A test of a new post on production.
I’m adding some text to this.
Exclusive Cerviche
Exclusive Empanadas
This is to test if it goes to the top of the home page recommendations.
[slick-game]
[slick-film-strip]
Exclusive Shrimp Salad
This is a new post on tuesday.
Exclusive Fish and Chips
New test post published 9:30 AM on Tues, Nov 5.
create 13 make more money
create12 make money!
create11
A Test Post Exclusive
This post was published at 5:45 on Monday Nov 4th. We’ll see how long it takes to get hearts.
Monday, Monday.
Story Testing
This is a sample post containing a story.
[slick-story src=”https://pinchofyum.stories.slickstream.com/d/story/pinchofyum/sheet-pan-bbq-tofu”]
This comes after the short code. This is some more testing. Below is the shortcode for another story.
[slick-story src=”https://tasteslovely.stories.slickstream.com/d/story/tasteslovely/bolognese-sauce”]
This is Britta’s story.
[slick-story src=”https://foodwithfeeling.stories.slickstream.com/d/story/foodwithfeeling/sweet-potato-gnocchi”]
Adding a story using the embed code.
The story below is using a shortcode.
What Content Should Be Marked Exclusive
The Guild plugin allows publishers to designate any posts, pages or other content as exclusive. Exclusive content is only visible to Guild pass holders. Visitors that don’t own a Guild access pass will be able to see links or summaries of exclusive content but will not be able to view the exclusive content itself. Instead they will see a part of the post or page along with a link or button to purchase a pass. Essentially publishers can mark any content as exclusive and place it behind the Guild “paywall”.
So the question is what is the right content to make exclusive? Which should really be prefaced by “what is the motivation for making content exclusive?” There are typically two drivers for exclusive content.
Rewarding returning visitors (fans). Publishers may want to reward visitors to their site who have supported them by providing these visitors with exclusive fan content (behind the scenes videos, member only content, early access, etc.) aimed at rewarding their loyalty.
Converting new visitors. Alternatively publishers may want to make some of their most popular or in demand content exclusive to drive access pass purchases. Remember that publishers get an immediate piece of the access pass revenue for access passes purchased on their sites.
Exactly which strategy to follow will depend on the state of the site. New or emerging sites may opt for the latter to drive pass conversions and grow their customer base, whereas more established sites may choose the former to reward their existing customer. Inevitably a combination of both approaches will likely be necessary to optimize publisher revenue.
Making Money From Your Website Just Got Way Easier
Guild is a new internet service that works on behalf of its members to generate revenue from visitors to any of the member websites. What Medium is doing for writers who publish on Medium’s site, we are doing for independent website publishers — collecting money from viewers and distributing it to publishers.
Welcome to the Guid demo website. Explore this site to see how the Guild plugin interacts with visitors who have not yet purchased an access pass. Remember that when trying Guild you can set the percent of traffic that the plugin will interact with. When the plugin decides not to interact with a visitor there will be no evidence of Guild anywhere on the site. On this page, the plugin is set to interact with all visitors.
How Guild Works
Add Guild to your website. Once approved, our small Guild stamp will show up on the edge of your web pages.
For every visitor to your site with an access pass, you get paid. A pass can be purchased on any Guild member site and is valid for every Guild member site. In return, your site is required to meet a set of standards that ensure an excellent viewer experience.
[slick-game]
For visitors who don’t have an access pass, we will occasionally demand their attention. When we do, we explain how Guild works and they can complete a purchase of an access pass with a few clicks. Don’t worry. We’re good at figuring out how and when to bother people just the right amount.
An access pass provides a visitor with the following:
- Access to exclusive content on your site,
- Access to exclusive content across all Guild sites
- An ad-free experience.
An access pass is a one-time purchase of $1 per month. The net proceeds are distributed weekly to Guild members on a pro-rata basis according to content consumption by the pass holder for that week.
Guild Exclusive Post
This is an example of a post that is exclusively available to Guild access pass holders. Open this post to see how Guild exclusive posts appear to visitors who haven not bought an access pass.
