Hey there, thanks for looking. I know this is my second post but I would appreciate all help that you can provide me with. I currently have a site offering my users a service that cost's me around 10pence (15 cents) per person. I am trying to find a method to recoup this cost, so far: I have looked at advertising, since the website is new its not hugely popular and If i had adverts, I would probably get a MAXIMUM of $5 CPM? thats 0.005 per user. Hence I would have to have a minimum of 20 adverts to recoup the cost. I would not like my users to go through this, so I have put aside this option. I have looked at CPALead, A survey site which pays an average of $0.50 for users to fill in surveys. I have found 2 problems with this: Firstly, once the survey has been filled in, it allows the content to be seen for at least a day, people will probably be using my service repetitively, and so costing me more money than it earns me. Secondly, some of these surveys are EXTREMELY long, and my users will just be put off and not bother with completing them. I do not want this either. So, to put it simply. How can i earn on average $0.10 per user that uses a service I offer?
I think if the content you offered is important or interested enough, people will be willing to spend time on the surveys that they have to answer ahead. For example, if you are offering online video clips people are keen to watch online or download, it will make better motivation.
My target audience is mainly teens, and the service is a small simple service. The main issue I have found with CPALead is they only do a survey each day minimum. Whereas users might use my service 10 times a day which would cost more than the survey pays. Another small problem is that it erases php form data, which I guess I can store in cookies, but its just another complication. I think my solution is to lower the cost of the service, which is possible, but makes the whole process a LOT more complicated. I theorise I can get the cost to around 3 pence per use. A plausible amount to recover by advertising maybe?
I guess people are starting to realize some use and help of social media optimization nowadays. And IMO, it is a good tactic if done correctly. It might consume a lot of time, but all the hard work might eventually take effect and benefit you.
You can ask for donations. Explain to your visitors that you have costs and in order to keep the site running they need to be covered. Another method is to find an affiliate programme or two and sell some products that are relevant to your site. If you find the right products you might even enhance your site with these useful products. There are a few affiliate directories out there. Look at what % commission they offer and how they pay out.
Yeah, it is a form of SMO I hope so I doubt users would donate, its more a quick service. Thanks for the affiliate suggestion, ill look into that. I am now thinking of also (to cut costs) offering a 'premium' service. Unsure however.