The New York Times (NYT) had surveyed its most valuable readers as to the proper pay scale and received favorable responses before reaching a decision to charge online readers through a pay-wall. Some newspapers said that getting just 5 to 10 percent of their readers to pay would constitute a viable increase to working budgets.

Among loyal readers that have expressed support for the New York Times paywall are college and university educators. To quantify two main categories, there are some 300,000 full professors and associate professors in the US, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. One in 10 new subscriptions from these educators would represent an additional $15 million in annual revenue.  This could pay for what the NYT invested in the program in less than three years.  There is revenue growth potential if this segment is targeted through specific strategies.

Respondents overwhelmingly expressed a need to be able to access the latest objective, in depth, fact-checked reporting and analysis on a variety of subjects. Those who reside elsewhere even expressed a duty to support the metered paywall due to the elevated  status of New York City in the global community. 

Educators in the university journalism arena are prime targets for the new system because many agree with the transition from free digital content to a fee-based service and with a paywall as a good business model.  “My first reaction is that it's about time," said Edward Wasserman, the Knight Professor of Journalism Ethics at Washington and Lee University. http://bit.ly/gcmMTm

But membership should include privileges. Capturing these loyal consumers would mean including co-sponsored networking events, special access to editors and web based editorial pages.  Bring democracy to a pay-wall by having educators pass what they learn onto the student body.

You do the math.  Such a model could be used for professionals in many industries and offer great opportunities for boosting the bottom line.