
HotorNot goes free: "Free sites are destroying pay sites" - domp
http://gigaom.com/2007/04/02/hot-or-not-goes-free/
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zkinion
So where is some good data as to how much traffic can convert and how much CPM
one can get with various types of traffic? I've been all around googling this
to come up with almost nothing. I know one must work on getting users first,
but this is not always a viable method, and sometimes one must worry about
monetization later on.

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mauricecheeks
Very little in life is free.

Today's internet clearly proves that.

Very few websites cost money, and very few websites are free of ads. These ads
are a charge to users in the form of annoyance, inconvenience and spam. They
ruin a site's layout and distract from valuable content.

Worst of all these ads are EXTREMELY far from being useful. I'm sure most of
you have seen the abysmal figures of facebook's 0.04% click through rate. Even
giants like facebook and myspace with their millions (or billions) of monthly
page views aren't profitable based on traditional ad based business models.

Maybe paid sites are the way to go.

I know i'd be fine with the death of banner ads.

 __ _I predict the future holds one last method of advertising (pat.pend.) and
then hopefully in a few years someone will be able to introduce a form of
micro-payments that will actually catch on.

~~~
rsynnott
I suspect Google's AdSense ads are a better model. I've actually seen _useful_
ones!

~~~
zkinion
Anybody that can make a dollar using google adsense can make two using other
means.

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aston
In some ways, it's a lot like the kid selling lemonade for a nickel across the
walk from some Coke machines. For next to nothing, your expectations can be a
ton lower and you'll still feel like you're getting some value. And if these
free sites can actually beat out the established players in features and
community, they'll basically be dead in the water, 'cause there's no price
that beats nothing.

Then again, I heard that when Yahoo! started charging to get into their online
dating service, they actually saw dramatic increases in membership due to the
added ensurance of reputation a fee provides.

~~~
danielha
_Then again, I heard that when Yahoo! started charging to get into their
online dating service, they actually saw dramatic increases in membership due
to the added ensurance of reputation a fee provides._

That's an interesting angle. Nothing quite like that pay-barrier to act as a
filter for quality users. Though, it's a smaller percentage of sites where
this is both applicable and truly rewarding for the company.

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Alex3917
Extremely ballsy. Refreshing to see someone willing to throw it all out and
start over right when they've seemingly reached the top.

~~~
nostrademons
OTOH, James has a few million in the bank from HotOrNot's previous profits. So
he can afford to take some risks.

