Case Study: Slate achieves 500% increase in subscriptions with Amplitude

How Slate Used Data to Effectively Launch a Paywall Model

Slate, the online magazine founded in 1996 that covers politics, culture, and current affairs, faced the challenge of introducing a metered paywall to diversify revenue without alienating loyal readers or losing traffic. The team needed reliable data on user eligibility, platform-specific traffic impact, conversion expectations, and content-level effects to make the launch viable.

Using Amplitude’s Cohorts and Engagement Matrix and its self-serve analytics across editorial, product, and business teams, Slate modeled paywall scenarios, identified which readers would hit the wall (notably loyal advice-column readers who drive low ad value), and optimized content and pricing decisions. The data-driven approach delivered a 500% increase in subscriptions within months, allowed Slate to safely lower the wall over time, and now supports retention, predictive churn modeling, and customized pricing efforts.

Slate

Mark Morgioni

Senior Director of Research and Data