Questions

I am launching a website this spring, offering personal coaching services, blog content, newsletters, daily challenges, etc.. My question is, should I make this a paid membership site or should I just offer my content for free and attract advertisers and offer some digital products for extra income?

With any new on-line venture it is critical to build the user base before charging people for the service. The site has to be the go to place for this type of information and discussion to show the foundation value and then adding services that provide additional custom value add. Simple example is Wattpad with over 30M users sharing free stories, in over 50 languages, from any phone, tablet, or computer raised $46M in venture financing in previous round.

I would separate efforts between new and returning visitors. Sites in general that get a high number of visitors on a monthly basis usually have a core group of returning visitors that leverage it for content sharing or expertise on a regular basis.

I suggest starting with LinkedIN or a related community-focused portal first, join discussion groups in your expertise/product/solution area and build your brand as the go-to-person or company for that subject. The next step is to begin cross-pollinating by tweeting your blog posts or group answers with the hashtags that matter to your community.

Blogging, linking to articles relevant to the user base, also curating news from social media feeds through sites like Paper.li or Rebelmouse provide an easy content option without much effort.

For new visitors, media exposure and references from top opinion leaders in the space can help. I would look to other portals in the same industry or that attract the same age group being targeting and request the site owners to write a piece, send out a communique and/or reference your service to the targeted audience. Getting local media in your areas to report on your service can also provide exposure. I would focus on finding the free avenues first and when you find the highest referring sites, focus any ad dollars there to get the best bang for the buck.

At the beginning, do some research on similar offerings from your peers or competition in personal coaching services to see what has worked.


Answered 9 years ago

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