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- Nov 9, 2016
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Hello,
As alluded to in my intro thread I have an idea that I feel great about and am excited to start implementing it. Been thinking about it for a while and writing notes as I go and have a good feel for it now. Talking to a web developer friend to really get an idea what it will take to make the site happen like I imagine it. Have a good marketing plan in place that has worked for the same target audience but for a different service.
The site is kind of a combination of AngiesList and Craigslist with a touch of Ebay but for totally different markets and services.
Due to the nature of the product I can't take a pice of the transaction, the buyer and seller would deal with that personally so I can't make money off of that, or I don't know of a option to make that work at least.
based on research I have done the overall target audience is about 60,000,000 in the USA alone. I really have no idea what kind of a percent or fraction of a percent I can realistically get but that seems to be a large enough pool.
So the main thing I am facing is how should I plan on monetizing the site? (My focus really has been on how to make this a great experience for my customer base rather than on money, just want to get some ideas of what to expect or look for in the future)
(Bold is just to make it easier to read)
My main concern is I don't want to go a route that drives people away or greatly reduces their chances of using the site. Or makes people mad that I try to take it from a free service to adding ads or charging, maybe grandfather in the old users and let them continue to use for free?
What advice do you all have in relation to this type of site and the best way to monetize without killing my user base?
As alluded to in my intro thread I have an idea that I feel great about and am excited to start implementing it. Been thinking about it for a while and writing notes as I go and have a good feel for it now. Talking to a web developer friend to really get an idea what it will take to make the site happen like I imagine it. Have a good marketing plan in place that has worked for the same target audience but for a different service.
The site is kind of a combination of AngiesList and Craigslist with a touch of Ebay but for totally different markets and services.
Due to the nature of the product I can't take a pice of the transaction, the buyer and seller would deal with that personally so I can't make money off of that, or I don't know of a option to make that work at least.
based on research I have done the overall target audience is about 60,000,000 in the USA alone. I really have no idea what kind of a percent or fraction of a percent I can realistically get but that seems to be a large enough pool.
So the main thing I am facing is how should I plan on monetizing the site? (My focus really has been on how to make this a great experience for my customer base rather than on money, just want to get some ideas of what to expect or look for in the future)
(Bold is just to make it easier to read)
- One though is to charge a small fee for the sellers based on how many listings ($5 a month for up to x listings etc.) and then provide access to additional educational documentation and methods of managing the sales (most sellers are small time), then charge a small, like .99 cents a month fee for the buyers to use the site.
- Or a combination of sellers paying small fees to list and then use some reasonable advertising or affiliate links on the buyers side that would make sense based on the product being sold.
- Or just go straight ads and affiliates on the site and only require a free account setup for buyers and sellers.
- Another though is make it totally free the first year or so and then after getting a good size customer base introduce one of the above.
My main concern is I don't want to go a route that drives people away or greatly reduces their chances of using the site. Or makes people mad that I try to take it from a free service to adding ads or charging, maybe grandfather in the old users and let them continue to use for free?
What advice do you all have in relation to this type of site and the best way to monetize without killing my user base?
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