The Challenge
What Below The Crime Was Facing
Below The Crime was hitting a hard paywall too early — readers were being blocked after two articles with no compelling reason to subscribe. The subscription page lacked social proof, the pricing was presented without value context, and the sign-up form was the same generic flow used for free newsletter registration, creating no sense of occasion for becoming a paying member.
The Solution
What We Built
We redesigned the paywall as a conversion moment rather than a block. The trigger was moved to after the reader had demonstrated genuine engagement — three deep reads rather than two shallow ones. The subscription landing page was rebuilt with reader testimonials, an exclusive content preview, and a narrative around the investigative work being funded. Annual and monthly pricing was reframed around cost-per-story.
Results