To Free or Not To Free?

Posted: 11 years ago 24 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I'm getting ready to launch a website built around the idea of teaching "How To Create Successful Websites". The problem i'm having is deciding if I should charge for my info/knowledge/products or run a "free info" model and just promote affiliates for income....?

Your input would be appreciated.

#free #website

11 years ago

Hey Mystery Box Man,

What I would do is test. I have seen though offering stuff for free really brings down the value perceived by others.

When I did release my first product, it was free and my profits didn't really move, so then I started charging and it all fell into place.

My advice, charge a little if you are thinking of going the free route. Maybe try $1 or $4 something. I know it may seem a bit low the $1 one, but it has been proven that even if a prospect that only paid a $1 is more likely to purchase from you again rather than if you gave the info for free.

Rock On!

Eric "The Las Vegas Ninja" Lovelace

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11 years ago

Originally Posted by Eric Lovelace

Thats not a bad idea...

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John Krone

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11 years ago

Paid traffic will also require someone to "Pay". So in order to use that model there would be no choice but to have some paid offers. I think it's more of question of how much you want to be for free and how much for fee.
John
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brutecky

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11 years ago

Why not have both?

Make it freemium. First course or two is free. (you get their email) .. more advanced courses are paid (you get sales income).
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  11 years ago
  
  The Power of Free!
  
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  11 years ago
  
  Hi MysteryBoxMan,
  
  I went with free on a website I launched a few weeks ago and the list is building quite nicely, however in the background I am adding premium content and will begin offering that to list members.
  
  Maybe thinking long term, rather than short term gains is an option also.
  
  Best of luck
  
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  11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by brutecky
  
  Why not have both?
  
  Make it freemium. First course or two is free. (you get their email) .. more advanced courses are paid (you get sales income).
  
  Yes, that is exactly what I would suggest.
  
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11 years ago

Originally Posted by MysteryBoxMan

Most successful models start out free, and slowly provide an ever higher choice for those that are looking for it. Usually behind the curtain feeling.

Branding yourself as generous is a key trust element. So I think the free things build a strong bridge of trust, that leads to the "for Fee" side of the stream.
John

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Marco Moeschter

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11 years ago

Think about to give valuable content for free to your list and build a membership site for the premium content. This way you can let's say presell your subscribers with real good content and guide them to your premium paid content.
This way you can also use the membership site as a high value bonus if you promote high ticket offers.
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HelpingYouBeAnExpert

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11 years ago

The only things that matters is what your visitors say not the gurus, so my vote is to test.
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  Originally Posted by HelpingYouBeAnExpert
  
  The only things that matters is what your visitors say not the gurus, so my vote is to test.
  
  This is the only correct answer here. Basically: Your Mileage May Differ.
  
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Brent Stangel

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11 years ago

The "loss leader" is as old as marketing itself.

You see the guy in the grocery store offering samples of this or that food item. If you like the sample hopefully you will buy more. The loss of the samples is more then made up for on the back end...providing people like the sample.

Structure your freebie so people will want more to the point they will seek it out and pay for it.
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dana67

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11 years ago

If you are not going to split test, I'd vote for the free model. I'm a big believer in free and there are other ways to monetize a site if you get the traffic.
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traderfx

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11 years ago

I think you have to decide how valuable your time is.
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  I would do the free to build a list and start the branding proses
  
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Assignmentwriter

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11 years ago

Option free is best for your branding and great for reach
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Sheryl Bagley

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11 years ago

I think that first you have to build your brand. Why should I buy what you're selling? First make sure that your product actually does what you're saying it does, give it for free, build you audience, make a few customers happy, grab their testimonials and then you can put a price tag on it.
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davidaclark

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11 years ago

It does depend on the products you are offering. If you don't have the rights to give it away for free it has to be paid. If you do have the rights to give it away for free is it worth having. The best way would be to create your own product. a simple Ebook would do and give that away for free. It should also promote your paid products.
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KattyHowells

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11 years ago

When you're far from being an authority, you have little chances to make people pay for what you provide. Even if you charge a symbolic amount, like someone suggested above, people will be suspicious, wondering what kind of quality service is it if I can purchase it for less than 5 bucks?
First you need to be more generous and show people what you have for free. Once you gain a certain reputation you can offer more, for a cost. Being greedy from the start doesn't seem the best approach to me.
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dejaone

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11 years ago

Start as a free info site first, and move to membership based for premium content once you have a larger reader base.
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cyberzolo

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11 years ago

Start free then monetize if you see potebtial and make sure the info your giving out is worth being paid for.
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bmoore62

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11 years ago

The freemium model works like gangbusters. Just get people through the door. Once they know what you have to offer and how you do business, you can upsell them to a paid membership. There are tons of scripts available (both free and Paid) that will allow you to do this. For example, you could offer ebooks for free. After they join, you could offer MP3s as a silver level upsell and videos as a gold level upsell. You get the idea. Just be creative.

Best of luck to you. I hope it all works out.
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Karol Z

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11 years ago

It depends on whether you already have some kind of following. Judging by the content of this post I'm going to assume that this is not the case. Me personally, I would include some kind of free trial or preview after which the method would cost an x amount of dollars. Than again it all depends on the quality of the product and what your goals are.
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dougb

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11 years ago

Free model, your first priority is to get them on your list
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