Advice on monetizing this website? Help is appreciated

8 replies
Hey guys, looking for advice on the best strategy for monetizing this site, both short term and long term.. I decided to give the book away free, and I suppose theirs no turning back on that(?), not sure if I made the right decision or not. I did Have a google banner in the left column, and I was going to charge a measly $4 a month for a member area, but I figured I could go viral more easily by making my blog public for free. And I removed the google banner after I didn't have 1 click after 1250++ Impressions. I also have a donation button at the bottom of the home page, but nothing yet.

I really think it has potential, over 150 people have accessed the book (at least) in the first 4 days. Lots of people were inspired by me even before I put the book out, just from comments off of my success story from a few websites, so i know their is interest... but what should I do to actually generate revenue off this site?


Your opinions would be really appreciated
#advice #appreciated #monetizing #website
  • Profile picture of the author lassitermarketing
    Giving away the book is a great list building strategy. Banners are great and the way I drive traffic is to make a blog post and then email my list to check it out. People will read the post and then start clicking around. I get a lot of sales this way from banners.

    I would drive traffic to the download and use your list to monetize. Set up a schedule to communicate with your list 2x a week using a 70/30 content to promo ratio. Keep track of sales to see what your subscriber value is and then you'll know how much you can spend to get a subscriber. For example, my list returns $2.50 a month per subscriber to me in revenue monthly.

    Hope that helps!
    Signature

    Susan Lassiter-Lyons
    http://www.LassiterMarketing.com
    Have fun. Create value.

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  • Profile picture of the author JesseGuthrie
    Great story and that will take you a long way. If the customer can connect with you on a personal level you will have already won their acceptance. Good stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author Myles Sinclair
    Originally Posted by woah316 View Post

    howilost150pounds.com


    Hey guys, looking for advice on the best strategy for monetizing this site, both short term and long term.. I decided to give the book away free, and I suppose theirs no turning back on that(?), not sure if I made the right decision or not....."
    It's your website, so nothing is written in stone. What you could do is make the book a paid product, Give away a small report in exchange for their email, and then promote your book.

    Once you have them as a subscriber you can go on to recommend other products in the niche and earn affiliate commissions.

    I'm sure there will be some other suggestions coming your way.

    Hope this helps,

    Myles
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    • Profile picture of the author MarketingVet09
      Originally Posted by Myles Sinclair View Post

      It's your website, so nothing is written in stone. What you could do is make the book a paid product, Give away a small report in exchange for their email, and then promote your book.

      Once you have them as a subscriber you can go on to recommend other products in the niche and earn affiliate commissions.

      I'm sure there will be some other suggestions coming your way.

      Hope this helps,

      Myles

      Really appreciate everyones help. I love this message board for that!

      Myles, I know this is too much of a hypothetical, but if you were in my shoes, would you sell the book NOW? Its just such a hard decision for me, I dont know whats best...

      Give the book away for free, let it go viral, link back to my site, get paid off ppc / text link ads / affiliate links etc...

      Or, charge for the book, just have a free blog and make good posts, and let them buy the book after they see my interesting blog posts and know that I'm genuine and provide good information.


      Which would you do bro?
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      • Profile picture of the author A Bary
        Originally Posted by woah316 View Post

        Really appreciate everyones help. I love this message board for that!

        Myles, I know this is too much of a hypothetical, but if you were in my shoes, would you sell the book NOW? Its just such a hard decision for me, I dont know whats best...

        Give the book away for free, let it go viral, link back to my site, get paid off ppc / text link ads / affiliate links etc...

        Or, charge for the book, just have a free blog and make good posts, and let them buy the book after they see my interesting blog posts and know that I'm genuine and provide good information.


        Which would you do bro?
        Why not keeping your "list-building-weapon" free as it's, and monetize on the backend?

        You can convert your free ebook into an audio (or with some extra effort into a video) course and sell it as a Onetime Offer upsell?

        Why not placing links/banners/reviews for good related ClickBank products on the download page?

        Why not to add some CPA ads? (CPA offers in your niche are countless)


        There's a million way to monetize your site that are better of just thinking about selling ad space.

        A. Bary
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      • Profile picture of the author Myles Sinclair
        Originally Posted by woah316 View Post

        Really appreciate everyones help. I love this message board for that!

        Myles, I know this is too much of a hypothetical, but if you were in my shoes, would you sell the book NOW? Its just such a hard decision for me, I dont know whats best...

        Give the book away for free, let it go viral, link back to my site, get paid off ppc / text link ads / affiliate links etc...

        Or, charge for the book, just have a free blog and make good posts, and let them buy the book after they see my interesting blog posts and know that I'm genuine and provide good information.


        Which would you do bro?
        Well, If you decide to keep the book free, you should at least get their email address in return. At the moment visitors have no big reason to revisit your site. They download your book and they're done. Unless they follow you on Twitter, you have no way to contact them and let them know you've added new content.

        I've had a look at the book, and you're giving away a seriously good product. If it was me I would create a much smaller report, include one or two useful tips and give that away free in exchange for opting in to your list.

        You will then have the opportunity to sell not only your book, but other related products as well. You can follow up on your potential customers on a regular basis by email, instead of relying on what might be only one visit to your website.

        I'm not sure why you are hesitant in selling the book?

        Anyway, good luck with the site whatever you decide to do.

        Myles
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        • Profile picture of the author MarketingVet09
          Originally Posted by Myles Sinclair View Post

          Well, If you decide to keep the book free, you should at least get their email address in return. At the moment visitors have no big reason to revisit your site. They download your book and they're done. Unless they follow you on Twitter, you have no way to contact them and let them know you've added new content.

          I've had a look at the book, and you're giving away a seriously good product. If it was me I would create a much smaller report, include one or two useful tips and give that away free in exchange for opting in to your list.

          You will then have the opportunity to sell not only your book, but other related products as well. You can follow up on your potential customers on a regular basis by email, instead of relying on what might be only one visit to your website.

          I'm not sure why you are hesitant in selling the book?

          Anyway, good luck with the site whatever you decide to do.

          Myles
          oh no miles, I will take your advice and look into this... Really appreciate your help man!!!...
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  • Profile picture of the author ymanrulz
    Thanks for all the info guys....I have a question related to my website: I heard various ideas lately regarding how best to monetize a site...Should I have a different product for each page or just 1 product throughout the site? Also, I've seen some products on clickbank that if I were to link to them have a page attached and it seems to me that the squeeze page is for their benefit and not mine...I'd also really like to build my list so the idea of giving away a related report sounds like a great idea...Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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