The Sun – life after a paywall

August 24, 2016 Written by Fiona Gildea

Tags: Media News Readership The Sun

Since the paywall went down back in November, we’ve been keeping a beady eye on The Sun’s online content to think about what it means for our clients.

According to the National Readership Survey Padd figures out today, The Sun’s online audience has continued to benefit from the removal of its paywall. It reported a monthly readership of 13.5 million, up 5% year on year. We know The Sun is the most read daily paper, but it is up against the behemoth that is the MailOnline to hit the top digital circulation figures, and we are sure it’s looking to challenge the front runner for this top spot.

This is why their online content matters to us. Here’s what we’ve noticed since the paywall went down:

Real life and case studies matter

With a huge section dedicated to hearing from everyday people and real life stories, to grab readers’ attention we need to think about whether we have a case study story and pictures that will work online.

Facts, stats and information

The Sun still wants to give its readers information they need about their health and wellbeing – from an extended Dear Deidre, to sections focused on parenting, health, and food. Providing The Sun with tips, how-to’s, guidance, and experts to answer readers’ questions puts you in front of a key audience.

Pictures tell 1,000 words

In particular, in the travel section of The Sun’s website. We need to think about capturing an issue or idea in a visually engaging picture story, packaged and ready to go.

Video content

From healthy eating and workout videos, to celebrity interviews, we can see The Sun is trying to make the most of online video content, particularly as Facebook’s algorithm works in favour of videos. We need to keep this front of mind when working with celebrity ambassadors or expert spokespeople, to translate your knowledge and message into video content.

Having said all this…

Some things never change

The Sun is still The Sun. We know there is an art to pitching a story in the right way so it’s picked up in print and on screens.

We’ll be continuing to watch the online developments and keep our media eyes and ears peeled…