Pricing help needed.

[DannyAverz]

Good afternoon,

I am about to launch my online advertising ageny. However, I am struggling to put a price on my services. If anyone would like to aid me in my decision please PM me.

I do not want to post further details of the business incase any squatters pitch my domain name etc.

Thank you for your time.

Daniel Atherton.

[wevet]

I would suggest that if you are "about to launch" and don't know how to price your services you have not constructed a proper business plan and without that you are probably on a fast track to zero.

The simplest way to gain an insight into the pricing structure is to look at what your competitors are charging.

However, I would suggest you go right back and do a reality check especially if you have not even got around to registering your preferred domain name!

[AOB]

Hard but fair, wevet!

I've made some assumptions as to the type of business you are considering, so if I'm wide of the mark, apologies! It will depend on all manner of elements whether it is pay per click, pay per view, revenue share or something else. It also depends on what is being advertised. Too many questions for you here, but what I would do is to spend time studying the Google model. I would imaging that they are the big beasts in this jungle and they will have the best data. If you register as an affiliate or some such you can probably find out a whole lot.
Good luck. Where there's a will, there's a way.

[DannyAverz]

Thank you for your replies. Wevet, I have completed an in depth business plan with cash-flow forecasts, budgets and break-even analysis all based on a price I thought was fair at the time of me writing my business plan. The point of this thread was to ask for someone to help me decide whether this price was competitive enough so I can make any adjustments to my business plan.

[Morgy]

Why not compare your price to that of your competitors?

[DannyAverz]

I have. However, I feel the service that I provide is noticably different to any of my competitiors. Just out of curiosity, do you think that comapnies would be interested in a 3 months FREE trial (no strings/no contract) and then maybe £120 a year if they wished to continue with the advertising. That way I can prove in the 3 months trial that the website is receiving enough traffic to warrant £120 a year?

Thank you for your replies.

[PaddyPawsPetServices]

what are your competitors charging? is what you are providing worth charging a little more or less for?

I assume you market researched this idea and asked what people were willing to pay also?

[Morgy]

Advertising agency is a generic term - when I read your first post I conjured up an image of you helping businesses with branding, image, editorials etc.

However reading your last post it seems to me you are another online directory. Which is it?

[DannyAverz]

Well. The main part of the business is an online internet directory, in the form of a shopping centre designed in flash. However, I will be creating quaterly e-magazines which will be distrubuted to all of our public members, and free text messgaing service where public members can receive text messgaes telling them about offers, promotions etc. Due to the range of advertising provided, I was advised to call it an agency. Do you disagree with this advice? Just to bring up my previous point, do you think business will agree that a FREE 3 moth trial period and then £120 per year afterwards (including a free advertisement in one edition of the e-magazine) is a reasonable rate?

Thanks again for your replies.

[silvermusic]

The main part of the business is an online internet directory, in the form of a shopping centre designed in flash.

I'm going to sound like Peter or Theo from the Dragon's Den. :)

Please don't pump money into this idea, it's been done so many times before and failed. I hate to think of the number of shopping sites I've seen come and go, they all lack one major thing, traffic. People don't need them, anything and everything can be found via the major search engines, Google, Yahoo, etc.

[Esk247]

erm...so your business plan can be binned then.

i built an internet business directory back in 2005..it ran ok for 2 years but i've binned it now..they just don't expand enough for you to draw a decent wage.

you're going to find it difficult you know, you're not doing anything new, is there no niche that you can find?

there are a million advertising companies around today..all doing the same thing..can you design websites too? because i have to and so do my competitors..they also have monthly magazines in hard copy..they're still looking for additional business though!