Thirteen months ago, The New Yorker launched a metered paywall to bridge the gap between free and paid online content. Last week, it announced the results – its web traffic is up 25% compared to a year ago, and subscriptions to NewYorker.com are up 61%, says Poynter.

The New Yorker announced the switch to a metered paywall in a note to readers in July 2014, explaining that the publication was making changes, including everything from a new design and improved functionality to more stories and greater responsiveness.The New Yorker had been working on changes for months and was rolling them out in stages. The first involved a redesign of the website. The second would be the implementation of a metered paywall, but first, The New Yorker would make all of its content free – new stories and archives back to 2007 – for the masses. Temporarily, of course.

“Call it a summer-long free-for-all. Non-subscribers will get a chance to explore The New Yorker fully and freely, just as subscribers always have. Then, in the fall, we move to a second phase, implementing an easier-to-use, logical, metered paywall. Subscribers will continue to have access to everything; non-subscribers will be able to read a limited number of pieces – and then it’s up to them to subscribe,” said the editors in their note to readers.

When The New Yorker rolled out its metered paywall in November 2014, it allowed non-subscribers to access six articles for free and an unlimited number of videos. Subscribers received unlimited access to current articles as well as access to The New Yorker’s archives dating back to 1925, said Capital New York. Why six? NewYorker.com editor Nicholas Thompson told Capital New York they chose six for three reasons: data analysis of their readers, economics and gut.Between July and November 2014, web traffic went up incrementally as subscribers and non-subscribers alike binge-read favorite print and online-only stories, reported NiemanLab.”It wasn’t a massive increase in readers between July and November. There was an increase, but there wasn’t a massive increase. What’s weird is we launched the paywall, and then there was a massive increase,” said Nicholas Thompson, editor of NewYorker.com.The massive increase started in January when unique visitors to NewYorker.com went up 30% compared to the prior year, and subscription sign-ups jumped to 85%! Poynter says that The New Yorker’s success can’t be boiled down to a solitary factor; instead, it is a combination of factors that have fueled the publication’s growth:

• A strong focus on editorial content – more stories, more timely stories and better stories that meet the magazine’s standards and hold true to The New Yorker brand
• More daily content from regular contributors
• Expansion of the magazine’s copy editing staff
• Strategic use of social media, particularly to Facebook, to grow the website’s audience
• Maintaining a website with timely, fresh content, especially on the home page
• New subscriber promotion – $12 for a 12-week online subscription
• Using subscriber and non-subscriber data like “time on page” to make informed decisions
• Leveraging its archives to attract readers

Insider Take:It is exciting to see a well-respected, 90-year-old publication like The New Yorker enjoy success in the digital realm. Despite the publication’s age – or maybe because of it – the magazine has retained its high journalistic standards, in spite of the rapidly changing, click-bait-headline world we are now living in.The New Yorker seems to be doing everything right, but it is also willing to recognize that it needs to provide more for the subscription dollar, including lots of fresh, quality content in a simple but functional format. The New Yorker is nimble and adaptable, and it has both a team and an audience that get it. We’d love to see other publishers emulate this subscription model to achieve similar success.~ Dana E. Neuts, Subscription Insider