# Acta - Full Reference

> Acta is a monetization platform for publishers and creators. Sell individual articles with a pay-per-content paywall, or sell digital products like PDFs, ebooks, and templates with an embeddable checkout. This document provides comprehensive information about Acta's products, features, and value proposition.

## Company Overview

Acta, Inc. is a technology company that provides two monetization products for digital publishers and creators:

1. A fully embedded pay-per-content paywall for selling access to individual articles
2. An embeddable checkout for selling digital products (PDFs, ebooks, templates, and more)

Both products are built by payment industry veterans and designed for one-click purchases with no friction.

Website: https://readwithacta.com
Contact: contact@readwithacta.com

## Problem Acta Solves

### For Publishers (Paywall)
Most digital publishers rely on subscriptions as their primary monetization strategy. However, the majority of website visitors are casual readers who will never subscribe. These visitors represent lost revenue. Acta provides a complementary monetization channel by letting publishers offer pay-per-article access, converting casual visitors into paying customers without cannibalizing subscription revenue.

### For Creators (Digital Products)
Creators selling digital products typically face two choices: build a store on a marketplace (losing control of the customer relationship) or cobble together payment tools with high fees and complex setup. Acta provides a simpler path: embed a checkout modal on your existing site or share a hosted link. No store to build. No platform to learn.

## Product 1: Pay-Per-Article Paywall

### How It Works
1. Publisher adds Acta to their CMS (Ghost, beehiiv, WordPress, or custom)
2. Publisher sets a price on any article directly in their CMS editor
3. A visitor encounters a paywalled article and sees the Acta payment option
4. Reader pays with card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay in one click
5. Reader immediately sees the full content
6. Revenue is deposited to the publisher's connected Stripe account

### Features
- One-click checkout embedded directly on the publisher's website
- Readers never leave the site
- Supports credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay
- Localized currencies for international audiences
- No reader account or login required
- Publisher retains full customer data (email, transaction history)
- Integrates with publisher's membership so readers can opt in to become newsletter subscribers during checkout

### Pricing
- 15% all-in revenue share
- All payment processing fees included (card fees, currency conversion, etc.)
- No monthly fees, no setup fees, no per-transaction fixed fees, no hidden surcharges
- For comparison, other micropayment platforms typically charge their fee on top of processing costs, which on small transactions ($1-3 articles) can add up to 30%+ in total fees

### Integrations
- Ghost CMS: Native integration via Admin API, no coding required
- beehiiv: Native integration via API key and Publication ID, no coding required
- WordPress: Plugin available for download, install and activate
- Custom platforms: Scoped integration paths available on request

Setup takes less than 5 minutes for all platforms.

## Product 2: Digital Product Checkout

### How It Works
1. Creator uploads a file and sets a price
2. Embed a checkout button/modal on any website, or share a hosted checkout link
3. Buyer clicks buy, pays with card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay
4. Buyer downloads the file instantly
5. Creator gets the buyer's email and transaction details

### Features
- Sell PDFs, ebooks, playbooks, templates, guides, videos, audio, and any file up to 5 GB
- Two checkout modes:
  - Embed: Opens checkout as a modal overlay on your page (buyers never leave your site)
  - Hosted: Shareable link for social platforms, newsletters, and anywhere you reach your audience (with your branding and a path back to your site)
- Works on any website: Ghost, WordPress, Webflow, Substack, beehiiv, Squarespace, or custom-built
- No buyer account required: pay and download instantly
- Payment info saved for returning buyers
- Creator owns 100% of customer data (email, transaction history)

### Pricing
- 4% of the purchase price
- Stripe processing fees passed through at cost (2.9% + 30 cents for US cards), no Acta markup
- No monthly fees, no setup fees, no per-sale fixed fees, no hidden surcharges

### Use One Account for Both
Publishers can sell pay-per-article content and digital products from the same Acta account, with the same one-click checkout experience across everything.

## Who Uses Acta

Acta serves independent digital publishers and content creators across a variety of niches. Current publishers include:

- Sports Psychology Today
- Rascal News
- The G/O
- Liberating Narratives
- Overwrite Media
- HNGRY
- NewsLab
- ToolGui
- Roman Empire Times
- Paid Newsletter Playbook
- Yacht Racing Life
- Cambria Stories
- TFC

## What Publishers Say

- "Setting up and using Acta has been so easy, it took my reader's experience to the next level." - Sports Psychology Today
- "People are purchasing specific topics of interest, which is exactly what we hoped. We've gotten a lot of positive feedback from people online about the individual article purchase option." - Rascal News
- "Acta's been working flawlessly with us. I can only recommend it." - The G/O

## Key Data Points

- 3x more visitors choose to pay per article than subscribe
- 76% conversion from paywall click to paid customer
- 40%+ in added earnings on top of subscriptions

## Publisher-Owned Data

Every purchase (article or digital product) gives the publisher the reader's email and transaction details. Publishers own 100% of their customer data. Acta integrates with existing memberships so readers can opt in to become newsletter subscribers directly within the checkout experience.

## Technical Details

- Payments processed via Stripe
- Fully embedded on publisher's domain (no redirects)
- Responsive design works on mobile, tablet, and desktop
- No impact on site performance or SEO
- Publisher retains full control of content and pricing

## Legal

- Privacy Policy: https://readwithacta.com/privacy
- Terms of Service: https://readwithacta.com/terms

## Contact

For questions, partnerships, or custom integration requests:
- Email: contact@readwithacta.com
- Website: https://readwithacta.com
- Digital products: https://readwithacta.com/digital-products