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Which Way To Go?? Need your Opinion Please

by bgan10
8 replies
I was hoping I could get some of your opinions on how you think I should do with the start up of a new site I am creating. Any and all opinions are appreciated. So here we go on explaining.

I am going to be creating a site that is within a targeted niche and is a sort of social media site. The potential users will be in search of something and will find there answer on my site. So where I am needing the opinion is do I charge a fee if they are able to find what they are looking for or do I make it 100% as use the gathered user email list to promote and monetize it like that?

I am up the middle on these:

If I charge a fee then that might deter people from even joining the site, but I figure if they can consistantly find what they need then a fee is nothing for finding their solution.

If I make it free then I think it will be easier to promote and get people to sign up and on a list to then email and also be able to gather advertisers on the site due to higher traffic.

I hope I have given enough info, I would love to hear what you all have to say and what opinions you may have. Thanks again for reading and thanks in advance for your help!

Cheers,
Brett
#opinion
  • Profile picture of the author KateHunter
    If I am looking for an answer and find a site that has it that says- sign up for a free trial to see the answer- I never bother, always hit the back button and look elsewhere. If you had lots of info that is really time consuming to find elsewhere I might join, hard to say without knowing what kind of info it is. I think you could make it free at least in the beginning while you are getting set up.
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  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Thanks Kate, good point and thoughts.

    I think the main reason I am against the free service but creating an email list from the users is the fact that I have never promoted through email and I am not sure if that way would be successful with this niche market. But generally it will be a lot easier to get people to sign up if they know it's a 100% free site.

    Thanks again
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    • Profile picture of the author melanied
      Honestly, I'm not sure I would even register for free with a site to see information, unless it was particularly valuable and rare.

      I know this isn't a very *creative* solution, but have you thought about going the standard "info site" route of offering all the site content for free - just on the page like a standard website - and then building a list by giving away a more in-depth report for free, or selling it on the site?

      Like I said, it's not very creative, but it's in perpetual use because it's very, very effective.
      Signature

      *melanie

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  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Thank you Melanied,

    I like you idea but the users on the site won't really be looking for "information" as much as they are gaining a connecting for another person for their solution. It's not the dating niche or anything like that but I guess it would work the same way, me trying to connect 2 or more people to fulfill meet their solution. I hope that makes sense. Thank you
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  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Yeah same sort of idea. A friend just showed me this site which is the idea I am trying to explain. Mine would be in a different niche but same sort of idea for the site and users. couch surfing. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Jared Alberghini
    Take a look at your competition in that particular niche... if there is a ton of 'free alternative' competition, well, it's obvious... you shouldn't charge for something someone can get for free by simply clicking their back button, and clicking on the next google result.

    - Jared
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    P.S.

    Join The Future: Telekinetic Marketing

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  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Thank you mrfulfilment and Jared Alberghini,

    After doing more research it looks as though I am now leaning towards the free version. I am still nervous about the email marketing and general site advertising though. Thanks again for the opinions.
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