• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 12, 2013

The Washington Post is increasing its sponsored content offerings with a new online feature, “Sponsored Views,” which allows organizations to post their responses to the newspapers’ opinion pieces, giving them a chance to rebut (or expand upon) op-ed content with their own messages -- for a price.
 
Sponsored Views submissions can be up to 600 characters long, are clearly marked as advertising, and are reviewed before publication. Once published, they appear as a link at the bottom of the relevant column.

One of the first pieces published under Sponsored Views is a rebuttal to a WaPo editorial about government mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the Cato Institute and the Center for American Progress. Another charter sponsor is CTIA-The Wireless Association, which paid to post a response to an op-ed piece about cybersecurity.
 
In March, The Washington Post unveiled another new paid-content feature, “Brand Connect,” which includes placement on the “front page” of the newspaper’s Web site.

Although they are not editorial content themselves, marketing messages delivered via “Brand Connect” benefit from their adjacency to the Web site’s real editorial content, with the publisher describing "Brand Connect" as “a platform that connects marketers with The Washington Post audience in a trusted environment.”

The newspaper is also looking to boost circulation revenues by charging for online access to editorial content using a metered subscription mode, with digital paywalls scheduled to take effect this week. WaPo will allow users free access to 20 articles or multimedia features per month, after which they will have to buy a monthly subscription for $9.99 a month for desktop and mobile access. A digital premium plan, which costs $14.99 per month, also gives subscribers access to custom apps developed by the newspaper .