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Selling this "free" website!

by bgan10
10 replies
Hey,

I have set up a test I am going to try in a smaller town close to mine. I was hoping some warriors would have some insight as to how I should go about it.

What I am doing is I am going to offer a free website with autoresponder package but in order for them to get the free website they need to commit to a email marketing monthly maintenance fee of $$$. Thats the basis of it anyways.

Now where I am having problems with Package Details Information is how would you guys recommend I bring up the monthly maintenance fee? I list the package details and all the freebies they get but then I don't know how to bring up(in a nice and enticing way) that in order to qualify for the free package they need to pay a maintenance fee.

Any ideas how I can go about adding this into the equation with the lease amount of problems? Any help with this would be awesome and much appreciated. Thanks

Cheers,
Brett
#free #selling #website
  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Does anyone have any ideas on how I am make a smooth transition from the free package into the maintenance fee?
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  • Profile picture of the author mookinman
    When I started out, I offered a similar thing. I was offering free full-page listings on one of my local directory sites. As soon as I said the word "free", people said "no thanks". That's not to say it'll happen to you. The people in my town just think that way.
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  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Thanks for the response mookinman, yeah people can take "free" as a scam forsure. Some always will and hopefully some won't because the package I am going to be giving it a pretty sweet but in order to get the package they need to email market with us for a certain period of time. So if they can realize the value of email marketing they will see it as great value. It's exactly what the cable company does out here, they give away a free high cable modem and free setup but in order to quality for that deal you need to sign up for their highspeed internet for 12 month at $$. Again thanks for the response.
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  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Thanks Rob, thats a good idea. Once I have done some testing with this particular deal I will give that one a try too. That will be cool too see which one people respond better too. Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author rlnorthcutt
    I suggest that you offer the free website, but they pay for hosting. That makes sense.

    Then you can upgrade them to a free autoresponder package, but they have to pay for the service/maintenance.

    You can easily advertise that they get the free website and autoreponder integration, and then can back down on the price to "just" hosting if they balk at all.

    Its a good way to go - just be sure your prices are reasonable for them... and reasonable for you!
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    • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
      Unless you are offering the website with OR without the autoresponder then it isn't free, it is included in the monthly price.

      Just from a purely personal point of view, being told something is free first, and then being told I have to pay is a total turn off.

      I would prefer you to start by telling me that you offer a monthly service at x price and then, by the way, you get a website included at no extra cost. Then I'd be interested.

      Just my 2c worth
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  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Thanks rlnorthcutt,

    I like the idea of downgrading if they don't want the complete system. The one tough part about that is that if I outsource their website creation and they are only paying say $20 a month for hosting then I am in the whole for money. But I see what you are saying and I appreciate the input.

    I hear you Rosetrees, some business owners will think the same too. Also there there can sometimes be the "if it's free then there must be catch" mentality where people think they are getting hosed and totally look past the value of the free package. Thanks for your thoughts!
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    • Profile picture of the author CmdrStidd
      bgan10, you say that if you outsource the web development then you are losing money but if you are doing this sort of business for the customers then you should have 10 to 20 solid looking templates ready to go so all you have to do is plug in the businesses unique information and you are good to go. In any case, if you cannot do the coding yourself then find a partner who can do the coding and that way you both are making money firstoff, and second you will not need to outsource the website development.

      That is my 2 cents worth and in my very humble opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author robocallaghan
    Outsourcing the web site can bring costs or savings depending if the style fits the person building them. If you have a set of templates (even free wordpress templates) you then only have someone who changes a few things and uploads them. If they have to do a full design it can end up costing as much as doing it locally as your time gets sucked into the price.

    What you could do is mock up a set of designs - have one page, 10 pages and blog style sites. Then you can offer a menu of pricing or even a one page site and the option of adding content/pages.

    Really what you want to do is keep the workflow fitting the people you are hiring or if you are doing the work yourself - watch out for the what can end up as a n open ended brief until you get a feel for how to price items.

    Rob.
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  • Profile picture of the author bgan10
    Thanks for all the responses, great info from everyone. It is something I am going to be testing away from the city I live in, so I could potentially try all of the ideas listed and see where it all goes. Any other ideas are welcomed. Thanks again for the great info

    Cheers,
    Brett
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