Monetisation & Revenue
Paywall
Also called: gated content
Hard, soft and metered are the three shapes. A hard paywall blocks everything, a soft one leaves some material free, and a metered one allows a set amount before it asks. On YouTube the built-in version is members-only content, where videos, posts and live chats are visible only to paying channel members. Elsewhere it is a paid newsletter tier, a course platform or a private community.
The real decision is which side of the gate each thing goes. Free work has to be good enough to be worth someone's time and to make the paid side credible, so most creators put the audience-building material in front and the depth, access and tools behind.