I think you first need to be clear to yourself what your goals are for this project. Is your goal to have lots of readers/users? Is your goal to make money? If

I think you first need to be clear to yourself what your goals are for this project. Is your goal to have lots of readers/users? Is your goal to make money? If the two goals collide which one wins? Only by being clear on your goals can you make good decisions that move you toward those goals. Sure, there is overlap, my goals are to make money, but I give a lot of time and energy away for free, because that's marketing (but the goal remains the goal.) It's likely some mix of free and public will be the best combination. But I recommend starting both together, in other words be clear about your goals and motives from the start.