronicle Launches Subscription Site With Teensy Tiny ‘Subscribe’ Button Read More »

Forget Content Publishing – The Real Money in Subscriptions is in Payment Processing Services

News, Payment Processing, Technology / Matt Ott

Just like Levi Strauss proved during the California gold rush, the real money isn’t necessarily in a popular commodity, but rather in selling the tools to mine that popular commodity. During the gold rush, that was picks, shovels and blue jeans. For online subscription sites, it’s payment processing and financial systems for recurring billing. Billing services are somewhat late to the subscription services party. (In fact, major banks such as Citizens Bank wouldn’t give merchant accounts…

Forget Content Publishing – The Real Money in Subscriptions is in Payment Processing Services Read More »

Walmart Rolls Out $7 Monthly Food Subscription Service by Invite Only

Industry Announcements, News / Matt Ott

After six months in development, Walmart has publicly launched its new eCommerce subscription brand, Goodies.co. For $7 a month, subscribers are mailed a box of samples of new foods, such as gourmet crackers, that Walmart is considering or has just started carrying on its real-world shelves. The retailer is rolling out the launch carefully, currently by invitation only on the Goodies.co homepage, so they can ramp up fulfillment operations with fewer snags. They claim to…

Walmart Rolls Out $7 Monthly Food Subscription Service by Invite Only Read More »

SIPA to Merge with SIIA — Could this be a Comeback for the Paid Niche Content Industry?

News / Matt Ott

Robert Brady, current president of the Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA) announced this morning that the association is in the process of merging with the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), presumably within its Content Division. SIPA, originally an association of print subscription newsletter publishers founded in the 1980s, has seen falling membership over recent years, despite changing its name (twice) to reflect the industry’s change from 100% print to largely digital content. We suspect that…

SIPA to Merge with SIIA — Could this be a Comeback for the Paid Niche Content Industry? Read More »

Online University Grosses Over $1 Billion, But Online Student Churn Is At 84%

FInance, News / Matt Ott

With 94,863 mainly online students across the United States, Bridgepoint Education grossed more than a billion in 2011 with $172.8 million net income. And, that net is up 375% from 2010’s net of “just” $46 million. However, according to the San Diego Free Press, 84% of paying students drop out prior to graduation from Bridgepoint’s two-year associate degree programs. While this is a completely reasonable churn rate for online subscription content, we suspect it’s unusually high…

Online University Grosses Over $1 Billion, But Online Student Churn Is At 84% Read More »

Politico’s 96% Paid Subscription Renewal Rate Not As Crazy As It Seems

News, Subscriber Retention / Matt Ott

Sorry Adweek, but your big ‘scoop’ this week revealing that Politico’s first year paid subscription renewal rate is 96% isn’t as surprising as you think. That’s because the subscription service is Politico Pro (emphasis on the word “pro”) with site license deals starting at $8,500 year. Our industry-wide data shows it would be insane for any publisher — online or off — to expect to achieve a 96% renewal rate for a subscription service sold to…

Politico’s 96% Paid Subscription Renewal Rate Not As Crazy As It Seems Read More »

BostonGlobe.com Tests 99 Cent Trial Subscription Offer: Two Critical Mistakes

News, Subscriber Acquisition / Matt Ott

BostonGlobe.com’s circulation department blasted their in-house, prospect, email list with a 99 cent subscription offer this morning. The campaign used several best practices, including: A quick deadline (the offer is only good for today) Subscription benefit copy in easy-to-skim bullets Big response buttons A brief benefit video on the landing page Unfortunately, the circulation team made two mistakes that could bite them in the bottom line. The first was the landing page design. I’ve posted an image here of the response…

BostonGlobe.com Tests 99 Cent Trial Subscription Offer: Two Critical Mistakes Read More »

Counties in Ohio Ordered to ‘Cease & Desist’ From Selling Subscriptions to Public Records Online

News, Technology / Matt Ott

After Ohio’s State Auditor Dave Yost discovered at least three Ohio counties are charging subscription fees, ranging from $50-$300 per year, for online access to property and mortgage records, he’s slapped a cease and desist letter on all 88 counties in the state to stop them from even considering the practice. Butler County Recorder Danny Clark, chair of the legislative committee for the Ohio Recorder’s Association, told local press that he’s been trying since 2009 to…

Counties in Ohio Ordered to ‘Cease & Desist’ From Selling Subscriptions to Public Records Online Read More »

Business eBook Sales Booming to Young Men Online in India

Business Media and Publishing, FInance, News / Matt Ott

According to Bowker’s Global eBook Research, 24-35 year old men online in India are more likely to have paid for an ebook than any other population, including Americans. It’s not for fun — it’s to expand their careers. These men are downloading business and tech titles far more than fiction or hobby titles. They tend to buy online directly from publishers, not from a generalist store such as Amazon (for now anyway.) We suspect this points…

Business eBook Sales Booming to Young Men Online in India Read More »

Insight to drive subscription growth

Matt Ott