Matt Ott, Author at Subscription Insider

Is Wall Street’s Misunderstanding of Subscriptions Behind a Class Action Suit Against Zillow?

Leave a Comment / FInance, News / Matt Ott

Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) was socked today with the announcement of a class action lawsuit. The suit, filed by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, alleges that Zillow concealed its “difficulties” in acquiring new paying subscribers and in dealing with subscription account churn during a recent Class Period in September when the company was making a secondary stock offering. Zillow is an online real estate information site that allows the public to see data on US residential…

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The Houston Chronicle Launches Subscription Site With Teensy Tiny ‘Subscribe’ Button

Forget Content Publishing – The Real Money in Subscriptions is in Payment Processing Services

Leave a Comment / News, Payment Processing, Technology / Matt Ott

Just like Levi Strauss proved during the California gold rush, the real money isn’t necessarily in a popular commodity, but rather in selling the tools to mine that popular commodity. During the gold rush, that was picks, shovels and blue jeans. For online subscription sites, it’s payment processing and financial systems for recurring billing. Billing services are somewhat late to the subscription services party. (In fact, major banks such as Citizens Bank wouldn’t give merchant accounts…

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Walmart Rolls Out $7 Monthly Food Subscription Service by Invite Only

Leave a Comment / Industry Announcements, News / Matt Ott

After six months in development, Walmart has publicly launched its new eCommerce subscription brand, Goodies.co. For $7 a month, subscribers are mailed a box of samples of new foods, such as gourmet crackers, that Walmart is considering or has just started carrying on its real-world shelves. The retailer is rolling out the launch carefully, currently by invitation only on the Goodies.co homepage, so they can ramp up fulfillment operations with fewer snags. They claim to…

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SIPA to Merge with SIIA — Could this be a Comeback for the Paid Niche Content Industry?

Online University Grosses Over $1 Billion, But Online Student Churn Is At 84%

Leave a Comment / FInance, News / Matt Ott

With 94,863 mainly online students across the United States, Bridgepoint Education grossed more than a billion in 2011 with $172.8 million net income. And, that net is up 375% from 2010’s net of “just” $46 million. However, according to the San Diego Free Press, 84% of paying students drop out prior to graduation from Bridgepoint’s two-year associate degree programs. While this is a completely reasonable churn rate for online subscription content, we suspect it’s unusually high…

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Politico’s 96% Paid Subscription Renewal Rate Not As Crazy As It Seems

Leave a Comment / News, Subscriber Retention / Matt Ott

Sorry Adweek, but your big ‘scoop’ this week revealing that Politico’s first year paid subscription renewal rate is 96% isn’t as surprising as you think. That’s because the subscription service is Politico Pro (emphasis on the word “pro”) with site license deals starting at $8,500 year. Our industry-wide data shows it would be insane for any publisher — online or off — to expect to achieve a 96% renewal rate for a subscription service sold to…

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BostonGlobe.com Tests 99 Cent Trial Subscription Offer: Two Critical Mistakes

Leave a Comment / News, Subscriber Acquisition / Matt Ott

BostonGlobe.com’s circulation department blasted their in-house, prospect, email list with a 99 cent subscription offer this morning. The campaign used several best practices, including: A quick deadline (the offer is only good for today) Subscription benefit copy in easy-to-skim bullets Big response buttons A brief benefit video on the landing page Unfortunately, the circulation team made two mistakes that could bite them in the bottom line. The first was the landing page design. I’ve posted an image here of the response…

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Counties in Ohio Ordered to ‘Cease & Desist’ From Selling Subscriptions to Public Records Online

Leave a Comment / News, Technology / Matt Ott

After Ohio’s State Auditor Dave Yost discovered at least three Ohio counties are charging subscription fees, ranging from $50-$300 per year, for online access to property and mortgage records, he’s slapped a cease and desist letter on all 88 counties in the state to stop them from even considering the practice. Butler County Recorder Danny Clark, chair of the legislative committee for the Ohio Recorder’s Association, told local press that he’s been trying since 2009 to…

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Business eBook Sales Booming to Young Men Online in India

Leave a Comment / Business Media and Publishing, FInance, News / Matt Ott

According to Bowker’s Global eBook Research, 24-35 year old men online in India are more likely to have paid for an ebook than any other population, including Americans. It’s not for fun — it’s to expand their careers. These men are downloading business and tech titles far more than fiction or hobby titles. They tend to buy online directly from publishers, not from a generalist store such as Amazon (for now anyway.) We suspect this points…

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Insight to drive subscription growth

Matt Ott