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List building... to charge or not to charge?

by louisgeorges
13 replies
I'm giving away a free report to build a list in a semi-popular niche, about 90 000 searches per month.

I'm wondering if I should charge them something very small like $1.50 for a monthly subscription.

I would give them the first report for free and they can cancel if they don't like it but if they do like the report they will receive a monthly report like the first one for a very small fee.

My question is:

Even though it will give me a lower signup rate, will it help getting more buyers on my list or should I just give everything for free and not worry about the freebie seekers?

Thanks for your two cents,
Louis
#building… #charge #list
  • Profile picture of the author steveweber
    You will be better off not charging unless your information is very unique and valuable. You stand to lose a lot of subscribers who could be potential buyers down the road. So what if some of the subscribers are just "freebie seekers"?
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    test it both ways. Track clickthroughs on both lists
    for a month or more. That tells you how serious/curious
    freebie seekers and buyers of your report are.

    Leave people wanting more. Your free report could
    be just the first chapter of an extended report that
    gives more in depth information.

    Sometimes people will join your list for free, not open
    anything for 2 years, and then cough up $2000.oo
    one day for something. You never know.
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  • Profile picture of the author browie
    I like the idea of free first, make money off of them later. There is many different directions you can go.

    -Free sign ups to 50 people, then charge later
    -Free sign ups then build list to sell them things later
    -Free sign ups to small people then make your own products for them to sell for you
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    *** Browie dot com *** - Yes, I'm The Browie
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    • Profile picture of the author louisgeorges
      You guys are right!

      Why reinvent the wheel... I'm going to give them the whole thing for free and then I will build an actual membership site fill with good content and charge, I don't know... $10 and make some real money by sending an invitation to my much bigger list of subscribers!

      I guess it was just a stupid idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author dhudiburg
    Not a stupid idea at all Louis. In general, I think it is better to have a small list of buyers than a huge list of freebie seekers.

    As Loren says, you need to test it to be sure, but you are doing some very strategic thinking. I say monetize as early as possible.

    If you don't get conversions you are happy with, you can always try the completely free route.
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  • Profile picture of the author louisgeorges
    Dhudiburg,

    You think so. Well the Adword cost per clicks is not bad at all, it's like $0.15-$0.20, I can afford to spend $15-$30 to test it.

    But the other guys got me thinking and now I feel weird about that $1.50... I'm thinking I should spend the time and build a good membership site and charge more.

    That small fee is just going to confuse everybody because of all the extra steps through Paypal to get that free report, especially since it's not a full on membership site but just a little monthly report. Don't you think?
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  • Profile picture of the author alexei_aus
    It really depends what your newsletter is about.

    Charging $1.50 wont be serious and will make your information look cheap. You should charge between $10 and $20 per month at least.

    What you will find is that 1 in 100 people loves your information and will stay on your list and will pay to be receiving your newsletter.
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    Google Adwords Management That Works!
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  • Profile picture of the author louisgeorges
    Alexei_aus,

    That's what I'm thinking too. What I have right now is not worth $10 (and maybe not even worth $1.50) so I'll give them what I have for free and promote other people's stuff.

    I already have a list of half a dozen products from Ebooks to membership sites that pays me about $20 commission each.

    And later I'll push my own products.
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  • Profile picture of the author rendell
    You can offer part of the list as sample.. if readers are interested and find it valuable, they will buy the whole thing.
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    .
    Ever notice that people who spend money on WSO, memberships and courses, are always complaining about being broke and not making any money ?

    They should have bought ASSETS instead.

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  • Profile picture of the author Business-Cards.com
    If you are offering something valuable, why give it away for free?
    Signature

    $14.99 for 1000 business cards at prinly.com, warrior members only! Use coupon code "warrior1000"

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  • Profile picture of the author louisgeorges
    Its not really free, I want their email address so I can send them offers and stuff!
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  • Profile picture of the author baumann93
    I think having a larger list and using it to send offers is a better option. or as you suggested, build a membership site and offer to those who signed up to receive your free newsletter to pay for membership. If they liked the content of the newsletter they would gladly pay for the membership.
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  • Profile picture of the author louisgeorges
    I just bought the membership course from kyle Tully, it's really good for that kind of site, I like his ideas!

    Thanks guys!
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