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Offering FREE Mobile Sites Has anyone considered offering "FREE" Mobile Sites to biznesses, especially Restaurants? I have a buddy who's offering FREE, 1-Page Websites with a $59/mo "Hosting/Maintenance" fee....which includes "Analytics-Stats" of how many visitors etc. He now has over 100 biznesses paying him $59/mo! So....I looked at DudaMobile and one of their services (for $9/mo) is; "Stats on Site Usage, Tap To Call Conversions, Visitor Overview, Content Data, Traffic Sources and other Data Metrics!" Now....one of the questions that comes up when talking about charging a "Monthly Fee" is....JUSTIFYING IT! So....if you inform your Mobile Prospects that you will provide the above "Stats" on a regular Monthly Report....you CAN charge a Monthly Fee and....have it GLADLY ACCEPTED. (You don't have to use DudaMobile to provide this info. You can use Google Analytics) So....back to my initial question; "Has anyone considered offering "FREE" Mobile Sites to biznesses, especially Restaurants?".....BUT....charging a "justifiable" Monthly Fee? I'm thinking that by offering "FREE" Mobile Sites....you can get Attention AND Mobile Sites much easier! If it only takes a few minutes to create a "Mobile" site....and you receive $59 a month, forever....could you sell 100 in a month or 2? "$5,900" coming in every month! Works for me! What say You? Thank you, Don Alm |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Good idea as not all businesses are interested in "buying" a full blown mobile site. |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Don: I love the concept. We've been toying with the idea of going to a model like this as we're selling 'some' mobile sites for front end bucks ($297), but, can't flip them as fast as I'd like. That's my question...how long would it take to get to 100 sales, etc... Dave |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Midasman, How would you, or your friend do this? I mean do you build the websites first and then show the business owner? Or do you contact the business owner, and ASK if they would like a FREE mobile website? So that gets their curiosity going? And then hopefully get them agreeing to pay that monthly fee? I mean I really want to do this, but just trying to work out how this would work in the backend of it all. Thanks Nick |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites I think anything offered for free is a good way in, its then simply a case of proving value to the business as most wont think twice for a $50 / mth subscription. |
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All they'd have to do is talk to one friend in the business who tells them they pay $6 a month to host a fully featured website and mobile website with hostgator, and I think any trust or goodwill you gained with them would go right out the window. That's just me though - your customers may certainly feel differently. Now I could see charging a more reasonable $20 - $30 fee that includes a quick update or two a month as long as your clients know they're paying that in lieu of a upfront design fee of a few hundred dollars. |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites I offer a free mobile landing page with my $99 SMS plan. It's not really a mobile version of the companies website and it's not meant to be found on google. I specifically designed them to be found in the real world through the use of QR Codes and SMS. My sites are designed to give the audience quick info on products or service and ways to connect. I would say this model is working well for me. |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites The idea has potential. If you have some other related service and you can throw a free mobile website version with it, you can have a killer at your hands. |
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Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites I am thinking of adding on Google Analytics along with a tracking number so I can send them monthly reports for traffic/incoming calls/conversion. You can get a tracking number for $5/mo and I think this would add great value. It would also help down the road selling mobile sites as you could say, "Joe, at the pizza shop is averaging 50 visitors/mo with 15 of those turning into phone calls. A 30% conversion rate that he probably was not getting with his non-mobile site" I would like to see the numbers myself actually. I had a personal injury attorney client get a case from the new mobile site about 2 weeks after we launched it. He was thrilled and I am willing to bet that case covered the cost(investment) of the site. Anyone offering call tracking & Google Analytics on mobile sites? Could anyone throw out a fair monthly fee? I was thinking $30-50 along with the hosting/updates |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Can someone please answer my previous question |
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Whether you want to create the site depends on how much time you have on your hands too. Figuring that you'd have to talk to x owners before you get y sales, do you really one to do one for each owner before they accept? an example site would work in this case. If you do decide to make the free site, check out the main site and be sure it doesn't read "Duplication Prohibited" in the footer. |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Very informative topic. Thank you |
