RE: Will They Pay? Part II

From: Rob Frankel <rob_at_robfrankel.com>
Date: Mon 04 Jun 2001 12:36:42 -0500

ROB FRANKEL <rob_at_robfrankel.com> WROTE:

>Yeah, I don't get what all the fuss is about.

TO WHICH MICHAEL MARTINEZ <michael_at_xenite.org> REPLIED:

>The fuss is about the fact that most commercial sites
>won't be able to charge for content, but some people
>don't seem willing to accept that.

ROB FRANKEL THEN WROTE:

>My experience proves you can do it. Easily. Here's
>what I did:

TO WHICH MICHAEL MARTINEZ REPLIED:

>Sorry, but your experience only proves that you were
>able to do this. FrankelTips may be doing well for you,
>but then, cosmetics did well for Mary Kay, vitamins did
>well for Shaklee, and soap did well for the owners
>of Amway.

>A few people climbed to the top of each sales
>organization, but most people either only made
>modest incomes or lost a lot of money.

>The fact one person succeeds in any type of revenue-
>generating model doesn't mean it will work for others,
>let alone everyone.

Who said it was supposed to work any other way? Welcome
to capitalism. I think you need to take a look at your
expectations here. I agree not everything works for
everyone, but it's not supposed to.

If it did, you'd end up with the central economy that
even the Soviets couldn't make happen.

>No one has ever been able to prove
>that can happen. No one ever will. Basic economics
>teaches us that only a few providers for any goods and
>services are ever needed. And in the online world, when
>you're competing with free content, charging for content
>and staying in business through content fees is a very
>rare accomplishment.

Right. Which means those who are really good at it can
and will charge for it. Just like anything else:
scarcity = value.

>Most people really do NOT pay for content, and the
>reason is simple: they are already paying for access to
>a system that was created for the free dissemination of
>information (content). The fundamental purpose of the
>Internet is not changing.

Free access to the system, yes. Free access to its
content, not necessarily.

>Pay-for-content sites are a niche that just cannot lead
>the way for the online business community. If the model
>really worked that well, more companies would have moved
>into it by now. Especially all the companies which
>failed to generate sufficient revenue streams to stay in
>business.

Depends on how you structure the "pay-per" part. There's
more than one way to skin a click.


Rob Frankel, "Yes, I really do turn users into evangelists
 for your brand."
Big Time Branding (TM) http://www.RobFrankel.com
FrankelTips Weekly at: http://www.FrankelTips.com
The Book/Tapes: http://www.RevengeOfBrandX.com
FrankelBiz for FREE at: http://www.FrankelBiz.com



Received on Mon Jun 04 2001 - 12:36:42 CDT