Fast and Easy
Adding Guild into your site is as easy as adding Google Analytics or an advertisement to your pages. You don’t have to make any changes to your site content or layout.
Low Risk
While you get comfortable with Guild, you can fence off any percentage of your traffic you want that we won’t touch.
Great Earning Potential
Think about the earning potential from $1 each month from each of your site’s visitors. You will share this with other Guild sites that a visitor goes to — but that number is typically small. Then it just depends on steadily increasing the percentage of visitors with an access pass.
Trustworthy
Maintaining the integrity of the Guild brand is vital to our success. We treat you and all viewers fairly and transparently. All of our financial transactions are handled using Stripe and Paypal.
Welcome To The Guild Demo Website
This website is running the Guild plugin. Explore this site to see how the Guild plugin interacts with visitors who have not yet purchased a Guild access pass. See how the Guild tab (at the top right) behaves and also how the Guild plugin supports exclusive content.
Remember that when trying Guild you can set the percent of traffic that the plugin will interact with. When the plugin decides not to interact with a visitor there will be no evidence of Guild anywhere on the site. On this website, the plugin is set to interact with all visitors.
Guild FAQ
What is Guild?
Guild is a new internet service that works on behalf of its members to generate revenue from visitors to any of the member websites. What Medium is doing for writers who publish on Medium’s site, we are doing for independent website publishers — collecting money from viewers and distributing it to publishers.
Can anyone join?
Anyone with a website can apply for membership but only those that meet our standards will be admitted, and we reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone even if they do meet those standards.
What standards does my site have to meet?
We apply a set of objective and subjective standards. The objective standards are based on an audit using Google’s Lighthouse tool for performance, responsiveness, and other factors. For some cases, such as specialized interactive sites, we may waive certain requirements. Our subjective standards are based mostly on a checklist covering things like offensive content, plagiarism, accessibility, etc. We make a final acceptance decision solely at our own discretion to protect Guild’s reputation.
Once approved, is my membership guaranteed forever?
No. We will be frequently reviewing Guild member sites to ensure that they are continuing to meet our standards. If we uncover problems, we will notify you and you may lose your membership.
Does this work for rich interactive content sites?
Yes. In fact we encourage sites to use the latest web technologies to create the best possible experience for visitors. You are not constrained by many of the rules that ad networks impose on publisher sites. You are required, however, to ensure that the Guild experience for visitors is not affected by your site — i.e., that Guild paywall pages and the Guild stamp are visible to visitors in the expected way.
How much will I earn?
You get 35% of the net proceeds from all visitors who purchase a pass on your site. And you share in 50% of the net proceeds from all visitors to your site who have a Guild pass. Guild retains the remaining 15% as a fee to run the network.
Assuming about the same number of visitors who purchased passes on your site visit other sites as the number of visitors to your site that purchased a pass elsewhere, this means that you will earn about 85% of the net proceeds from passes purchased on your site.
Let’s say that a visitor purchases a 3-month pass on your site for $3.00. The net proceeds (after credit card transaction fees) is $2.61. Guild takes a 15% fee, and if the assumptions described above are accurate, you will end up with the remainder — $0.91 immediately and an additional $0.43 per month over the next three months.
Estimate the fraction of your visitors who will purchase a pass. Then multiply this by your monthly unique visitor count.
Will the access price for visitors change?
Yes. As Guild grows, and therefore the value of an access pass grows along with it, we expect to increase the access fees. Our goal is that as membership grows, earnings for all members should be growing modestly at the same time.
Why don’t you offer a recurring subscription option for visitors?
We may eventually do that. But recurring transactions add complexity in a visitor’s decision making process. And while Guild pricing is changing, we concluded that it is premature to offer this option now.
Do you help me bring more visitors to my site?
Eventually we hope this will be the case, but don’t count on it. As a Guild member, you will be working in a consortium with other members. The Guild reputation will eventually result in consumers seeking out sites that are members. But it is better for you to think about Guild membership as being a way to monetize the visitors you are already getting.