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When the gal at the counter asked what I would like, I showed her my phone and pointed at the item. She thought it was pretty cool and called the owner out from the back. I offered to give him the site in exchange for letting me put a plastic stand on his counter with a qr code leading to the site. Of course, I had my business name on there since it's a high traffic place. Now, although I did not get paid for that site, it has led to 2 others that I have gotten paid for. Plus, the owner has given me a couple of pizzas in exchange for updating the site. This isn't just "theory"... it actually happned. So, get out there and make things happen!!:) |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites No will not give away free sites, i have a policy not to work for free, and also i don't feel a lot for justifying a monthly fee... The days that business owners where ignorant about the internet are long gone, and they do know what Google analytics is, and they know the price of average hostings plans.... So it will look like you wanna take them for a ride... Din't think that business owners don't check prizes after you have given them your quote. I will sell them a mobile site for cheap (like a one time $99-) and then upsell them into my Google Places/SEO plan. instead of trying to squeeze out a monthly payment for hosting or updates or something... |
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hmm nice |
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sorry I thought it was a bit ironic because i always read your other posts |
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Worry about it if you contact 7 prospects and all 7 say they can't get you their login info or their web designer won't give it up - but there's no need to worry if you don't know for sure that's the case. :) |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites "I'm considering offering a free site for someone that signs up for me to manage their sms marketing services, but on it's own, I think $59 for hosting - even if you're doing some kind of ongoing maintenance for a one page site is outrageous"...Steve Solem" OK! What if I place a Special Card IN....500 hotel rooms....in a Town and on this Card is a "QR Code" and URL of a Mobile Directory (so there's 2 ways to see the Mobi-Directory) These Cards cost me $2ea....so....my cost would be $1000 (Cost is nil using WillR or Quentin's programs....and I'd only create 1-page sites for participating biznesses. Only takes about 15 min ea) So....let's say I charge $99 setup and $59/mo to have access to 500 Travelers/Tourists! every month....not including LOCAL Residents that would see my Ads around town. 50 participants = $5,000 initially and $2,950 a Month! In fact....I'd bet they'd pay $79/mo to be IN 500 rms! Don Alm |
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Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites What if the hotel owners didn't want you to set up a mobile directory for them? It could be a negative experience for them? Let's say the hotel had a resturant and then this mobile directory if it was choc-full of resturants for example, the hotel would lose money. Wow! 2 Negs! What if there IS A WAY....to get hotel owners to EAGERLY allow little ol' ME to put something IN ALL THEIR ROOMS? And... What if little ol' ME could place something IN THEIR ROOMS....that has.... whoops....careful now....here it comes.....that has "COMPETING RESTAURANTS in it"? I now have 14 Hotels (that have their own, ON PREMISE, restaurants... and My Promo Stuff, WITH OTHER RESTAURANTS.... IN ALL THEIR ROOMS! Maybe you should consider NOT being an "Entroopeneer"! I learned LONG AGO that...."Ya NEVER Know, UNLESS ya TRY!" And....it's also called, "PAYING YOUR DUES"! With MOST ALL of my Promo Stuff...whenever I ran into a Problemo...I relentlessly ATTACKED the Problemo....UNTIL I found the Answer! Don Alm....STILL finding out HOW to "get things done"...relentlessly |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Again where do you get the traffic for a mobile directory... that will only work if you have a "normal' directory to go with it... you can offer them a free placement in a empty site... What good will that do? |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Do the Hotels charge you? What is the hotels interest? Is it to offer more to the guest or do they get something? Also to the poster who said he sold thru a pizza shop and got 2 sites to do - What price did you get for these two new sites? Really want to compete but really stuck on pricing. Thanks Jodi |
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$59.00 X 12 = $708 Would you sell a Mobile site for $708? I know I would! |
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So for me the best way to do it is to sell these babies cheap (note not for free) and upsell them other high ticket services... I guess there are many ways to skin a elephant |
