The Times Online and Sunday Times last week began charging for online content, and publishers around the world are eager to see if the UK newspapers' efforts are successful.

However, according to a new Forrester study, instead of asking how much they can make from the content, companies, should be focusing on "how that content can help create new revenue streams," analyst Nick Thomas wrote in his Forrester blog.

Image: Francesco Rachello

"The value in a media business lies in its dialogue with consumerism," Thomas wrote. "If a paywall removes 90% of your audience (as Sunday Times editor John Witherow has suggested -- and even that may be an underestimate), the challenge becomes even harder. Focusing on the sale of content is missing a trick: Media companies are not actually in the content business; they are in the audience business," he added.

The percentage of readers who will switch to the paywall model is not yet clear, but plenty of evidence shows that consumers spend money online on products and services. For example, online news fans tend to buy books, tickets, travel, or clothing online more than average online users.

Publishers need to really understand audience and figure out a way that "compelling content can build a strong relationship, creating new opportunities for monetization elsewhere."

"In this respect, passion-based products such as Times Plus (or Guardian Extra) that reward keen readers with additional content and offers represent a smarter long-term solution than a simple paywall that drives users into the welcoming arms of your (free) rivals," Thomas wrote. Currently, publishers have created bookshops, and Apple is using music to drive iPod sales. In the same vein, "smart non-media companies see content not as a revenue center but as an engagement and audience-building play. Follow the consumers, and the money will follow."

Another great example is cinema; besides all the products (introducing sound, then colour), the packaging (offering double bills), and the user experience (introducing air conditioning), theatre owners also found a brand new revenue stream that ultimately saved their business - popcorn.

"We think of the movies as a content-based business, but cinemas then as now make their profit from popcorn (which has an operating margin in excess of 90%). It also drives additional revenue streams by making you thirsty. And somehow it's become an integral part of the content experience. What 21st century media businesses must do now, as they rebuild themselves, is find their popcorn," the report stated.