Michael Arrington in his boycott of Associated Press seemed to suggest that paid content is a dying business model.
I must admit I am not a huge fan of linking to articles from Associated Press, simply because it is extremely difficult to determine the original source when these stories “go over the wire”.
A great example of the reasons why is when I reported about the appropriated story last year from the Museum of Hoaxes – that was Agence France-Presse to blame, a different organization.
Readers might also remember my run-in with The Guardian where I was a major source for an article, but didn’t receive a link. The author and editor of The Guardian explained their viewpoint in the comments, but it still wrankles a little.
That being said, there is a huge amount of PROFIT being made online in the form of online membership sites which is a paid content business model.
Highly successful examples include:-
- Strategic Profits – $10m+ business
- Stompernet – $25m+ business
- Success Chef (prelaunch)
- Double Your Dating – $20m+ business
I could the continue the list with the likes of Armand Morin, Mike Filsaime, Jeff Walker, Yanik Silver, John Reese, Ray Edwards, Jim Edwards, Frank Kern, Jason Postash and many many more. Among bloggers Brain Clark with Teaching Sells and Yaro Starak with Blog Mastermind immediately come to mind.
Then of course there are the mega information marketers such as Agora Publishing with multiple content channels such as Early to Rise
I should include affiliate links to all of them, but that isn’t the point – most of these guys are pulling in million dollar earnings on a yearly basis, and whilst they have diversified into physical products, exclusive coaching and seminars.
Agora might even be pulling in $1m a day by now, I don’t have recent figures.
Agora might be making more money than Facebook
Paid content certainly isn’t a dying business model