Why Will People Pay for Content They Could Probably Find For Free on The Internet

Posted on June 19th, 2009 by Larry Pages Online

This is a good question that we’re frequently asked.

There are many reasons why people are prepared to pay for content that they could probably find for free on the web.

The most common reasons are:

Time is money.
Searching for information on the internet takes time. People will often prefer to pay someone else to do this work and compile the results in a comprehensive and easy to consume format

Getting to the truth.
You get what you pay for! A lot of the free content on the web is rubbish, inaccurate and even deliberately misleading. Paid-for sites are perceived (usually correctly) as having greater integrity

Becoming part of a community.
People who are passionate about a subject like to mix andtalk with other people who have the same level of passion. They will pay to be part of a community

Exclusivity.
People pay for exclusivity! They get pleasure and value out of having access to information and people that other people don’t. Often information available in subscription websites is not available elsewhere

Feeling of exclusion.
People who are not within a community often feel excluded. They want to know what they are missing and are often prepared to pay to get rid of the ‘pain’ of exclusion.

Peer Pressure
Successful subscription websites often grow through word of mouth. People put pressure on their friends and colleagues to join the community.

Association with a ‘Celebrity’
People enjoy being associated with and have access to celebrities in their field of interest. Subscription websites often allow direct access and even live events with the site owner.

The increasing willingness of people to pay for access to content is borne out by the growth in the market from revenues of $0.7bn in 2001 to over $2bn in 2005. These revenues are expected to double by the end of 2007.

Anyone considering publishing niche or specialist content online should consider charging a subscription for it. This is one of the fastest growing areas of internet driven business. Get in whilst the market is still young.

Miles Galliford is the co-founder of SubHub - subhub.com www.subhub.com . The company helps individuals, small publishers and oprganisations build and launch paid membership websites. For a lot of free information and resources, take a look at subhub.com www.subhub.com .

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