The monetization crisis: Why traditional models are failing

The traditional media monetization playbook—advertising fueled by third-party data, standard paywalls, and simple affiliate marketing—is no longer sustainable. Privacy is now at the forefront, audience habits are rapidly shifting, and Big Tech is deprioritizing news.

Why traditional publishing monetization is taking a hit

Audience fragmentation

As readers access content across numerous platforms (social media, search engines, podcasts, newsletters, etc.), it becomes increasingly difficult for publishers to retain a centralized audience on their websites or platforms. This fragmentation impacts the effectiveness of traditional monetization strategies, including subscription and advertising models and even affiliate revenue.

Declining advertising revenue

The traditional advertising model faces significant challenges due to the growing use of ad blockers, reduced trust in ads, and the phasing out of third-party cookies. Ad fatigue is another challenge, making it harder to monetize through traditional display ads or banner advertising.

Evolving consumer preferences (and subscription fatigue)

With an increasing number of services offering paid subscriptions, consumers are showing reluctance to pay for multiple news or media outlets. Many are choosing only a few subscriptions, which limits the market for publishers who rely heavily on subscriptions for revenue. Consumers are also seeking more flexible and personalized content experiences, often preferring on-demand access to content rather than committing to long-term subscriptions. They want to consume content at their own pace and pay only for what they value.

The solution: Audience-centric, flexible, and privacy-friendly monetization models

Media commerce: Leveraging content-driven eCommerce

Media commerce is emerging as a powerful monetization strategy. Publishers integrate eCommerce, affiliate marketing, and branded content within their editorial ecosystems. Unlike traditional eCommerce, where products are the primary focus, media commerce seamlessly integrates product recommendations, affiliate marketing, direct sales, and branded content into editorial experiences. This model enables publishers to monetize their audience’s intent and engagement while maintaining a high-value user experience.

Wirecutter (by The New York Times) is one of the best examples of a media house doing media commerce. Wirecutter generates revenue through in-depth product reviews and affiliate commissions.
BuzzFeed uses native commerce and branded content to create shoppable articles and videos.
Vox Media’s properties (like The Verge) have dedicated review tabs reviewing everything from physical products to digital products and subscriptions.

With WordPress, you can create seamless, content-driven commerce experiences that feel natural to your audience rather than interruptive. Whether you’re integrating product recommendations, affiliate marketing, or direct sales, WordPress offers the flexibility to embed commerce within your editorial flow.

Product recommendations: Use AI-driven plugins or custom taxonomies to suggest relevant products based on article context and user behavior, ensuring a personalized shopping experience.
Review hubs: Build dedicated sections that showcase in-depth reviews, comparisons, and buying guides—enhanced with rich media, interactive elements, and affiliate integrations.
Shoppable editorial content: Turn your articles, videos, and newsletters into conversion-friendly experiences with embedded product links, exclusive deals, and seamless checkout options via WooCommerce or third-party integrations.

With WordPress, you maintain full control over your content and monetization strategy, ensuring that commerce complements—not disrupts—your audience’s experience. Whether you’re a niche publisher or a large media brand, WordPress makes it easy to create trust-driven, high-value commerce experiences at scale.

B2B & corporate content monetization

Beyond consumer revenue, media publishers are increasingly tapping into B2B and enterprise markets, unlocking new monetization opportunities. WordPress’s enterprise-ready capabilities, including Multisite, headless CMS setups, and REST API-driven content delivery, make this expansion seamless.

Expanding into white-label publishing

Some media brands are licensing their content to corporate clients. WordPress Multisite makes it easy to manage multiple branded microsites for sponsors and partners while maintaining editorial control.

Monetizing proprietary data

Publishers with valuable industry insights can generate revenue by selling access to research reports, data dashboards, and proprietary databases, providing valuable insights to businesses. WordPress can facilitate this by integrating with data visualization tools and membership platforms to manage premium content sales. Note, however, that the data visualization itself typically happens outside of WordPress.

Enterprise-level subscriptions

Instead of targeting individual readers, some publishers are shifting to corporate-level licensing, offering in-depth market intelligence and research. With WordPress, they can implement role-based access, team licenses, and API-based content syndication for B2B clients.

In the cookie-less ~~future~~ present, media publications are needing to find ways to serve targeted ads without violating user privacy.

First-party data

Instead of relying on third-party cookies, publishers are increasingly focusing on collecting first-party data—information gathered directly from their audience (like user signups, subscription forms, and browsing history on the site). This data is rich, permission-based, and incredibly valuable for advertisers.

Media publications are leveraging this data to create custom audience segments. By analyzing what users are reading, engaging with, or subscribing to, they can serve more relevant, personalized ads without the need for third-party tracking

With WordPress, collecting such first-party data is streamlined through integrated tools (Mailchimp for WordPress, for example) enabling publishers to gather valuable subscriber data. This can be further improved with opt-in form customizations that allow for gathering even more inputs from the user.

Contextual advertising

With cookies out of the picture, publishers are turning back to contextual advertising, where ads are shown based on the content of the page, rather than the individual user’s behavior.

Contextual ads can offer high relevance and personalization while respecting user privacy, making them an effective solution for cookie-less advertising.

WordPress makes it easy to implement contextual ads. Through its integrations with third-party privacy-friendly ad networks and plugins, WordPress makes it possible to display ads based on the page content, categories, tags, or specific content types, ensuring relevant ads are served without the need for cookie-based tracking.

Server-side targeting with advanced analytics

Some publications are also turning to server-side ad targeting and enhanced analytics tools to gather data in a way that does not rely on client-side cookies.