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Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Great attitude. Winners win because they refuse to lose. This is why you are successful. |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites How can you charge for 'hosting and maintenance' when the new mobile website is put on a subdomain - ie m.domainname.com and attached to the client's pre-existing website? I'm assuming you can't. Whoever developed the client's main website will let them know pretty quickly that there are no extra hosting fees involved with a sub-domain. Presumably you guys are only charging hosting and maintenance for a mobi extension site? I'm not keen on these - on the one hand I'm reading that the jury's out on which is better, but on the other hand I'm reading that there are real SEO benefits going with the sub-domain option. Additionally, the vast majority of the world's top companies are using the m.domain version so that, in and of itself, has led me to the conclusion that the mobi extension sites are inferior. It's not going to take clients too long to hear that mobi is unnecessary if they have an existing site is it? Then how good do you look? |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites I think some people need to stop being so negative here and questioning a business model that DOES work- without a question.. Anyone here read John Durhams 'Bower Method' It is EXCLUSIVELY about selling sites for free with a monthly fee... LOADS of people make great money with this model. Those of you that said 'no one will pay $59 for hosting' Guess what? You're right! I wouldn't... But i sell benefits- not features... so I am not telling prospects I will sell them hosting for $59 that there is no cost to.. I am saying: "What we can do for you is provide a mobile website- totally free of charge to you, so we're waivering the $499 design and install cost- we will still design and fully install your site. Then for just $59 per month we will do any required updates, send you monthly tracking reports- and you'll even get FREE subscription to our monthly marketing newsletter- showing you innovative, and often free ways, to get more customers through the door! How does that sound?" I think you'll agree that's a DAMN good offer...lol If they decline simply go down the route of- and are you spending much money in conventional advertising at the moment? What's your ROI? How much would you say your AVERAGE customer is worth over the year? So based on that if we got you just 20 customers extra over the year (less than 2 a month) you think that's worth $2 per day?? BOOOM! There we have it! HAHA...:cool: |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites I've run some numbers, and, quantitatively, this works. Compared to a flat initial fee of $297 you make 29% more per year at a $59 per month maintenance fee and $0 up front. You make less per month until month 6, when you start to make more off your residuals. At $397 you make 3% less this way, and at $497 you make 22% less per year on the monthly, but I suspect sites will go a lot faster at $0 up front with a $59 a month maintenance cost. Good suggestion! |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites A lot of you people think that business owners are still retarded when it comes to online marketing an websites and stuff.... People know that you can have a website with hosting up and running for less then $10- a month, and there you have also stats and stuff like that... it isn't 2003 anymore, that was the time that business owners indeed where clueless, those days are long gone. Quote:
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Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites WOw that is awesome idea. i am interested in it. |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites I think most people are concentrating too much on how expensive the hosting is compared to other packages. I would concentrate on adding value instead. Why not build a mobile directory that you host? Over time this directory could become an authority site, attracting more search engine traffic. If you promote your directories properly, you'll have clients lining up, two abreast, just to get their free sites. In addition to this, you could build single directory pages based on keywords and rent the press to call button. I would then use software that allows clients to make any changes they want to their mobile sites, including adding new pages. I have no affiliation with the software below selling on eBay, and I've not used it, so this isn't a personal recommendation. Having access to this software alone would be enough to charge a high price for hosting. Imagine the power if you installed a simple script that logged every press to call. You could then send a monthly report to each client justifying their investment, and subtle marketing messages for your other services. Work from home create your own highly profitable business selling mobile website | eBay here's somebody working this exact market, selling on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Create-Mob...item27bdb78b52 HTH Glenn |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites I have offered free mobile websites and in this one particular niche they were eager to get a free website but when it came down to the monthly charge they weren't interested. I was