“A sophisticated micro-payments service” will launch this autumn, Robert Thomson, editor-in-chief of Dow Jones and managing editor of the Journal, told the Financial Times.

While the best deal for Wall Street Journal subscriptions remain the offers that promote either bundled subscriptions to the online and print versions, or discount deals pushed through the web (vs offers marketed on wsj.com directly), the WSJ is going after audiences in different cities where it may not be the "home town paper".

Mr Thomson said the Journal saw an opportunity in its US metropolitan rivals’ weakness, adding: “We’re going to move in on each of the big cities.”

It has begun marketing campaigns in cities such as Detroit and San Francisco, where local publications are struggling. . .

Right now, if you're searching the web and come across a WSJ article online, chances are that you won't get free access to the full text of the article. You'll either get a snippet or an offer to start a full subscription immediately to get full access to the story and more. That's a lot, even at the $9/month rate which is flexible for those that want to try it short term instead of locking in a 80+% discount for 1 year at $119.

But if you're looking for just one WSJ article, $9 is still a lot. So Dow Jones is thinking that micropayments for a la carte content might do the trick.

You will be able to gain access to wsj.com online for as little as $1.00. Nice, huh?

What do you think about this? Would you pay a quarter for an article via PayPal? What about $1 for a Wall Street Journal article? Where is the line after which you think it's just not worth it and you'll go search for the same story somewhere else?

Labels: micropayment, wall street journal deals

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2009.

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