Apparently, people are unwilling to pay a recurring fee for something they can get for free. Realizing this, the New York Times has finally ended their pay service — TimeSelect. They cite the growth of online advertisement as the deciding factor.

Instead of being mired by the idea that you can grow a web business behind a subscription wall, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Every page hidden behind a subscription is one less page that can have traffic driven to it by search engines.
2. By forcing a subscription to view content, you eliminate the possibility of traffic from social news sites.
3. Online advertisement revenue will almost certainly exceed the revenue driven by subscriptions. This revenue can also be generated without the overhead of account management staff.

Companies like 37Signals prove that subscriptions can work, but they are exceptions to the rule. For content driven companies, you just can’t afford to raise the barriers for viewership.

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