offering $50 a month. I only tested the theory in one niche and I justified the costs based on hosting fees, updates, etc and they weren't interested after that. I've been on this forum for awhile and reading everything on mobile marketing and I have done some cold calling and emailing. What I've found is that they usually don't care about the technology or analytics they just want it to bring in customers. But that's cool that your buddy has 100 clients! I hope to one day be there! |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites You could easily add a tracking number to the mobile site. Twilio numbers are a buck a whack and a penny a minute. A small hit to your GM$s but a real value to the client. I also disagree that business owners are all savvy to the Internet. Most of them do not know a darn thing about this. Plenty do of course, they are not a target market for this. Businesses just want leads, if you deliver them they will be happy to pay $59, or more for a mobile site. |
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However, in the town I live in (pop 120 000) I can assure you that business owners here are in the dark ages when it comes to websites, seo, google places and such. I guarantee that most dont even know what seo means, know nothing about mobile marketing, mobile websites and on and on. The majority of them probably paid on of the local firms a couple grand to design their website for them and basically handed them the keys to it and pay them to add what they want. LOL they probably dont even know how to log into their own site if they had to. In addition, I have found only ONE business in town that has a mobile friendly version of their site and NO ONE here is providing this service. I highly doubt that the service providers who build websites for companies around here even know how to create mobile sites at this time. It's actually a little laughable looking at some website providers and their work in my town- the sites they are building look like circa 2000 or something lol. And I know the ones that are actually building decent sites using wordpress etc are charging an arm and a leg for them. Anyway, i plan on offering this service here in my town and perhaps adding website design/website upgrading as a lot of the websites I see around these parts are downright horrendous. Which leads me to the idea of monthly hosting/maintenance fees. We have all heard the stories of people who offered to build regular websites for companies for ultra cheap only to then find that the client they are working with wants the moon and stars thrown in in terms of changing designs, constant updates etc. I dont think that it would be much different for mobile sites. A lot of clients will want ongoing maintenance and changes made to their sites. Therefore, I dont see why I should not charge say 30 bucks a month or whatever for hosting/stats/1 or 2 updates/changes a month. I would charge even more if they want extra pages added or more than 2 changes a month. I mean, these are businesses that right now are paying like a couple grand a month to have a full page ad in my local yellow pages. To make a long story short, I think my plan will be to sell the intial mobile website in the 300 dollar range and charge in the 30 dollar a month range for maintenance/stats/updates. |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites I offer my clients a free Mobile Site when they sign up for our local marketing program. It is free as long as we are working together, if they choose to move on for whatever reason they can buy it for 199.00. |
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One thing that people don't understand is that by going this route, you are NOT charging a "hosting charge" alone, you're charging for maintenance, but you're also basically financing.the cost of a site for someone. I've rarely met anyone outside of this forum who can tell me how much their GoDaddy hosting (which most people use) costs. It goes beyond price alone to the value you deliver. If you need a lawn service to maintain your lawn, you understand that having your lawn look great all the time is the benefit to you, and that goes beyond the cost of gas and labor to the guys who actually did the work. You basically are paid for results and convenience. |
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Frankly, I don't want clients that are just going to be looking at costs and holding me to the fire. They are not long term clients and I want the recurring to keep coming. So I wouldn't waste my time with them. I want clients that want to spend their time doing what makes them money and letting someone else offer ideas and implement them to ADD to his revenue stream. And as Daniel said, if the incoming outweighs the out going, you both win - and that is the most important thing to happen in every relationship! You then become a TEAM. Team members rely on one another! What are things that I can think I would offer to someone with a free website design after looking at this thread for the past few minutes: 1. Some keyword analysis and suggestions as most local clinets don't even know what this is (gee why didn't the guy that did their main site talk about this) 2. Free website design and installation with "correct" redirection methods. 