When most of us started working on websites, everyone expected that their content would always be free just like everything else on the Internet is free. But a lot has changed on the Internet and people have proven willing to pay for content. I think you'll always need to provide a lot of your information for free, but this willingness to pay for restricted content opens the door to new ways for sports websites to generate revenue.

How much are recaps worth?

I can still clearly remember the day I realized there had to be a better way. Friday, March 5, 2010, started just like any other day in my life at that time as a Wofford College SID. It was crossover season, so our staff was spread out all over South Carolina. As the low man on staff, I drew the responsibility of covering the Wofford vs. Gardner-Webb baseball game. I took on the challenge of keeping the official scorebook and running the scoreboard, live stats and video streaming. To say I was overmatched would be putting it lightly.

Things actually went fairly well until Gardner-Webb tied the game in the top of the seventh. Eight-and-a-half innings later, everyone got to go home and my second work day started. I finally got this recap posted at 11:22 p.m., sent my stats off to my opponent and the conference, and walked out the door around midnight to get some sleep. 

Two things happened when I walked out the door. First, as I started my car, I noticed that the parking lot was locked. After a phone call and thirty minutes of waiting for campus security, I was on my way home. Second, I started to reconsider my career.

I'm here to tell you that there are better ways to spend your time. Game notes and recaps aren't compelling reads. In fact, we've found that a smaller and smaller percentage of your fans even view them.

Shift towards unique content

But you still have the power with to drive traffic to your site with different types of stories.

I know that writing recaps and game notes is still part of your job. But you can still rethink how much time to devote to them and give more time to different types of content for your site.

You have better access to and knowledge of your athletes than anyone else. It's the biggest thing I miss about working on a campus. I miss knowing all the back stories on the players and teams.

Take advantage of that. Fans want that insider access to their favorite program. Start thinking of ways to tell your athletes' story outside of the traditional means.

A new revenue stream

I understand you have a ton of stuff on your plate each day, so I am suggesting that you look over the type of content you produce and re-think how much time you put into each type.

This could be a revenue stream for your school. If you read ESPN.com, you're probably familiar with ESPN Insider. Hiding exclusive content beind a paywall is a growing website trend and something we expect will become more and more prevalent.

We think this is an opportunity many of you could take advantage of. SportsNH.com and D3football.com are two of our clients using this feature to sell subscriptions to special content only available to fans who pay a membership fee.

D3football.com uses it to restrict content related to their exclusive Division III football kickoff information.

SportsNH.com is currently using this feature to restrict content past the home page, which can only be viewed by SportsNH members.

By charging each fan a fee to view this special content, both sites are able to bring in additional revenue.

How to get going

Want to get started? Complete the paid form enrollment. In the notes field, please request a paywall setup. Our support team will receive your request and will be in contact with you once the secure area is set up on your site.