Paywall for publishers | Snowplow Signals

Make the offer when a reader keeps coming back

A reader has visited four times this week, and most of what they read is climate coverage. A monthly meter either stopped them on the first visit or has not stopped them at all. This is the reader most likely to pay, and right now they are on the site.

What Signals knows

visits_7d: Separate visits in the last seven days
top_section_30d: The section they read most in the last 30 days

What your paywall does

Shows the subscription offer once a reader reaches three visits in a week, and names the section they keep reading in the headline of the offer.

article.tsx · 14 lines

from datetime import timedelta
from snowplow_signals import (
    Attribute, AtomicProperty, EntityProperty, Event, StreamAttributeGroup, domain_userid,
)

page_view = Event(name="page_view", vendor="com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow", version="1-0-0")

visits_7d = Attribute(
    name="visits_7d",
    type="int32",
    events=[page_view],
    aggregation="approx_count_distinct",
    property=AtomicProperty(name="domain_sessionid"),
    period=timedelta(days=7),
)

top_section_30d = Attribute(
    name="top_section_30d",
    type="string",
    events=[page_view],
    aggregation="most_frequent",
    property=EntityProperty(vendor="com.example", name="article", major_version=1, path="section"),
    period=timedelta(days=30),
)

# Published as the paywall_returning service your article page reads.
paywall_returning = StreamAttributeGroup(
    name="paywall_returning",
    version=1,
    attribute_key=domain_userid,
    owner="you@example.com",
    attributes=[visits_7d, top_section_30d],
)

// In the code that renders the article page
const reader = await signals.getServiceAttributes({
  name: "paywall_returning",
  attribute_key: "domain_userid",
  identifier: domainUserId,
});
// { visits_7d: 4, top_section_30d: "climate" }

if (reader.visits_7d >= 3) {
  paywall.show({
    offer: "standard",
    headline: `Keep reading ${reader.top_section_30d} coverage`,
  });
}

Ask a first-time reader for an email, not a card

A reader arrived from a search result an hour ago and has read two articles to the end. A meter that counts articles will show them the payment wall on the next one, before they have any reason to pay. They have shown interest, not a habit. The right ask is the newsletter.

What Signals knows

visits_7d: Separate visits in the last seven days
entered_from: The referrer medium on their first event
long_reads_7d: Articles read to the end in the last seven days

What your paywall does

Swaps the payment wall for a newsletter sign-up when a first visit from search reaches two completed reads, and holds the subscription offer until the reader comes back.

article.tsx · 14 lines

from datetime import timedelta
from snowplow_signals import (
    Attribute, AtomicProperty, Criteria, Criterion, Event, EventProperty, StreamAttributeGroup, domain_userid,
)

page_view = Event(name="page_view", vendor="com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow", version="1-0-0")
article_read = Event(name="article_read", vendor="com.example", version="1-0-0")

visits_7d = Attribute(
    name="visits_7d",
    type="int32",
    events=[page_view],
    aggregation="approx_count_distinct",
    property=AtomicProperty(name="domain_sessionid"),
    period=timedelta(days=7),
)

entered_from = Attribute(
    name="entered_from",
    type="string",
    events=[page_view],
    aggregation="first",
    property=AtomicProperty(name="refr_medium"),
)

long_reads_7d = Attribute(
    name="long_reads_7d",
    type="int32",
    events=[article_read],
    aggregation="counter",
    criteria=Criteria(all=[
        Criterion.gte(EventProperty(vendor="com.example", name="article_read", major_version=1, path="percent_read"), 80),
    ]),
    period=timedelta(days=7),
    default_value=0,
)

paywall_first_visit = StreamAttributeGroup(
    name="paywall_first_visit",
    version=1,
    attribute_key=domain_userid,
    owner="you@example.com",
    attributes=[visits_7d, entered_from, long_reads_7d],
)

// In the code that renders the article page
const reader = await signals.getServiceAttributes({
  name: "paywall_first_visit",
  attribute_key: "domain_userid",
  identifier: domainUserId,
});
// { visits_7d: 1, entered_from: "search", long_reads_7d: 2 }

if (reader.visits_7d === 1 && reader.entered_from === "search" && reader.long_reads_7d >= 2) {
  paywall.show({
    offer: "newsletter",
    headline: "Get the next one by email",
  });
}

Offer the package that matches what they read

Most of what this reader opens is sport, and has been for a month. The all-access offer prices in politics, culture and business they never read, so it reads as expensive. A sport pass is the same decision at a smaller price, and the headline can say so.