Why should I get paid the same as other members if my site’s content is better?
The value of your content is reflected in the number of visitors you have and how engaged they are. This is already reflected in your share of the Guild proceeds.
When and how do I get paid?
Distributions are calculated monthly and will by distributed to your Paypal account each month as long as your balance is at least $5 on your statement processing date. Smaller amounts remain in your balance and roll over to the following month.
I’m worried that this might scare off my visitors. What should I do?
When you register your site, you have options about how we will (or won’t) interact with your visitors.
You can choose what fraction of your visitors to expose to Guild. You can start with a very low percentage and see how these people react to your Guild membership before exposing more. You might start, for example, with only 5% of your visitors. The other 95% will not see the Guild stamp on your pages and will never know that you are part of Guild.
Are you GDPR compliant?
Mostly. Guild complies with the General Data Privacy Requirements. We do not collect, track, or store individual data without explicit opt-in consent. We protect all data securely. And every user has the right to have data we are holding about them deleted. For more information, see our privacy policy.
Who runs Guild?
Guild was created and is operated by Hivepoint, Inc., a startup company located in Palo Alto, California.
How do I get help when I need it?
Contact us via email at [email protected].
What Is Guild
Guild is a new internet service that works on behalf of its members to generate revenue from visitors to any of the member websites. What Medium is doing for writers who publish on Medium’s site, we are doing for independent website publishers — collecting money from viewers and distributing it to publishers.
Try Guild Gradually – Fence Off A Percentage Of Your Traffic Initially And Let That Grow Over Time
While you get comfortable with Guild, you can fence off any percentage of your traffic you want that Guild won’t touch. For example, when you try Guild for the first time you may only want 15% of your total visitors to be exposed to Guild. For the remaining 85% there will be no evidence of Guild and your site will function as it does today. This allows you to become comfortable with become convinced of Guild’s earning potential overtime.
Adding Guild to Your Site is Fast and Easy
Adding Guild into your site is as easy as adding Google Analytics or an advertisement to your pages. You don’t have to make any changes to your site content or layout. And, if you run a WordPress site then the Guild Plugin makes it even easier.
Think About the Earning Potential from $1 Each Month from Each of Your Site’s Visitors
Think about the earning potential from $1 each month from each of your site’s visitors.
Inserting a link to another guild post to see the link highlighter in action.
You will share this with other Guild sites that a visitor goes to — but that number is typically small. Then it just depends on steadily increasing the percentage of visitors with an access pass.
Guild For Website Developers
We know that a lot of website publishers depend on experts like you to design, develop, and/or maintain their sites. The success of Guild depends on people like you supporting the concept.
We want you to convince your clients to integrate Guild into their sites. So we’re doing everything we can to make this worthwhile for you as well as your clients.
First, we want this to be as easy as possible for you. So for WordPress developers, we have the guild-network plugin that, we hope, does almost all of the work. Just install, activate, and configure the plugin and your client’s site should be good to go. If you do not use WordPress, it is still quite easy. You just need to add a Guild embed code into the <head> section of the site’s pages.
Second, we don’t want to step on your toes. Guild adds a small “stamp” on the side of the site’s pages. Tapping on the stamp opens a slide-out panel with information about why and how to purchase an access pass. We use neutral colors and fonts so that we fit well into most sites. The plugin takes care of hiding ads and exclusive content appropriately based on whether the visitor has an access pass. Otherwise, we do our best to stay out of your way.
Third, and most important, we want you to be rewarded. Our affiliate program means that you get a share of the Guild revenue from the site for the first three months after it goes live. Your share is 10% of the net proceeds from all pass purchases on the sites where you are listed as the affiliate when the site was registered with Guild.
FAQ
Can I get help when I need it?
Absolutely. If you are trying to get a site up and running with Guild and need help, just let us know. You can reach us via email at [email protected].
How do I get and use my affiliate code?
