Re: CPM Pricing Models

From: Andrew Bourland <andy_at_bourland.com>
Date: Fri 18 Jan 2002 14:23:48 -0500

Bill,

I couldn't possibly address all the points you made
in your lengthy post, but I'd like to address some
of your bottom line issues.

On 1/18/02 Bill Henning <bhenning_at_phoenix.door2net.com> wrote:

> What does this mean for everyone?
>
> Less content. I've had to concentrate on my consulting
> business; and I am only now going to start reviving my
> tech site - but until the ad business picks up I will not
> be able to publish at the frantic pace I was doing when
> ad money was available. I have a mortage and car loan to
> pay. Other sites were not so lucky; as nearly as I can
> tell a good 60% to 70% of tech sites have failed over the
> last year - they did not have consulting to fall back onto.
>
> Sure, you may say I am a "small fry" publisher - and you
> are welcome to your opinion - but my readers who value my
> advice, and the help they have gotten from my articles
> would disagree with you. I truly wish I could dedicate
> more time to running my site - I found it an immensly
> rewarding experience, and I have saved all the "Thank you"
> letters. However the ad dollars are NOT there,
> not unless I am willing to give up my editorial integrity
> and write on spec - something I am not going to do.
>


It's a harsh reality, Bill.

The VC and IPO money which underwrote the ad supported,
"free" online publishing strategy that seemed to work so
well in the go-go years has dried up. The CPA vultures
dominate the landscape at the moment, and as you pointed
out, they'll do everything in their power NOT to pay you
for the results you produce.

This too shall pass, but for now, that's what we're up
against.

If you want to have a profitable online publishing
venture, you need to develop alternative revenue streams
to augment, if not replace advertising revenue. Your
consulting practice would be one of those revenue
streams, but there are others.

Another possibility is through providing some level of
premium content that people are willing to pay for in
some way.

Easier said than done.

It has to be MUST HAVE information that has a clear ROI
for the reader, not NICE TO HAVE.

It can't be content they can easily find elsewhere for free.

It's got to be something you are uniquely suited to offer.

And the audience you've developed has to be the right one
to sell this information to, otherwise, you're out of luck.
Chances are, they're so used to getting your content for
free, that they will balk at paying.

You might want to continue offering a base level of free
content, while developing a whole 'nother layer of premium
content. That's what many of the publishers working on the
shift from Free to Fee are doing.

There are some excellent reports available where you can
learn how to develop a profitable sideline selling special
reports and premium content. But this is all still in its
infancy on the net. Nobody has all the answers.

I have had a strong interest in this area for some time
now. Since even before I stepped down as publisher of
ClickZ, I was writing articles about the inevitable shift
from Free to Fee. "Free" content was an illusion.

You might want to bookmark my weblog at Bourland.com, where
I do nothing but track online businesses as they develop
new revenue strategies in the post-bomb internet. I hope it
will prove helpful to you.

Best wishes for your future prosperity...

Andy

--
Andrew Bourland
http://www.bourland.com
Monitoring the shift from Free to Fee
Currently on Bourland.com:
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Received on Fri Jan 18 2002 - 13:23:48 CST