What Signals knows

top_section_30d: The section they read most in the last 30 days
sections_30d: How many articles they read in each section in the last 30 days

What your paywall does

Offers the section pass instead of all-access when one section is more than six in ten of a reader's articles this month, and names that section in the offer.

article.tsx · 18 lines

from datetime import timedelta
from snowplow_signals import Attribute, EntityProperty, Event, StreamAttributeGroup, domain_userid

page_view = Event(name="page_view", vendor="com.snowplowanalytics.snowplow", version="1-0-0")
section = EntityProperty(vendor="com.example", name="article", major_version=1, path="section")

top_section_30d = Attribute(
    name="top_section_30d",
    type="string",
    events=[page_view],
    aggregation="most_frequent",
    property=section,
    period=timedelta(days=30),
)

sections_30d = Attribute(
    name="sections_30d",
    type="dict",
    events=[page_view],
    aggregation="category_count",
    property=section,
    period=timedelta(days=30),
)

paywall_section = StreamAttributeGroup(
    name="paywall_section",
    version=1,
    attribute_key=domain_userid,
    owner="you@example.com",
    attributes=[top_section_30d, sections_30d],
)

// In the code that renders the article page
const reader = await signals.getServiceAttributes({
  name: "paywall_section",
  attribute_key: "domain_userid",
  identifier: domainUserId,
});
// { top_section_30d: "sport", sections_30d: { sport: 19, news: 4, culture: 1 } }

const counts = Object.values(reader.sections_30d);
const total = counts.reduce((sum, n) => sum + n, 0);
const share = reader.sections_30d[reader.top_section_30d] / total;

if (share > 0.6) {
  paywall.show({
    offer: `${reader.top_section_30d}_pass`,
    headline: `All of our ${reader.top_section_30d} coverage, for less than all-access`,
  });
}

Change the offer for a reader who has already said no

This reader has hit the paywall twice this month and never opened checkout. Showing the same wall a third time gets the same answer. The price is the objection, and a trial answers it while they are still on the page.

What Signals knows

paywall_hits_30d: Times the paywall was shown in the last 30 days
checkouts_30d: Times they opened checkout in the last 30 days

What your paywall does

Shows a trial offer instead of the standard wall once a reader has been stopped twice without opening checkout, and stops repeating the wall they have already refused.

article.tsx · 14 lines

from datetime import timedelta
from snowplow_signals import Attribute, Event, StreamAttributeGroup, domain_userid

paywall_shown = Event(name="paywall_shown", vendor="com.example", version="1-0-0")
checkout_opened = Event(name="checkout_opened", vendor="com.example", version="1-0-0")

paywall_hits_30d = Attribute(
    name="paywall_hits_30d",
    type="int32",
    events=[paywall_shown],
    aggregation="counter",
    period=timedelta(days=30),
    default_value=0,
)

checkouts_30d = Attribute(
    name="checkouts_30d",
    type="int32",
    events=[checkout_opened],
    aggregation="counter",
    period=timedelta(days=30),
    default_value=0,
)

paywall_walkaway = StreamAttributeGroup(
    name="paywall_walkaway",
    version=1,
    attribute_key=domain_userid,
    owner="you@example.com",
    attributes=[paywall_hits_30d, checkouts_30d],
)

// In the code that renders the article page
const reader = await signals.getServiceAttributes({
  name: "paywall_walkaway",
  attribute_key: "domain_userid",
  identifier: domainUserId,
});
// { paywall_hits_30d: 2, checkouts_30d: 0 }

if (reader.paywall_hits_30d >= 2 && reader.checkouts_30d === 0) {
  paywall.show({
    offer: "trial",
    headline: "Try a month, then decide",
  });
}

A paywall that can tell readers apart.

Turn more readers into subscribers by asking at the right moment.

Make the offer when a reader keeps coming back

Ask a first-time reader for an email, not a card

Offer the package that matches what they read

Change the offer for a reader who has already said no

Try it on your own site.