Sarah Granger

>At today’s Women in Periodical Publishing annual Women’s Leadership Conference, many of the sessions focused on the future of media and how to make money off the media (i.e. how to stay alive, adapt and thrive). Since the speakers were so kind to share what they have learned from their research and experience, I compiled a list.

In no particular order, here are some of the ways (emerging as well as traditional) to make money off of new media in consumer markets:
- advertising – not just banner ads, but used with e-mail, text, video and through third party or localized deals
- sponsorships – special deals where sponsors get extra promotion through events (online and off), articles, ads, buttons, etc.
- micropayments – tips, mini subscriptions, small donations or other crowdfunded models
- virtual goods – creation of virtual products that mimic real life products, sold for small amounts to the consumer for use in virtual environments
- print-on-demand systems – provide a physical publication that’s printed individually for the reader
- mobile applications – iPhone, Android, other – licensed app use to view content via mobile devices
- contests – provide a product or service to winners with sponsors or some sort of fee
- content licensing – paid syndication or other licensing agreements for creative content (posts, articles, photos, video)
- subscriptions or memberships – paid use of content either on the web and/or on tablet devices, such as iPad or Kindle (*note this has been more successful in the Kindle market than it has on web browsers)

Of course the panelists noted that some of these models are typically more successful than others, but it does depend on the content and the audience. For those who have research or more detailed information on which kinds of business models tend to be most successful in their own experiences, I look forward to your comments.