Drawing lines

Some thoughts...

1. How long do visitors stay on your site?

2. Do visitors read multiple articles/pages?

3. Do you get positive feedback in your blog comments?

4. Do people "share" your content on Social sites?

5. Have you consider adding a "Rate this article" plugin?

Of course for any data to be significant, you need a large sample size.

John

I am talking numbers

Tobi, there are no generally accepted numbers. If there were, they would be as meaningless as the old "your list is worth $1/subscriber/month" rule. That one got started when a writer used that figure as an illustration, and it got enough play on the "Chinese whispers" circuit that it morphed into an accepted fact.

I know many people who would drool over the idea of making $1/subscriber/month, and many others who would cringe at the pay cut.

It's the same for your query. Your numbers are your numbers, which can be tracked and improved.

If people are sharing your free content, it's good enough to be shared.

If people are recommending your paid content, rating it on sites where ratings are available, and leaving reviews, it's good enough to share.

After that, it's a matter of taking your swings. Some content will strike out, some will hit it out of the park. Your job is to increase your batting average.

Very good questions...

Here's how I typically approach any business...

1. I look at existing content, especially the user response to that content (Amazon paid content, social networks, blogs, forums, etc...) It becomes clear fairly quickly what the "hot button" topics are and why. These are the topics you want to focus on within your niche.

2. My next step is typically to generate some content around these areas of interest (for testing and traffic generation) - I will typically write articles, blog posts and post videos that all interlink to begin to generate interest. Here, I track the traffic that reaches my site and also insert some posts that illicit user feedback - if I get none - I don't immediately jump at that market. Often, I'll hit on one of these content areas that creates a real storm of interest and participation...that's what I then focus on

3. I then create more content, draw more traffic and put up an lead funnel to begin building a list - I often then test out some affiliate products against the list to see if these convert and get a feel for exactly the type of products /messages that convert

4. I then spinout my own infoproduct or service based on the findings above. Using this approach I have never had a product that didn't sell. I have had products that have larger audiences and sell better, but every product I have created aligning with this model makes substantial profit. No mystery, it's because you are testing, refining and de-risking every step of the way.

As for what you keep free and what you make paid content - that is purely driven by your business model. If you offer coaching, then ALL of your content is free except the supporting material to your coaching program. If you offer training, then you want to offer "enough" content to get your audience interested in your training and then keep some behind a paywall or sell it as an infoproduct.

Jeff