Last week, we noted the pressure on websites to seek ad-support rather than revenue from subscriptions or sales. Be that as it may, there’s still some sites determined to buck the supposed truism that people will refuse to pay for online content. The WSJ offers a case study of one company that is combining both revenue methods on behalf of content providers.

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The company is online commerce payment platform provider Trialpay. It operates under the premise of letting consumers “pay” for one item - say, a website’s subscription fee - by agreeing to try or buying something else. Trialpay’s backed by such investors as Battery Ventures, Index Ventures and Bob Pittman. The Mountain View-based company claims to have more than 800 corporate customers, including software company WinZip and Photobucket. The Journal focused on how Trialpay has worked for restaurant guide Zagat’s subscription-based website. Here’s how it works: Zagat e-mails an offer to users who have registered for the site, but have not elected to pay the $24.95 annual subscription. In return for a free subscription, these users can opt-in to receive a marketing pitch for another company, such as signing up for a new credit card or buying $65 worth of clothes at the Gap. Zagat says that about 10 percent of those who view the e-mails accept the subscription offer. That’s a higher conversion rate than it gets from its other marketing initiatives. On top of that, Zagat also receives a stipend from the other marketers it directs its users to.