Website Ads vs. Subscription Service

[7.62x51]

Building a site for a niche outdoor recreational activity. One of the biggest issues with this activity is finding a place where you can do it legally. The site will have a map that will show people where they can go to enjoy it for free.

If too many people go to one spot, it usually gets ruined so limiting the amount of people with access to this information is not entirely a bad thing.

That's why at first I wanted to make this a subscription service so people would pay a small $X / year and get access to the maps I create (an overlay on google maps).

Now I'm thinking that perhaps instead it's better to just go the usual route with banner ads and make the site free. Having people pay for information that is freely available with a few hours/days of research has given me second thoughts since it seems like a bet against the future as information becomes increasingly accessible.

Any thoughts on this?

 

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[GuestUser141]

Where people feel they can cheat or research an advantage ,some will.

 

[happybhoy]

How about making it free with ads but use it to collect emails. Monetise when you have a lot of users.

 

[Ankerstein17]

What is the CORE value your providing your customer... then ask... what makes the most sense from the customer point of view. WOULD they pay a premium to know this information.. gain access or what ever the case is. Understand your customer, and find out what makes sense to them. SURVEY them if needed and you can make a more informed decision.

 

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[TheNextTrump]

Run multiple different ADs. Test and find the ones that work best.

Find current websites in the same niche, and see what type of affiliate program they offer.

I recently came across a company in my niche that has a affiliate / bounty program.

It's a membership site with 3 options, each time some one clicks the AD and buys a script I can get paid.

A $20 B $35 C $75

Still a newb on all this stuff, but the plan is to line my website with this site, and others with similar offers. Ideally I'll use this one, one thats strictly views, and another one that's strictly clicks.

That way I the out going traffic doesn't always have to BUY in order to get paid.

 

[V8Bill]

In my opinion and experience, people like to be in clubs - I know I do. There's something primal about it and of course these days people are fond of describing them as tribes but the sentiment is the same; hanging out with people you consider to be cool is almost the best use of any day. Given this, is there a "club" or community element you can add? That would add some value I think.

How big can this get? What's the likely reasonably realistic potential for you? If the group is super small or you want to limit it like you said for the good of the activity then scarcity also becomes a value. Scarcity is also genuine in this case (to keep the activity uncrowded) plus keeping the locations secret has value. Also, does the area change from event to event or once a location is found to be suitable it's presumed always available? If it shifts all the time, knowing that would also have value.

It seems the value here is in the difficulty finding suitable places for the activity and that this activity is popular. I think a subscription model could work depending on how many people are interested. But if you think there are enough people interested to make the banner add model viable then there will for sure be the traffic available to consider the "club" model.

By joining your club they will get so many advantages and benefits that enjoying their activity will not only be more likely, it'll be easier to participate, you'll remove the legal risk, probably save them fuel and travel time, definitely save them scouting (for locations themselves) time. That seems like a sound concept to me. Talking from personal experience, if you can help people either, make money, save money, save time or make something more enjoyable they will happily pay for it and will become good club members.

If it's something people will pay more than $20-$30 (up to $100) per month for and you get hundreds of people joining and you offer a yearly membership deal that saves them a few months - you will do well (do the math) and it'll be semi-passive and hopefully the time you do spend on it will blend into your own enjoyment of the activity so you most likely won't mind. For anything less than $20 per month you'd want lots of members and without more work.

Later you could build a forum which (like this one) people will grow fond of and will enjoy visiting as part of their internet rituals. I'm a fan of forums. They are the "bricks and mortar" of the internet. Something people can rely on and a good permanent place to maybe sell some other activity related things from. I've seen this in hobby niches many times and even members who are grateful for member benefits will also shop with you just to support you building such an awesome community.