Digital pave the way for new payment platforms

Finnish newspapers are experiencing success with digital strategies. The number of paying readers for digital platforms is on the rise. This has demanded adjustment of the products in relation to the readers, explained online manager Timo Rinne from the tabloid newspaper Ilta-Sanomat to Visiolink's User Group in Oslo.

Like corn in hot oil, new payment areas have been popping up from media houses' websites in recent months. The question being asked all over Europe is: How can we get readers used to the idea of paying for digital content, when they have already been getting it for free the past 15 years? If you ask the media houses that have been working with digital payment platforms the longest, they will tell you that the solution is in finding the right mix of content and form, as well as the right types of subscription and distribution – adjusted to fit the individual newspaper and its readership. This became clear at Visiolink's User Groups in Oslo and , where a number of representatives from Nordic media houses met to share experiences on digital strategies on a variety of platforms.

Experience of quality is higher on iPad 's second-largest newspaper, Ilta Sanomat, is experiencing progress in its digital payment platforms, and it is here that the iPad has played a central role in the newspaper's digital strategy. "Our goal is to get readers used to reading their newspaper on their iPad on a daily basis. We launched a 1.1 app version in January 2011. Firstly, because it was the quickest and cheapest solution, but what emerged was that readers experienced higher quality on the iPad than on our website, because it looked like the print copy of the newspaper," said Ilta Sanomat's online manager, Timo Rinne.

A good product, in even better wrapping Visiolink CEO Jens Funder Berg has heard similar accounts from many other European media houses: "The digital payment newspaper – on smartphone and tablet – is an important driver in getting readers used to the idea that digital content costs money. The digital newspaper provides you with a recognisable, physical product, as well as a feeling of value for money: the original, well-loved product, just in a better and more user-friendly wrapping. You could say that paywalls are just an extension of digital editions of the printed newspaper," says Berg, who was present to see Visiolink's Nordic customers meet to exchange experiences on digital strategies and business models.

Prices should be more attractive Finland's – and the Nordic region's – largest daily, Helsingin Sanomat is in the same media group as Ilta Sanomat . Here, according to Timo Rinne, growth has also been experienced in the digital arena. Helsingin Sanomat has already more than 130,000 digital subscriptions and digital revenue of more than USD 3.5 million per month (Source: Medievärlden ). When the newspaper introduced a paywall on its website a couple of weeks ago, visitor numbers rose by nine per cent, just as the number of digital subscriptions also increased. Prices for digital subscriptions start at EUR 9.90 per month – or EUR 3 for readers who already have a subscription for the printed newspaper. At Visiolink's User Group in Oslo, Timo Rinne urged his colleagues to have the courage to set prices attractively and offer existing subscribers access to blocked, paid content for a lower price than most media houses are currently offering.

Trading knowledge from 600 newspapers After Oslo, the Finnish media houses gathered in Helsinki for another day of exchanging experiences on digital newspaper solutions and strategies on many platforms. "We experienced a large amount of interest among our customers in trading knowledge. We will therefore be holding regular User Groups in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany, with the next one being held in Frankfurt in January 2013. Here, we will present more of the trends and experiences we have gained from our customer base of over 600 European newspaper titles," says Jens Funder Berg.