Outgrowing Advertising: Multimodal Business Models as a Product Strategy

- There are multiple ways to monetize an online audience: subscription plans, conferences, consulting sessions, selling premium content, etc.

Independent internet-native creators leverage the internet’s frictionless content creation and distribution, but they’re still trapped by traditional business models like subscriptions and advertising.

A subscription model is based on the promise of the production of future gated content. A publication or creator is paid to continue production, not ... See more

If you’re playing to be a part of that prized collection of three paid services, then subscriptions are a viable monetization path for you. For everyone else, ads are likely to be the best – and only – viable option.

The apparent limitation of the ad-supported media business model is that there will never be enough traffic to satisfy the beast. But while subscription revenue is stickier and gives creators more runway and short-term security, eventually the flame that started any new project will be extinguished. A new muse will need to be found.