Talking about the controversial subscription model for his currently free-to-view online empire he brushes off any criticism he has received (mainly on the How-Do comment board) and tells us that "it's time more publishers put their balls on the table and took a chance."

He has, he says, and it's already paying off.

A stupid move? 

Garner revealed his plans to launch a paid for subs model on How-Do last month, potentially throwing into jeopardy an online brand that he and his team have spent years building and that, according to his latest figures, attracted some 320,000 readers in October.

"I've had people telling me that it was the end of Manchester Confidential," he admitted, "that it was a stupid move.

Garner: still laughing

"In a way I've felt like a kid getting ready to throw a birthday party and crapping myself that no one's going to come.

"But you know what, I opened the doors yesterday, the guests started turning up... and I've never felt better."

As you may be able to garner from Garner's analogy the first stage of the subs model rolled out yesterday with the launch of the Confidential Heroes.

If the new Man Con is being marketed as a member's only club, then the Heroes is the VIP lounge.

The lowdown

For a monthly sum of £10 (and an additional £1.20 booking fee), £30 a quarter (no fee) or £100 a year (all in) Man Con Heroes get full access to the site and a host of exclusive benefits. These include prior notice on exclusive dining and retail deals, VIP guest list access for a host of events, at least 50% off ticket prices for Confidential events and free access to the Confidential Food and Drink Awards, which normally comes in at £80 per head.

Heroes membership is being limited to 1,000 subscribers - yes, that means £100,000 of extra income - which, we can feel the fingers hovering over keyboards now, Garner feels is going to be more than easily attainable... within the next week.

"We've already have 300 people signing up in the first 24 hours," he claimed. "That's exceeded our expectations, it's gob-smacking. We think we'll have the rest of the Heroes on board within the next week."

Worth the money?

"We were expecting maybe 80% to sign up on a monthly basis, but that hasn't happened.

"Out of that initial 300 we have about 36% on the yearly plan, 42% quarterly and only 22% monthly," he noted, implying that that showed the degree of faith his followers now have in the established brand.

Fluff free future

How-Do readers of quicksilver cranial capability will take note that there's a slight disparity here between the 320,000 claimed readers from last month and the audience of a mere 1,000 that Garner is currently attempting to woo. Is he basically binning everyone else?

"I said last time that a great deal of any readership figure is fluff, and I stand by that.

"We've never courted Google, never engaged in any SEO, so I think our readership figures are more robust than say the MEN's online stats, or The Daily Mail with their countless millions of readers - ours generally don't find us by accident - but there's still fluff.

"What we hope to concentrate on is perhaps 50,000 to 80,000 key transactors - people that gain value from our site and our deals, and people that our advertisers want to engage with.

"We're not frightened by losing the fluff."

The 50,000 to 80,000 will be mostly guests, with limited access to content, an undisclosed target figure of 'Confidential Friends' will have full access (for which they will be expected to pay "£60 a year or thereabouts") and the top table Heroes will have their various VIP perks.

"The Friends will be popular," said Garner, of the secondary subs offer he will launch next week.

"It works out at a bit over £1 a week, from which the average user can save £15 a week on our deals. Who can say no to that?"

No doubt a lot of people will, as Man Con is trailblazing a path through dangerous and uncharted territory with its move over to a paid model.

Garner is supremely confident that his readers, the non-fluffy ones at any rate, will be lured in by "content that they can't get anywhere else, deals they can't get anywhere else" but only time will tell.

It is a bold, risky and potentially lucrative adventure for the Man Con team and one that a lot of people will surely be watching with great interest... but only if they're prepared to cough up for the privilege of doing so.

www.manchesterconfidential.com

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Comments (32)

4  By Mark Garner , on 13-11-2009 16:20 Just to be clear, there will be 2000 Heroes by launch of new site, and approximately 10,000 friends, who will be paying half the heroes subs. Then there will still be the 'free to air' stories so we will have thirty to forty thousand further weekly readers whom we will constantly be pitching into membership. The core readership should therefore be no less than 40,000, more likey 70,000 and those will be a highly engaged C1's on the way up audience of great value to our advertisers who spend many tens of thousands of pounds each month. I believe this is the niche model and I have put my money where my mouth is. Freemium, we have never engaged in SEO, full stop. We don't tell fairy stories. On the other hand I don't block their spiders. But it is fair to say that my readers have come to me in the main from one form of advertising that is probably the most effective; word of mouth. Says something bout my editorial and commercial team that. Report

5  By Mark Garner , on 13-11-2009 16:30 Cynical, BTW, High Life cards are known as Low Life cards in the F&B industry. If you think that Mancon is just about a few vouchers at cheap resaurants, can I mention this last one month Strictly Confidential deal? Ramsons, restaurant of the year, straight 50% off AT ANY TIME. Kitchen, exclusive menu, at any time, Obsidien, exclusive menu at any time, The Lowry Hotel exclusive menu at any time...three red carpet do's money can't buy... sorry i could go on. Don't compare High Life, a perfect place to sell slippers and coffins, with the Mancon readership. Oh, and four of the best food and drink writers in the North West and notoriously honest food reviews and winners of the best brand awards against Granada and the MEN and Media Entrepreneur of the year. Golly, i think we may actually be doing something right. Oh, 96,000 emails going out each and every day. Blimey. Report

11  By Mark Garner , on 14-11-2009 19:33 Judge, email me if you want to come down to the Mancon offices and inspect, on behalf of the How Do conspiracy theorists, our review files. You can then comment on something you know something about.    Brian, we have emailed 12,000 of the people who have transacted with us in the last twelve months; we have a further 51,000 to go. No phone calls were made, the top transactors obviously get first bite of the cherry. Now, again, if you wish to audit this on behalf of your fellow doubting Thomases, email me and I will allow you to inspect our system in the Mancon offices.     Sharon, now you I would like to meet simply because you have thought it through and you ain't far off the answer! Report

16  By Mark Garner , on 16-11-2009 08:51 Well Brian, I have had to walk on water through the recession, so I feel like I am at the moment. However, the 300 is on the first pass of the 12,000, which means that over time we would harvest a multiple of seven of that figure. You need to factor in open rates. I am retiring from this chat for a while now, we have a lot of work to do. Report

19  By Paul Fabretti , on 16-11-2009 11:50 Folks, let's put this in perspective. Had initial figures not been so encouraging, you would have all criticised Mark's approach.    That said, there is nothing innovative about the approach - just a lot of "balls" and utter faith that the content in the site is so compelling that even with an inevitable drop-off in traffic and therefore subscribers (as awareness grows of the subscription model grows), people will continue to pay for what they perceive to be something of value.    I'm all for the approach, especially if it does in fact deliver the additional value that paid-for content alludes to. Report

20  By James Crawford , on 20-11-2009 09:42 Say it like it is Mark. Good on you. Report