Sustaining a content site can be a challenge especially if you’re doing it full time. Ad revenue might not be sufficient and the next best option is to charge subscriptions for selected content, which is a model that’s adopted by a number of mainstream news websites. Now content creators on WordPress or Jetpack-powered websites are able to charge subscriptions easily with its new Recurring Payments feature. It is available now and it is supported in 135 countries.
The Recurring Payments is introduced as a monetisation tool for content creators and it can be used to charge for newsletters, monthly donations or sell access to exclusive content through a simplified payment system. It is available to bloggers or creators on any paid WordPress.com plan which starts from USD 49 per year for the personal option.
Although the login uses WordPress.com, the payment is handled by Stripe. You can get started by going to the Earn section of WordPress and a Stripe account is needed in order to receive payments.
Depending on which WordPress or Jetpack plan you’re on, WordPress will get a cut between 0-8%. On top of that, there are additional transaction fees for Stripe where they will charge 2.9% + USD0.30 per transaction.
Overall, it is a hassle-free way for content creators to get monetary support from its readers. The only complaint is the high transaction fees above 10% if you’re on the entry-level WordPress or Jetpack plan. On top of that, it currently accepts credit and debit cards only. If you’re interested, you can check out this guide on WordPress.com.
Another alternative for content creators is to go on Patreon which charges a lower 5% fee on monthly income for the basic plan. Would you pay for website content subscription? Let us know in the comments below.
