Last week Newsweek brought down its paywall, making most of its content, including web stories and cover stories, free. The site still has a metered paywall, but only magazine stories are counted against the five-article limit. According to Newsweek’s announcement, “this change will radically reduce the number of readers encountering the paywall.”

Newsweek subscribers will have exclusive access to the magazine’s current issue, except for the cover story. The remainder of the stories will go live online for nonsubscribers a week after publication. IBT Media Chief Marketing Officer Mitchell Caplan said more readers will now be able to access stories on the website, and they hope to see an increase in page views, which will please advertisers. IBT Media owns Newsweek.

“The general strategy is to open up and allow folks the ability to experience and really enjoy the journalism that’s happening on Newsweek,” said Caplan.

Caplan told Publishers Daily, “We know that if people can access and engage with our content, they’ll want to keep coming back for more.”

Newsweek will still offer print and digital subscriptions. An annual print-and-digital subscription is $99.99 a year. A digital-only subscription, which includes desktop and mobile versions, are available for $4.99 a year. Newsweek offers three-month trial subscriptions for those who want to try before they buy. The publication has about 100,000 print and digital subscribers in the U.S.

Ad Age reported that, according to ComScore, Newsweek.com had 4.2 million unique visitors on desktop and mobile devices in December 2015, a 49.4% increase year-over-year.

Insider Take:

Many publishers like the New York Times have experienced success with the metered paywall, while others like The Sun are abandoning that model.

Newsweek, with its one week embargo for print subscribers on its online and mobile properties, runs a major risk at cannibalization. We hope they tested and have proven that their strategy of little or no segmenting of content between their subscription product and their free product will be executed in a way that will benefit them.

It seems there is no magic formula for publishers to follow, though there are a few key points for publishers to consider when designing – or redesigning – their business model:

1. Know your customer – How, when and why do they consume your news?
2. Do the math – Whether you are supported by advertising, subscriptions or both, what is your break-even point? What is the cost of acquiring a new subscriber?
3. Take calculated risks by testing your ideas before full-blown implementation – Don’t give away the candy store without testing your product first, lest you suffer the fate of the Dallas Morning News who is giving the paywall a third try in 2016.
4. Be nimble – Be prepared to accept constructive criticism and to make changes quickly if warranted. Otherwise, you could suffer a painful financial fate and a public lambasting by your subscribers on social media.
5. Be transparent – Always keep your readers informed about coming changes, and once they’ve been implemented, make sure you have sufficient customer service staff to meet demand. Educate your subscribers before AND after the changes.
6. Evaluate and adapt – Evaluate your progress at regular intervals, make incremental changes and do more of what’s working and less of what isn’t.