This approach allows advertisers to track aggregated user behavior (not individual users) and target ads based on larger groups of people with similar interests or demographic information.

WordPress supports a wide range of analytics integrations, such as Google Analytics, Parse.ly, and Matomo, which allow publishers to gather insights into user behavior and serve ads based on aggregated data.

Newsletters have become more than an audience engagement tool—they are now key revenue streams. Go to just any media publication and you’ll see they have multiple newsletters, each catering to a prominent monetizable audience they reach out to.

Paid subscriptions

The most straightforward way to monetize newsletters is through paid subscriptions. Premium content behind a paywall has long been the gold standard for publishers, and newsletters are no exception.

With paid subscriptions, your readers directly fund the content they value most, creating a sustainable revenue model. This model works particularly well when you have a loyal audience who values your expertise or unique perspective. You can see this model in action with opinionated publications like Bloomberg and The Information or niche outlets that provide specialized knowledge.

When it comes to setting up paid subscriptions, WordPress gives you a head start through its integrations with plugins like MemberPress and WooCommerce Subscriptions. These WordPress-first subscription solutions make it simple to implement a subscription-based model, manage recurring payments, and restrict access to premium content. With WordPress, you can also easily set up member-only areas of your website, ensuring subscribers get exclusive content as part of their membership.

Ad-based monetization

Displaying ads in newsletters remains one of the simplest ways to generate revenue. This can include traditional banner ads, sponsored content, or native advertisements. As the newsletter grows in subscribers, the potential for ad sales increases, making this a scalable revenue model. Again, with WordPress you get ad insertion solutions for newsletters which can give you a quickstart with this kind of monetization.

Affiliate marketing

Including affiliate links within your newsletter provides another avenue for generating revenue. Here, you partner with relevant brands and services, earning commissions on any purchases made via the links shared in your newsletters. This works well when the content is closely aligned with the products or services being marketed.

WordPress makes it incredibly easy to integrate affiliate marketing into newsletters through its affiliate marketing solutions (plugins!).

Whether you’re promoting physical products, digital services, or affiliate programs, WordPress gives you the tools to link to relevant offerings and track performance metrics. This enables you to continually refine your strategy and maximize commission earnings from affiliate partnerships.

Creating a truly hybrid monetization model

Traditional, one-size-fits-all subscription models are no longer enough. Audiences now expect flexibility in how they access and pay for content. Publishers are responding by combining multiple monetization strategies—micropayments, pay-per-article options, tiered subscriptions, memberships, donations, and soft paywalls—to cater to different reader behaviors while ensuring financial sustainability.

Building a successful hybrid model means integrating various revenue streams strategically:

Micropayments

Micropayments let users pay a small fee to unlock individual articles or content pieces, offering a low-commitment option for casual readers. This model is particularly effective for one-time visitors or those hesitant to subscribe but willing to pay for specific content.

Traditional subscriptions

A fixed monthly or annual fee for unlimited content access remains a staple for engaged readers. This model works well when content has strong ongoing value and a loyal audience base.

Tiered subscriptions

Offering multiple pricing levels gives readers the flexibility to choose an access level that suits them:

Basic (free): Limited access, often supported by ads.
Premium: Ad-free experience, exclusive content, early releases.
VIP: Bonus content, behind-the-scenes insights, live Q&As, or community perks.

Freemium model

A freemium model keeps general content free while reserving premium, in-depth, or investigative pieces for paying users. This approach helps attract a broad audience while nudging engaged readers toward subscriptions.

Membership models

Memberships go beyond paywalls by offering readers a sense of belonging. Rather than just purchasing access, members receive perks such as:

Exclusive content (behind-the-scenes reports, expert Q&As).
Invitations to private forums, webinars, or live discussions.
Merchandise, early content access, or personalized experiences.

Membership models work best when paired with strong community engagement, requiring seamless recurring payments and access management.

Donation models

Some publishers, instead of enforcing strict paywalls, sustain their content through voluntary contributions. This model thrives when there is strong reader loyalty and mission-driven reporting. Key approaches include:

One-time or recurring donation options.
Transparent messaging on how contributions support content.
Perks for donors, such as ad-free experiences or exclusive content.

Soft paywalls

Soft paywalls allow readers to access a limited number of articles before requiring payment, striking a balance between reach and revenue. Common soft paywall models include:

Metered paywalls: A set number of free articles per month before requiring a subscription.
Time-based paywalls: Content is free for a limited time after publication before moving behind a paywall.
Category-based restrictions: Premium content types (e.g., investigative journalism, video reports) require payment, while general articles remain free.

When it comes to implementing an all-in-one solution for subscriptions, memberships, and donations, WordPress can be a powerful platform, offering dedicated solutions for each model.

With plugins like MemberPress or WooCommerce Subscriptions, WordPress enables you to manage subscription-based models with ease. WooCommerce can also help you set up micropayments-based content access.

Similarly, WordPress offers robust membership solutions to power your communities.

For media outlets that rely on donations, WordPress brings solutions like Charitable that allow you to create donation forms and manage crowdfunding campaigns, while also integrating seamlessly with subscription and membership models to enhance your fundraising efforts.

Key takeaways

Publishers must diversify to sustain and stay profitable:

Flexible and hybrid payment models will drive the revenue →Micropayments, traditional subscriptions, memberships, donations, and more.
Media commerce is rising → Shoppable, personalized content experiences.
Privacy-first advertising will dominate → Contextual & first-party data-driven ads.

In all, when it comes to monetization, digital publishing solutions will need to take an audience-first approach.