In this week’s Five on Friday, Pet Product News explains the growing trend of high-quality, direct-to-consumer pet food subscriptions, the American Press Institute reports on the three types of news subscribers, 2Checkout, formerly Avangate, shares features and updates included in its winter 2017 software release, Marketing Land discusses why the end of Google’s First Click Free policy will give publishers the ability to regain control of monetization strategies, and Admiral releases new self-serve plans and a platform for adblocking revenue recovery.

Subscription Meal Kits Aren’t Just for Humans 

The subscription box industry has become a big part of the subscription economy with offerings from virtually every segment of the retail industry including everything from coffee and hygiene products to meal kits and STEM toy kits for kids. A growing segment of the subscription box market is the pet food industry, as pet parents become more discerning about what Fluffy and Fido eat.

Companies like Ollie, who creates customized meal plans for dogs with fresh ingredients, are becoming more popular as pet owners begin to appreciate the value of tailor-made diet plans purchased via subscription and delivered at subscriber’s desired frequency.

‘As people’s awareness increases around what’s in traditional kibble and canned food and they want a better alternative, we think that that’s a real big market,’ said Gabby Slome, co-founder of New York-based Ollie, a direct-to-consumer premium pet food brand that uses a subscription-based model, in an interview with Pet Product News.

According to Pet Product News, the year-old Ollie has raised $17.5 million in venture capital. Another direct-to-consumer model, The Farmer’s Dog, has raised $10.1 million in just over a year. These examples illustrate the belief that these types of companies are in demand and have potential for significant success. David Lummis, a senior pet analyst for Packaged Facts, said he believes this trend results from the human meal kit trend.

‘Human trends are a big deal in the pet market,’ Lummis told Pet Product News. ‘In my mind, this would be a very good time to hop on that bandwagon.’

Read more on the growing trend for direct-to-consumer pet food subscriptions in ‘Consumers Subscribe to New Pet Food Model’ by Clay Jackson for Pet Product News.

American Press Institute Report: Three Types of News Subscribers

In a recent article, the American Press Institute outlined three types of news subscribers and explained why they pay for news and how to convert them. The information came as a result of in-depth, one-on-one interviews with 15 ‘carefully selected people’ across the U.S. about their news subscription behavior. The consumers selected represented different extremes including people who have never paid for news and those who call themselves ‘subscription junkies,’ paying more than $100 a month on news and other publications. From this research, API identified three types of news subscribers:

• Civically Committed who support missions and initiatives that reflect their personal values. These readers commit to a higher-than-average number of subscriptions.
• Thrifty Transactors pay for the practical value of a publication, but are very selective in which publications they subscribe to.
• Elusive Engagers tend not to subscribe and they see news and information as a commodity that can usually be obtained at no cost.

The key takeaway here is that there is no one revenue strategy or sales funnel that will apply to all three categories. News organizations have to recognize the differences between the audiences and tailor their approach to the needs and goals of each audience.

To read the full report and API’s recommendations for subscriber conversions, read the original article, ‘The 3 Types of News Subscribers: Why They Pay and How to Convert Them‘ by Tran Ha for American Press Institute.

New Features in 2Checkout’s 2017 Winter Release 

Earlier this week 2Checkout, formerly Avangate, an eCommerce, payments and subscription billing solutions provider, announced the features of its digital commerce platform’s 2017 winter release. The features include improved acquisition, conversion and retention tools as well as more than 750 platform updates. Here are a few highlights to the release:

• Enhanced ConvertPlus cart to allow vendors to create customer templates with cross-platform preview functionality and customization of all checkout pages, thank you pages and retry pages
• Greater merchant control over the ConvertPlus ordering process
• A redesigned control panel with an improved dashboard to help vendors manage and control their business more efficiently
• Improved localization that introduces new payment methods and enhances existing setups
• Enhanced subscription management options to provide more flexibility, custom scheduling and custom upgrade links

Click here to read more about the updates included in the latest 2Checkout release on PaymentsJournal.com. 

Why the End of Google’s First Click Free is a Step in the Right Direction

In October, Google announced that it would stop using a ‘First Click Free’ policy in favor of giving publishers the opportunity to do flexible sampling to determine the right number of free articles each wanted to allow their readers. Previously, Google dictated to publishers that they had to provide free access to three articles per day or face the possible loss of Google search engine love. Under the policy, publishers regain some control.

In a December 13 article for Marketing Land, Ben Barokas said that he believes this move is a step in the right direction, and he hopes it encourages publishers to take control of their monetization strategies. Of course, publishers need to balance the desire to monetize their content with the ability to attract – and convert – readers with their need for solid leads via search engine traffic. Facebook is also trying to appease publishers with some of its new initiatives, including its current testing of subscription options within Facebook.

‘These industry developments go a long way to support the rise of the subscription model and allow premium-content publishers – which are often favored over social media platforms – a recent Sharethrough survey found – to work sustaining brand loyalty by fostering a more direct relationship with their readers,’ Barokas wrote.

Read more by Barokas on the value exchange between readers ad publishers and removing behaviors to a positive experience in his article, ‘Why the End of Google’s First Click Free is a Step in the Right Direction‘ on MarketingLand.com. 

Admiral Launches Self-Service Plans for Adblock Revenue Recovery

Publishers who are losing revenue because of adblocking will be interested to learn about Admiral’s new self-serve platform and pricing models for adblock revenue recovery. According to a press release, publishers can use the self-serve feature to begin immediate revenue recovering with one of Admiral’s four plans: Free, Basic, Advanced and Pro. Each tier offers different features and scaled pricing based on the size of a publishers’ traffic and number of sites within their organization.

The self-serve product also offers flat rate and revenue sharing pricing as well as risk-free trials for each plan. The three flat rate plans start at $48 per month for up to two properties and go up to $800 per month for up to 10 properties. Performance-based pricing starts at $30 per month with a 30 percent revenue share and goes up to $500 a month with a 30 percent revenue share. Admiral is also offering a ‘Speed to Recovery’ promotion for publishers who sign up during December.

‘Given that every second without recovery is more lost revenue, signing up and installing an adblock recovery solution should be as simple and quick as possible,’ said Admiral CEO Dan Rua in a press release. ‘Admiral is currently the only adblock recovery company that allows publishers to select a plan, enter a credit card number, and start engaging users to recover revenue within an hour.’

Read more about the new self-serve plans and platform at GetAdmiral.com.