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Can you make money from a paypal Donate button?

by Rambo007
16 replies
I was considering making a website with great content and information along the lines of what people would normally considering paying for.

However, instead of charging upfront I was thinking of having a donate button and suggest that if my advice makes money that they kindly make a donation.

Does anyone know if people actually do donate? If so what sort of sums do they donate?
#button #donate #make #money #paypal
  • Profile picture of the author weatherforecast
    I know a person who have a donate button on facebook fan page . He lost 2 fingers and people donate money to get his fingers back. But on the website i don't think will donate somebody . You can try on facebook fan page. But first you must find a project.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rambo007
    ah ok i wouldnt want to do anything dishonest though.

    I was going to offer forex tips and if they were succesful for people they could donate if they felt.

    So would be like a subscription service with optional pay?

    Guess you are just trusting on peoples good nature?
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
      I know a guy here who had a site with nothing for sale and he put a donate button on the homepage in the hope someone would, out of happiness, joy and kind heartedness, just give him some money...

      Needless to say he didn't get any.

      Rambo,

      If your giving out free tips and people get a lot out of them, I'm sure some people may come back and give you something. I've not tested it, so not best to advise you.
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      • Profile picture of the author sanssecret
        The son of one of my mates practically lives off donations made to his site. Course, he's a techie and made some sort of music thingy :confused: I have no idea what it does or who would need it, but it's totally free, yet folks give him money anyway.
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  • Profile picture of the author iuditg
    If have a good traffic and your contents are awesome you should consider adding a donation button.

    Adding a button doesn't cost you anything so go for it
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  • Profile picture of the author Marketing Merit
    The PayPal Donate button is starting to be removed by some developers due to charge backs. Apparently, PayPal have a minimum fee for such transactions and, for example, someone could donate $7 one day, claim it was unauthorised the next and PayPal could slap you with a $30 admin charge.

    Not sure of the exact figures involved but if I can find the blog where I read about this I'll post the link.

    Update- Just searching for this blog post, I also read that PP may ask you to remove any donate buttons if it's not for a registered charity/not for profit organization. Something else you may wish to investigate further.
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanlucht
    I'm the Internet Campaign Manager for an enormous fundraising effort by my small local library ($200k/year! we met our 2010 goal!)

    A lot of the donations we get is through the PayPal Donate button on our website (SaveMaryJacobsLibrary.com), so I can attest that yes, people DO donate through a PayPal button. You just have to have a good reason for them to click it.
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  • Profile picture of the author paul wolfe
    There's a guy in my niche (bass guitar) who makes $20-30 off donations every day.

    He's started offering stuff as a 'reward' for donations - so in effect making it like a purchase. But he's put so much stuff out there that people do donate as a thank you.

    For it to work though I'd guess you have to push people towards donating, and give a lot of excellent content to justify it.
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    • Profile picture of the author greenhobo
      Yes you can make money. As long as you have the credentials PayPal requires for your Non Profit Organization. I have heard over the last few years they have gotten more strict with this. But definitely could make you money.
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  • Profile picture of the author weatherforecast
    You can receive some money from donate button. You can give them something in change of their money.
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    • Profile picture of the author digimix
      I am the guy who lost the 2 fingers and have the donate page on Facebook. If you have a strong enough mission you will get donations from really kind people. I would not do it for a business but if you run a blog about something like save the dolphins or the like you can ask for donations to help you to keep the site running. People who are interested in that kind of stuff will be willing to give.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    Originally Posted by Rambo007 View Post

    I was considering making a website with great content and information along the lines of what people would normally considering paying for.

    However, instead of charging upfront I was thinking of having a donate button and suggest that if my advice makes money that they kindly make a donation.

    Does anyone know if people actually do donate? If so what sort of sums do they donate?
    If you are willing to give the information away, and wouldn't be upset of no donations came through, then go for it.

    There are a few sites I use that are free, but have this option. I have sent them money because I appreciate their services. Perhaps it would be different for information, but you can always try.

    Also, if you don't get enough in the way of donations, you could always re-purpose the content on your site and turn it into a saleable product.


    According to PayPal:
    Donations not associated with a charity or nonprofit organization don't need to meet these requirements, but all donations are subject to review. Donations must also follow our Acceptable Use Policies.
    All the best,
    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
    There is a guy that I know of that has a PC tech support forum where he answers hundreds of questions a week. He does very well with donations, but that is mainly because he deals with people on a one on one basis.

    Instead of asking for donations, ask them to opt into your mailing list. Depending on your style, you could get very personal with your subscribers. Once you get to know each other and you continue to offer value to them, you can ask for donations or better yet, ask them to buy something that you have created.
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    Founder of JVZoo. All around good guy :)

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  • Profile picture of the author stealthpromo
    ryanlucht is right on the money. You have to have a good reason for them wanting to donate. If they know exactly where their donation is going / doing this also helps.

    PS I havent heard from any of my clients about chargebacks on donations just yet. Im not sure if this is a widespread problem.
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  • Profile picture of the author JesusIsLord
    I know a forum that gets $4000 in donations a month just because of the info they have, so your solution is to provide great content they feel obligated to donate for
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