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About the project
Forbes Ukraine — a publication that shapes business relations in Ukraine. The media outlet features entrepreneurs, opinion leaders, investors, academics and artists who are influencing the country’s development.
The challenge
Forbes was looking for new automated ways to engage with its audience to sell print magazines and online subscriptions, which attract, retain and build trust between the user and the media.
The solution
Paywall is a product that works with a media platform as a unified system. It is a full-scale marketing tool with built-in payment flows, renewals, updates, recommendations, analytics, and CRM.
Sales automation
Manual sales processes take up the team’s time, create a risk of data errors and make it difficult to scale
the product. Every change to a pricing plan, renewal or data update required a separate operational action.
Paywall automates the user journey from registration to subscription management. The platform stores
and updates user data, uses it for subsequent transactions and ensures seamless access
to repeat purchases.
After a subscription is activated, Paywall automatically tracks its status. When the subscription expires, the system initiates auto-renewal and ensures uninterrupted access to content. If a payment fails,
the user receives a notification to update the payment method or retry the transaction. This reduces lost subscriptions and removes the need for manual intervention.
Managing tariff changes
When tariffs are updated, the system automatically switches customers to the new plans. The user receives a notification of the changes, reviews
the new terms and conditions, and confirms the switch to the current tariff.
Plan management
The editorial team has been given full control over
the products and can create and configure any plans independently, without involving developers. Within
the system, you can configure the plan name, the level of access to one or more resources, the price, the billing period, as well as any trial or promotional periods.
Readers can change their subscription plan in just a few clicks — for example, by switching from a monthly plan to an annual one. This allows them to tailor their subscription to their usage patterns: choosing the best value option or saving money with long-term plans.
Promo codes
The Forbes team has been given a flexible tool
for launching promotional campaigns. The editorial team can create promo codes with any conditions: a discount on the first month, a free subscription, a promotion ahead of the launch of a special project, or a partner offer.
The codes are easy to distribute via promotional materials, email newsletters or social media.
For readers, this is a simple way to get great deals, whilst for editors it offers the chance to increase
the number of new subscriptions, re-engage inactive subscribers and test various marketing hypotheses.
Scenario setup
This tool helps you engage with readers in a personalised way, taking into account their actions and interests. The system responds to user behaviour and displays exactly the right offer at the right moment.
How does the system ‘understand’ the reader?
Users are automatically grouped according to their behaviour, subscription status, section views or survey results. You can also work with specific audiences based on their interests, professional field or device type. Based on this data, you can create scenarios of any complexity.
For example, allow the reader to access 2–3 free articles, after which a personalised subscription offer is displayed. For frequent visitors to the ‘Leadership’ section
who are not subscribers, automatically display a tailored subscription plan. And for readers who have specified
the IT sector, send notifications when new articles
are published in that section.
The value lies in the fact that the editorial team sets up
the logic once, and the system then works independently with each segment: it analyses behaviour, activates
the necessary triggers and suggests a relevant action
at the moment when it is most effective.
Email marketing
The module ensures ongoing and personalised communication with readers. The editorial team sets up welcome emails, subscription expiry reminders, informational messages or updates on pricing plans —
and the system automatically sends them to the relevant users.
As well as newsletter updates, the editorial team can create regular mailings: weekly round-ups, compilations organised by topic, section or professional field. This helps to stay in touch with the audience even when they are not visiting the website.
Print magazine integration
A key feature of the Forbes Paywall platform is combining digital subscriptions with print magazine sales. The system tracks:
subscription status
active and past orders
products
gift vouchers
transactions
email history
personal details and changes to plans
Paywall became the central sales hub of the media ecosystem. In the reader’s personal account, users
can access order history, completed transactions, plan changes, delivery details, and certificate instructions.
Accounting system integration
Paywall automatically transfers all orders, payments and subscription renewals to the accounts. Editorial teams no longer need to manually transfer data from
the website to the accounts — every transaction appears there the moment it is processed.
As a result, the time spent on operational tasks is significantly reduced, and financial reports
are always up to date.
Analytics
Data on the number of subscribers is collected automatically. Editors can view full details for each:
purchases of print and digital editions
flexible rules for the delivery of subscription items
issuing gift vouchers
Result
The subscription system evolved from a static
landing page into a full-scale marketing platform
that automates processes, retains audiences,
increases sales, and reduces operational costs.
Paywall became a growth tool for the online publication and part of the user experience, strengthening loyalty through the value of content.
