WSJ goes mobile using partners

Ricardo Bilton of Digiday writes about how The Wall Street Journal is using partnerships to increase its mobile traffic.

Bilton writes, “The challenge for the The Wall Street Journal, however, is figuring out how to work some of these new platforms into its paywall business. Compared to the likes of paywalled publishers such as The Financial Times and The New York Times, which added their content to Flipboard in 2012 and 2013, respectively, the The Wall Street Journal is joining the service somewhat late.

“Josh Quittner, head of publisher partnerships at Flipboard, said that WSJ wanted to make sure that Flipboard could fully support its paywall before it took the plunge. Users on Flipboard that don’t pay for Wall Street Journal content will have access to the same free articles as readers who go to WSJ.com directly.

“‘The Wall Street Journal is one of those premium publications that is very, very protective of its brand name, which is understandable,’ Quittner said.

“Working with Flipboard also gives The Wall Street Journal access to a new revenue stream via Flipboards magazine-like ads, which both Flipboard and the The Wall Street Journal can take the lead on selling.

“‘Finally getting The Wall Street Journal on board was a bit like getting The Beatles,’ Quittner said. ‘It’s a really big deal.'”

Read more here.