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Paywall survey template

Turn regular readers into subscribers, starting with what stops them

Four questions for readers who keep reaching the paywall: what stops them from subscribing, how they rate the price, what they would pay for and what would tip them today. Use it as it is or change any question, and Usertick reads every written answer for you.

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What this paywall survey tells you

A paywall survey asks the readers who come back often but haven't subscribed what holds them back. This template takes about a minute and a quarter: the reasons stopping them, a value rating for your price, a ranking of what they would pay for and an open question on what would make them subscribe today.

It is written for a popup on your site that opens for readers who have reached the paywall three times. From Starter, or on 1 survey on Free, your site fires a custom event such as Usertick.trigger("paywall_shown") each time the paywall appears, and the survey opens on the third call. Without the event, open it after a number of pages viewed, or share a link made from the same template in your free newsletter.

Every written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category from your list, such as subscriptions and paywall or content quality, with a type and a sentiment. Results shows the share of each reason, the average value score with a column per step and the average place of each benefit, so you know which offer to lead with.

On your websiteAs a linkIn an emailAs a conversation
Questions
4
Time to answer
About a minute
Written for
A popup for readers who reach the paywall for the third time
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

On your website

Show it as a popup, a side button or inside the page, and choose the pages and the moment it opens: on page load, after a delay, on scroll or as someone is about to leave, on every plan. Event and behavior triggers work on 1 survey on Free and on every survey from Starter.

The 4 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 4 · Multiple choice · Optional

What's stopping you from subscribing?

Why ask it
Readers who keep coming back already like the journalism, so the reason they haven't paid is specific: the price, one subscription too many, doubt there is enough for them, or a free allowance that already covers them.
What you learn
Bars with the share and count of each reason, since readers can pick several, with every typed Other answer listed beside the chart. Select The price to see how those readers rated the value and what they would pay for.
Make it yours
If you run a metered paywall, keep The free articles are enough: a large share there is a sign to look at how many free articles you allow.
Question 2 of 4 · Big scale

How would you rate the value for the price we ask?

Why ask it
The reasons say what blocks people. The value score says how far apart your price and their expectation are, from poor value to great value.
What you learn
The average on the 1 to 10 scale and a column per step, compared with the period before, so you see whether a new offer or price moved readers toward great value.
Make it yours
Read it beside the first question: readers who pick the price but rate the value highly are waiting for an offer, and those who rate it low need more reasons to pay.
Question 3 of 4 · Ranking · Optional

Rank what you'd be most willing to pay for

Why ask it
Ranking forces a choice among the benefits you could put in front of the paywall: in-depth reporting, a members-only newsletter, the archive, no ads or member events.
What you learn
Results shows the average place of each item, so the benefit most readers rank first is the one to put at the top of your subscribe page.
Make it yours
Replace the items with the benefits you offer or plan to, and keep it to five so ranking stays quick on a phone.
Question 4 of 4 · Text · Optional

What would make you subscribe today?

Why ask it
The last question asks for the one thing that would end the hesitation, in the reader's words: a trial, a student price, a family plan or a topic you don't cover yet.
What you learn
Usertick reads each answer as it arrives, gives it a category, a theme and a sentiment, and marks it as an idea, a question or a complaint, with up to 8 themes and their trends in Results.
Make it yours
Keep it optional, so readers who don't want to explain still send the first three answers.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

What's stopping you from subscribing?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

Every written answer, read for you

Each answer arrives with its category, theme, type and urgency, so the urgent ones reach your team first.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick Subscription barriers in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Count paywall hits with an event

    From Starter, or on 1 survey on Free, call Usertick.trigger with the same event name each time the paywall shows, and set the trigger to open on the third call.

  2. 02

    Leave subscribers out

    From Starter, pass each signed-in reader's plan with Usertick.identify and target readers who aren't subscribed, so paying readers never see the question.

  3. 03

    Ask each reader once

    Set the show frequency to Once, so a reader who closes the survey isn't asked again, or show it again after a number of days when you change your offer.

  4. 04

    Test the offer readers name

    When one request keeps coming up, such as a student price, try it and compare the value score with the period before.

Pricing page surveysReader surveysWebsite surveysSubscriptions and paywall questions

More pricing templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

Templates

Browse all templates
PricingPricing page feedbackFind out what keeps visitors on your pricing page from choosing a plan. Show it after 30 seconds on the pricing page, or when they're about to leave.
PricingEnd of trialSee who plans to subscribe when the trial ends, what's holding the rest back and how the price feels. Send it two days before the trial ends.
PricingQuote follow-upLearn how your quote compares with others and what would help the customer decide. Send it three to five days after the quote goes out.
PricingPrice perceptionSee how fair customers find your price, how they'd react to an increase and what would justify paying more. Send it to paying customers before any price change.

Questions from the library

Browse the question library
  1. What stops you from subscribing?Multiple choice · Subscriptions and paywall
  2. What monthly price feels fair?Slider · Subscriptions and paywall
  3. Rank what would make a subscription worth itRanking · Subscriptions and paywall
  4. What is the one thing we could improve?Text · Product
  5. Did the product work the way you expected?Yes / No · Product
  6. How would you rate the value you get for the price?Stars · Product

Frequently asked questions

After a reader has met the paywall a few times, when they know the publication well enough to judge the price. This template is written for the third time, counted with a custom event (from Starter, or on 1 survey on Free), or after a number of pages viewed on any plan.

No. From Starter, pass each signed-in reader's plan with Usertick.identify and target only readers who aren't subscribed. Subscribers are better asked with a reader survey or, when they leave, a cancellation survey.

Select The price in Results and read how those readers rated the value and what they ranked first. A high value score points to an introductory offer, and a low one to the benefits on your subscribe page.

Three or four. This template asks four, and only the value rating is required, so a reader can answer in about a minute and get back to the article.

Yes. On every plan, a workflow adds each answer to a Google Sheet or posts it to Slack, and from Starter the same workflow can send Klaviyo, Mailchimp or Segment an event or an update for the readers you identify.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

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