WEB/DIGITAL For free or not for free?

[zaiteku]

that is the question!

Hi guys thanks for all your great feedback on my questions so far, its been of great help as I build my first e-Biz.

I have another question however:

In general, when building a multi-media site, where you are selling a service, like information and training for example, where customers are trained in how to make something, like making their own music videos for example.
What types of features in the site are good to give away for free and what things are left for charging customers? Some examples of Free I am thinking are:

social networking features (maybe limited on space?)
limited instruction
articles/newsletters
customer results (everyone can see customers work)

In the top tier if customers want to get more out of it:

pay for advanced instruction
pay for more storage space or ALL the social networking features
1 on1 help and customer service


do you guys have other ideas about what could be free and what should be charged for?

any help would be great! thanks!

 

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[Z5 FILMS]

Hard to say without knowing what your site is.

I would just play the "carrot & stick" game. Give them enough to make them drool, but don't let them have a bite

 

[BLSH]

I am not sure if you are already doing this, but I would have a Beta program. Release every new feature for free as Beta and cap the free program for a period of time (like 6 months or whatever).

Then start charging them for the features. Make it easy to cancel because you dont wanna have your customers having any negative experience with your site.

Not only is this a good hook, it will also help you work out the kinks in your code while getting solid user feedback. Users will give you a break for having coding errors, but they might not be as forgiving when they are paying for it.