Re: Beyond Advertising: Pay-site content, non-adult, non-financial?

From: Ben Cathers <ben_at_phatgames.com>
Date: Mon 05 Mar 2001 09:46:15 -0600

C. ANTONIO ROMERO <romero_at_alumni.princeton.edu> WROTE:

> Question for the night: I'm working for a content site
> right now that has thousands of pages of original, exclusive
> entertainment content. Advertising and merchandising revenues
> at present are falling far short of what's required to keep the
> site on the air, though. Traffic would need to go up at least
> 20-fold to get ad revenues to be meaningful... ad views are still
> around 150-200K per month. So at this point they're looking
> at becoming a pay site.

I think right now the market is in a transitional period between
free and pay content, but I think the real test will be when Napster
stops becoming a pay service.

If you look at TheStreet.com, charging for content hurt it - Alan
Meckler of internet.com says the Wall Street Journal charging for
the content on the web hurt them.

The way to get a site ready for pay content is to offer content
found no where else on the web - and for it to be quality content.
Inside.com is currentlybreaking the mold by offering pay content -
so the market could be ready, or it could be the biggest disaster
in the history of the web.

The best way to charge for it is on a monthly basis, offering a
low introductory rate, or a free month. If you have the technology,
you could charge on a per-article basis or you can offer different
sections at different prices.

You said it's an entertainment site - maybe it could be like
4.95/month on one focus of entertainment, then maybe 7.95/month
on a more exclusive, meatier area, or just 15.00/month for the
entire site's contents.

But either way, if you choose to use the pay-site model, make
sure you offer free content as well - thats what made me such a
fan of Inside.com - I truly found out how great the content was
and why it's worth money.

--
Ben Cathers - Chief Executive Officer
THE PHATSTART.COM NETWORK
The #1 site for teens, gamers and more
phone: 516-536-1916 | fax: 516-594-1692



Received on Mon Mar 05 2001 - 09:46:15 CST