Premium Content is all the rage.

News media websites do it.

Influencer blogs do it.

Authority blogs do it.

Websites for magazines that publish print editions do it.

You’ve seen it before – you open a link to a tantalizing blog post, see the first paragraph or so, then are prompted to click a button in order to see the full article.

You can do it, too.

Set up a Premium Content area on your website that your subscribers can access once they pay.

It’s a simple way to add another stream of income that can get you paid for some of what you’re already doing for free – why not?

Technologically, setting up Premium Content simple.

Many membership applications that work with WordPress make it easy to implement – I know Wishlist Member does it.

When posting the article, turn protection “on” and then put in a shortcode after the first paragraph.

Link the article to a member level and attach a subscription option to it.

Public viewers will see a prompt to subscribe in order to read your Premium Content.

Voila!

A few tactics can make Premium Content a much more effective strategy for you.

First, don’t lock down ALL your content.

Entice your readers by letting them see your really good “premium” stuff.

Then, put the paywall in on your “authority” content – maybe 10-20% of the articles if you’re attracting a mass audience, or 40% if you’re attracting a more niche audience – in both cases, lock down the Premium Content that is more detailed and specific.

Second, your headline and that first paragraph on your Premium Content articles are critical.

This is your chance to get them so excited that what they’re about to see will solve a major problem, or bring about a major breakthrough, they’ll feel a sense of missing out if they don’t pay for a subscription.

Third, leverage your e-mail and social media accordingly.

Premium Content is what you’ll work hardest to promote.

These are the posts you’ll promote repeatedly on your social media and send broadcast e-mails to your opted-in subscribers about.

Price your Premium Content so subscribers stay longer than you (or they) expect.

The pricing should be very low – something between $7 and $14 per month.

Your goal is to make it such a no-brainer that your reader will feel it’s worth more than that just to read that one article.

Funny thing – they will tend to stick around for more Premium Content, and because it’s such a low price point, they may take longer to cancel even though they signed up for just that one article originally.

You’ll do your best to keep your Premium Content subscribers coming back for more, but remember the whole thing about the horse and the drinking water – your subscribers are intelligent adults.

Pay some bills with Premium Content now, then bring in big-ticket clients.

Let’s say you get 20 subscribers at $7/month.

That’s an extra $140 that would certainly pay at least a couple bills, or buy the coffee you drink while you write the content!

Multiply exponentially, and this could be a decent stream of income for something that, up until now, you may be doing too much of already – letting your brain get picked for free.

Now, here’s the magic.

By charging for Premium Content, you’ve created the mindframe that you are an authority worth investing in, rather than a cheap commodity.

So when you show your high-ticket offers, your prospects will already be in the pattern of paying you in exchange for your top value and will be more likely to step up.

It may seem uneven, but that’s how reciprocity works.

Four questions to ask yourself right now that will drive your Premium Content strategy.

What questions do brain-pickers ask you all the time, for which you have the best, most valuable answer?

What are you deleting when you draft your current content because you realize in the editing process it’s just a little too much to give away?

What snippets of your courses are just so good, that if they weren’t the best-kept secrets prospects can only get for $500, would be worth a couple bucks and could leave them yearning for the full meal?

What long, valuable replies are you posting in discussion groups that have people saying “wow, thanks!” but not “how can I hire you”?

Again, let the stuff you’re already doing drive your Premium Content Strategy.

Essentially, it’s an introductory form of coaching that creates a frame for masterminding.

(Also… could your Premium Content go into your books that you sell to your prospects?)