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How to use Subbly as a paywall?

Jun Hyeok Yang Updated by Jun Hyeok Yang

This article explains how to use Subbly as a paywall, allowing you to create exclusive pages on your website that are only accessible to subscribers. With Subbly, you can offer exclusive content, digital downloads, or discounted products to your subscribers.


Getting started

Using Subbly as a paywall is an excellent way to generate recurring revenue while offering exclusive content or discounted products to your customers. By following these steps, you can create a successful subscription-based business and offer your customers an exceptional experience.


What's the first step?

The first step in using Subbly as a paywall is to set up a membership product.

When creating your membership plan, set the name, price, and billing frequency. Customers that subscribe to this product will have access to the protected pages.

It is important to take into consideration that membership products are always in an ad-hoc billing setup. And we need to use the automation feature to create a custom cut-off logic for this product.

If you don't know how to create a membership product, refer to this article. Also, check this article to understand what an ad-hoc setup is.

How can I create custom cut-off logic for ad-hoc billing cycles?

Subbly allows you to create custom cut-off logic for ad-hoc billing cycles, giving you more control over when your subscribers are billed. Here's how you can set it up:

  1. Go to your Subbly account and navigate to the Automations tab.
  2. Click the Create an automation button.
  3. Choose the trigger "Subscription created".
  4. Choose the action as "Change renewal date".
  5. Choose how many days, weeks, or months you want to push back before the renewal occurs.
  6. Choose the day of the week or day of the month on which the renewal should occur.
  7. Set the conditions for the automation to trigger. You must specify that the custom cut-off logic applies only to a certain product (key) + equals to (operator) + choose your product (value). Click Save.

By setting up custom cut-off logic, you can ensure that your subscribers are billed at a time that works best for you.

If you set up the renewal for the 2nd of each month, it means that you need to change the password on the night of the 1st of each month. Don't forget to update the automated email in the last section!

How to create a password-protected page?

To use Subbly as a paywall you need to create a password-protected page in your website builder. This page will only be accessible to customers that subscribe to your membership product, allowing them to access exclusive content or hidden shop pages with discounted prices. To create a password-protected page, follow these steps:

  1. Access your website builder and create a new page.
  2. The fourth option gives you the chance to set a password on a specific page, click the lock icon named Set Password. Enter the password in the Set Password field.
  3. Add your exclusive content or shop page to the password-protected page.
You should change the password every month and send it to your subscribers via email. This way, only active subscribers will have access to the password-protected page. If you don't change the password constantly, canceled subscribers may have access to the content.

This is what your customers will see whenever they try to open a password-protected page.


How can I share the password with my subscribers?

Good question! We got you covered.

Once you have set up a password-protected page on your website, you need to share the password with your subscribers. Subbly offers an automation feature that can help streamline this process. Here's how you can set it up:

  1. Go to your Subbly account and navigate to the Automations tab.
  2. Click the Create an automation button.
  3. Choose the trigger "Subscription created" or "Renewal success".
  4. Choose the action as "Send SMS" or "Send Email".
  5. Set the delay for when you want the message to be sent (e.g., immediately or a certain number of days after the subscription is created).
  6. Write the message you want to send to your subscribers, you can add the password here. You can even use tags to personalize the message.
  7. Set the conditions for the automation to trigger. You need to specify that the message is only sent when a certain product (key) + equals to (operator) + choose your product (value - membership plan). Click Save.
For a visual reference, you can rely on this article.
If you want to share the password every time your customers get renewed, create two automations, one with the Subscription created trigger, and one with the Renewal Success trigger. Don't forget to update the email on the night before the renewal happens!

If you have any more questions about setting this up, feel free to reach out to our customer support chat to get further assistance!

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