To be an affiliate, you need to register with Guild using your email address. Then on your account page you’ll find your affiliate code. When your client (or you, on their behalf) registers a new site with Guild, there is a spot to enter an affiliate code. Use yours there. On your account page, you’ll then start to see your balance growing as visitors purchase access passes there. Each month we’ll distribute your earnings to you via Paypal. Simple as that.
Can I be the affiliate on multiple sites?
Yes. You can use the same affiliate code when registering multiple sites. You’ll earn money for passes purchased on any of these sites.
If I’m going to be an expert on Guild, are there other things I should know?
Perhaps. Depending on the structure of your client’s site, you may want to treat ads and/or exclusive content in special ways. For example, depending on the ad networks (if any) used by the site, you will need to configure the Guild embed code (or WordPress plugin) accordingly. You may even want to create new containers on the pages for ads knowing that the Guild plugin will make them invisible when the visitor has an access pass — allowing you to improve the overall look-and-feel in different cases. Likewise, for exclusive content, you may want to create a nice page especially for listing exclusive content. If you don’t use WordPress, you will need to place exclusive content inside tags with a “guild-protect” CSS class. If you’re in doubt, please reach out to us. We’re happy to help.
What’s In It For Visitors
We love the web and want to see it keep getting better.
One thing we don’t love is advertising. But web publishers need to make a living and advertising has been the way to do that. Publishers don’t actually make much money from advertising and would rather not pollute their content with it. But until now there hasn’t been a viable alternative.
Guild offers a new way for publishers to make money for their work and a win-win for those like you who visit their sites. Here’s how it works.
Guild offers an access pass that consumers buy for $1. This pass works on every site that is a member of Guild. It entitles the holder to unlimited access to content that the publishers have reserved for pass holders. And member sites guarantee that they will remove all ads from their site for those with a pass.
Guild takes care of distributing the money you pay for an access pass to the member sites that you visit while that pass remains valid. Simple as that. You get exclusive content and an ad-free experience. The publishers get a share of your purchase price.
You might be thinking that $1 isn’t very much. And you’re right. But across thousands of site visitors, these add up quickly. Publishers actually earn much more money from access pass holders than they would from advertising to these folks.
FAQ
How much does an access pass cost?
$1 for 1 month. Or $2 for 2 months. And so on. We know that you hate recurring charges on your credit card, so we don’t use them. Purchase a pass for whatever duration you want (up to one year). And, no, we don’t offer discounts for longer periods because Guild is getting bigger and better all the time. You can expect that the price will be going up, but if you already have a pass, it remains valid until it expires regardless of how prices might be changing.
How much does the publisher get?
From the net proceeds of your purchase, Guild takes 15% to run the network. The publisher on whose site you purchase the pass gets 35%. And the remaining 50% is divided among the Guild member sites that you visit during the period over which your pass remains valid (including the original site on which you made the purchase) on a pro-rata basis. Guild doesn’t charge publishers for membership. Adding this link to a post about exclusive posts to test out the link highlighter.
Can I use my access pass on multiple devices?
Yes. When you purchase your pass, you get a code that you can use to activate the same pass on your other devices: phones, tablets, laptops. Remember, though, that your pass is for your personal use only. You may not share it with anyone else — even within your family.
Do I have to register?
No. Just enter your credit card number to purchase the pass. You don’t have to tell us anything else. However, if you prefer, you can register your email address as a way to use your access pass on other devices if you don’t want to use the code we provide.
Are your tracking me between websites?
Not unless and until you purchase an access pass. When you purchase a pass, we ask you to consent to having us track you between member sites because we need to know how to divide up your purchase price among those sites. We track you anonymously using what is effectively a random number we store inside your browser. For more information, read our Privacy Policy.
Start Collecting Your Share of the Monthly Pass Fees
Getting Started
Step 1: Register your site to get a site code
Step 2: Integrate Guild into your site
Step 3: Wait for approval
Step 4: Start earning money!