3. Analytics to see what is happening on your site. 4. An analytics on "Tap To Call" to let them know how many phone calls have come to them from this site. 5. Squeeze Page to build an email list for advertising. (setup MailChimp-free) 6. Offer to put a squeeze page on main site to increase email address capture (chargeable) 7. Mail blasts with above lists 8. 1/2 hour of site changes per month. Charge for additional. 9. Intro SMS services to client where it fits - Potential new business 10. Setup Local Business Directory and Mobile Directory. They are included for free and bothsites could help bring you more traffic and business. 11. Make suggestions along the way that improves their main site (on a charge basis) And, of course, they are getting your marketing expertise thrown in to the deal! All this for $60/mo. Pretty damn cheap if you ask me. Might actually have to charge more. Now if I was just looking for a quick score, not wanting to help my clients increase their business, not be able to offer my marketing skills, not keep in constant contact with the client to see what new things they are planning and just generally not care about them once I got their money, then I might be worried about trying this because I wouldn't be offering $60/mo worth of service. However, that list above is worth way more. Another great post by Don Alm! |
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Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Here's some add'l info on this Topic; 1) Create a "Mobile Directory" for a Town showing Categories of; Where To Eat - Where To Shop - Attractions - Services (In the Where To Eat category, include Food Categories in alphabetical order; American - BBQ - Chinese - Italian etc) 2) Provide ONE Page for each biz (Logo or Photo at top of page - Paragraph about the biz - Address, Phone - Tap To Call button - MAP 3) Place a Display Stand on the Front Desk of every Hotel/Motel with a QR Code (and URL to the Directory) (Every Hotel/Motel should allow because you are providing them with a Convenience at NO charge) 4) You will also place Ads in local papers and a sign for each participant to put in their biz (on the back of their cash register or in window) ...all for just $59 a Month! Now....if restaurants want to add their Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner Menus....= extra fee. If they want their own Full-Fledged Mobile Site with a Re-Direct on their regular website....= extra fee....etc Don Alm Also....one town I'm working has 3 Theatres that people from hundreds of miles away, come to. As a convenience for Theatre Goers....the Theatres offer a QR Code to MY Diretory...so their Ticket Holders can easily find "Where To Eat...etc"....In Fact....because MOST theatre goers are coming a long distance so....I will include "Where To Stay"...with local Hotels/Motels PAYING to be included! (a LOT more than $59/mo since the average Hotel/Motel room rate is over $100 per night) Also....I'm using Quentin's script for this (WillR's can be used as well) |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Hi is there anyway we can see one of the directories that you have created, I really love this idea and I am putting it into action as we speak. I am just having a bit of trouble deciding what the home page of the directory should look like. Is it basically just a logo/directory name with a list of categories? Then when you click on a category it takes you to a page with options in that category ect? Do you keep it exclusive, as in only one pizza place ect? Thanks for the great idea |
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I was driving myself goofy trying to figure out how you did the directory, because I was thinking about it wrong. I was thinking this was a MAJOR mobile directory, like something that pulls data from yp.com or something, and had a ton of local restaurants. But I think I finally got it now - it's not that at all! It's more of an exclusive directory of the activities and restaurants that one hotel recommends, so it would be much smaller than one of the big directory sites. So, you could name the site something like: joeshotelrecommends.mobi or something like that, get recommendations for great restaurants and local activities from THAT hotel (which many may have an old print directory), and build out your mobile directory just like you described in your post. You're not trying to, as the old joke goes, run down the hill to get one cow, you're walking to get them all! By being more exclusive and sort of targeted to each hotel, you control what you do on your end building the site, you keep the hotel happy because you show just what they recommend, guests love it because EVERYONE has a smartphone these days, and the local businesses love it. I think I got it!! Here's a thought I had in addition to doing this at apartments - put beneath the QR code to go to X website (use your favorite) to get a FREE QR code scanner. Am I on the right track here, midasman? |
Re: Offering FREE Mobile Sites Thanks... Excellent advice!!! One can talk themselves right out of something great. I choose to "speak" to the mountain and cast it into the sea! Again... "just go out and make it happen"! |
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