Grow subscriptions by blocking incognito browser use

Strong Content, Strong Protection

The Heisenberg Report is a digital publication of real-time political and financial news. They pride themselves on content that is current, accurate, rich with information, and just snarky enough to be engaging.

All of which means that the  Heisenberg Report has much to protect with its paywall. 

And that is why they recently started using the Leaky Paywall - IP Blocker extension.

No More Incognito Browsing

The IP Blocker logs the IP address of your readers, not the browser they’re using. That means that when the meter expires, they can’t circumvent it by switching browsers or using incognito mode. They can either subscribe or wait the week for the meter to reset.

This is a particularly valuable tool for publishers of real-time content like the  Heisenberg Report. When the news is current and pressing, people are less likely to wait patiently for a fresh shot at the meter. Tightening the paywall and preventing people from tunneling under it leaves them only one option: a paid subscription.

Rapid Results

And  Heisenberg is happy to report that the method works. In the first two weeks of using the IP Blocker, they saw more than a hundred new paid subscriptions.

While the IP Blocker can’t take all the credit — they were some news-heavy weeks — it certainly played a significant role.