Step 1: Register your site
Before you register your site, you should be aware that we require member sites to meet a set of quality and performance standards so that when visitors see the Guild stamp, they will know that they can expect a good experience. A good starting point is to check your site using Google’s Lighthouse tools. You can read more about our requirements here.
Once you are satisfied, go here to tell Guild about your site. You will need to register and confirm your email address if you haven’t already. When you add your site, there are certain things you can configure, including the amount of your traffic you are willing to allocate to Guild — at least until you are comfortable with it.
Step 2: Integrate Guild into your site
After registering your site, nothing will happen until you integrate Guild into your site. But don’t worry. That’s easy to do.
WordPress Sites
If your site is built on WordPress, you can use the Guild Network plugin. All you need to do is to install the plugin and fill in the site code you got when you registered your site. If you’d like the plugin to manage exclusive content and/or ads for you, it can do that, too.
In the WordPress dashboard under Plugins, click Add new and then Upload Plugin. Select the guild-network.zip file that you just downloaded. Then Activate it.
Under your WordPress Settings, go to Guild Network, fill in the site code you received when you registered your site. There are detailed instructions on this settings page if you want to further customize the plugin behavior.
Non WordPress Sites
If you do not use WordPress, then you must add the Guild embed code you got when registering your site into the <head> section of your pages.
If you would like to add exclusive content or an ad-free experience, see ‘Advanced Integration’ below.
Step 3: Wait for approval
We are committed to ensuring that visitors to Guild member sites have a great experience. Once we see that Guild has been integrated into your site, we will begin the review process. It typically takes 1-3 business days to do this. We’ll let you know via email when the review is complete. If accepted, Guild will go live automatically on your site.
Step 4: Try it out
If you visit your site now, you should see the Guild stamp on the side of your pages. But if you are using the same browser that you used to register your site, then you won’t be getting quite the same experience as other users because we know that you are the site owner.
To get the same experience that other visitors will get, use a different browser (or an incognito window).
If when registering your site you have limited the amount of traffic that you will allocate to Guild, then on this new browser, you may or may not see Guild, depending on whether your session was activated or not. If not, you won’t see any change to the site experience. If so, then you will see the Guild stamp on the side of the page and after some time the Guild panel may open and ask you to purchase an access pass.
On this new browser, if you do not want to keep trying to get activated by Guild, you can force activation by visiting the guild.network site at least once sometime before visiting your own site. Anyone who visits guild.network is automatically activated for all member sites.
Step 5: Start earning money!
Once your site is approved, you can monitor activity in real-time on your site page here on guild.network. You can find out how many visitors we are seeing and how many have or are purchasing access passes. And you can watch your balance growing as it happens.
We will email you monthly with an account statement. If your balance at that time exceeds a minimum, we will automatically transfer that balance to your designated Paypal account. If your balance is too small, it will roll over to the next period.
Remember that even after getting approved, we will be periodically reviewing your site. If we see changes that are inconsistent with our requirements, we will notify you and discontinue Guild service for your site.
Advanced Integration
Your goal is to make money from your site visitors. In order to do that, you need to help to convince visitors that they want an access pass. There are two important ways in which you can encourage them to do that.
Exclusive Content
Offer exclusive content that is only available to visitors with an access pass. Guild makes it easy to do that. If you use WordPress, just tag pages or posts with “guild-exclusive”, and/or add pages and posts to the “Guild Exclusive” category. If you don’t use WordPress, then add the “guild-exclusive” CSS class to the containers of any content that should be restricted to pass holders.
Remove Ads
Offer an ad-free experience to visitors if they have an access pass. If you do not have ads on your site, there is no further action required on your part. But if you do want to keep your ads for those without an access pass, then you need to help Guild to identify the ad slots on your pages so that they can be hidden to access pass holders. If you use WordPress, you can do this using settings on the plugin (see instructions on the Settings page). Otherwise, you can edit the site embed code, adding information to identity ad containers based on a CSS class, tag name, and/or ID attribute.