Case Study
January 20, 2022
4 min read
Sakal Media Group's Evolution: Pioneering Digital Subscriptions Through Small Payments with Fewcents
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The Challenge
Sakal Media Group, established in 1932 and the dominant media powerhouse in Maharashtra, witnessed a daunting 30% plummet in ad revenues during 2018-2019. As the primary Marathi newspaper with its digital presence, E-Sakal, garnering 14M monthly visits, it was imperative to innovate. The urgency to transition into a regional digital subscription leader was evident. But several pivotal questions loomed:
- What content would captivate their audience?
- Which content types are their readers willing to pay for?
- How would they price their subscriptions?
Despite their drive for reader revenue, Sakal grappled with the intricate balance between content, audience, and pricing. Their initial research suggested their readers weren't subscription-ready, prompting an exploration into small payments.
How Fewcents Helped
Sakal's initial foray into pay-per-content in early 2020 faced scalability challenges. Their quest for a more streamlined, media-focused microtransaction solution led them to Fewcents. Sakal's partnership with Fewcents in 2021 revolutionized their approach:
Integration for Premium Content
Sakal Plus, their premium segment, was the first to benefit from Fewcents
Comprehensive Control
Sakal gained authority over article, section, and geography-based pricing. They also managed digital rights effectively
First Party Analytics
First party data offered Sakal insights into consumer habits, refining their content strategy
Continuous Guidance
Fewcents' Customer Success team was instrumental, providing regular insights and best practices
What We Achieved Together
Robust Growth Metrics
Sakal experienced a twofold increase in their visitor to paid user ratio in just half a year. Their total paid unlocks doubled in this period, and logged-in users showcased a paid RMP that was a staggering 114x higher.
Strategic Insights
Sakal learned that small payments facilitated pinpointing audience-friendly content niches and price brackets. They could curate content tailored for specific audience segments, enhancing user satisfaction.
Consistent User Engagement
Notably, 17% of Sakal's users finalized more than 10 transactions with Fewcents, with 28% completing over 5 transactions. Impressively, one-fifth of these users engaged in paid transactions spanning four months.
Conclusion
Buoyed by their partnership's success, Sakal aspires to broaden Fewcents Wall to encompass video content and extend it to other platforms within the Sakal Media Group. Their journey with Fewcents has provided invaluable insights into optimizing content strategy, pricing, and audience engagement.
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