Pay to search and find info, events, activities etc..

[jen]

Hi Guys,

Just want to know what you think of this. If lets say we had an online resource/guide which list up to date info on what's on, activities for children, events, shows, list of toddler group, recipes, tips and advice on parenting and lots more children related subjects and ideas. Would it be ok then to charge members to access the site ( just a very small fee - people buy the paper or subscribe magazines & sometime get freebies but you have paid for that indirectly same kind of concept.

Or would it be better to have a free membership as well as an option for paying members and offer more to the paying members?

You would have to spend hours searching the net should you need these info but we've done the leg work for you, it's kind of a one stop place..

Would love to hear your input and hope get some great advice on this.

regards

[DuaneJackson]

I wouldn't be inclined to pay as it goes againsat the whole ethos of information on the 'net.

Also, I'm sure thisinfo would be aviable elsehwere for free.

Revenue for this type of site should come from advertisers and those listing their events.

[Ravenfire]

Jen I think what you have to consider is whether the service you offer is any different to what is already around and whether or not the other sites charge.

I personally think that you will find it hard to find members that would pay a subscription fee. Instead maybe you could consider building the site up, getting plenty of traffic through and then getting sponsors for the site. There are plenty of people around willing to sponsors sites relates to children providing you are getting the traffic through.

HTH

Toni

[clairemackaness]

I would go to www.netmums.co.uk for this kind of info and agree that it would be available freely for free. I'd charge advertisers like myself www.craftmonkeys.co.uk to bring in the revenue you need to thrive.

[mattk]

i think you'd find it very hard to get people to pay for this kind of info. People nowadays tend to think that information online should be free.

As Duane said - the people you should be charging are advertisers and people listing events.

[LindseyMHC]

Jen,

I certainly wouldn't pay for this information - netmums has it all for free and is a really good source of information.

What netmums does to bring in revenue is to have sponsors - Nick Jr, BT and ELC.

As a mum myself I would always go to netmums for child-related info, plus have a quick look at other sites such as mumsnet.

Lindsey.

[jen]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to run this thought over here as I know you always give good advice and tips. I completely understand what you guys saying and that businesses could advertise their wares for a small fee instead. But just thought how about some people subscribe to local parenting magazine which gets delivered direct to their door, it's a similar thing but in print? They pay to subscribe, nothing much maybe around £4-5 yearly.

I know of Netmums - it's a great site.

Can I just ask you guys those who run a website and charge businesses to advertise - I've seen on some sites I've visited they claim they get thousands of visits everyday, and they do charge quite a bit to advertise too. How do I know as an advertiser that they really do get those number of visitors, do I ask for proof, do they send me their stats to prove it?

If your site is new, could you ask for a fee to advertise or do you always have to offer free? We're all running a business after all and we all have to pay overheads etc..?

Thank you all for your great tips and advice. Thanks to Lindsey, Claire, Toni, Matt and Duane.

Regards