Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi Everyone,

I am building an online business that I really hope will provide a great deal of good for people. Any feedback at this juncture will be greatly appreciated!

My site will provide guided meditations and other tools to help people find greater happiness and a deeper Divine connection. I plan to charge $25 for six months or $40.00 per year.

Questions 1:

There are a lot of sites out there that provide online meditation for free. Why should someone pay for a membership to my site?

My answer:

Because my site is presented as a gestalt that provides tools for meditation, prayer and support for those interested in a commitment toward practicing positive spirituality – a combined approach for achieving greater happiness and lasting peace. My competitors provide mostly stand-alone meditations.

Question 2:

Would that encourage you to pay for a membership if you had a basic interest in these practices?

Question 3:

Do you think that my prices are too little, too much or just about right?

Again, your input is deeply appreciated as I really want to provide an important and meaningful service!
 

Back when I first got internet, first got a PC, I was on Netzero. It was "free". It sucked. That adbar was crippling for anything but basic web browsing. I`ve played several online games. Some were free and some were pay. The paid games were exponentially better. There was no comparison. I have many mottos, and one of them is, "You get what you pay for."

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Making limitless possibilities much more limited.

I agree with Matt, that you get what you pay for. "Free" sites generally only attract people looking for the cheapest product, or looking for a bargain-basement product.

I think your prices are pretty low, all things considered, but you`ve only mentioned them as membership fees. If you also price individual products, that would seem a bit more reasonable.

As far as online guided meditation, I have no idea if this is a good business idea. I`ll assume you`ve done the market research and found there`s a market. It seems to me that people will pay money for just about anything, but with the changes in the current economy, who knows?

Some of your competitors are using the Free strategy to draw in traffic, and then once in monetize that traffic by other means (ads, supplemental products, premium service, etc.).  In some cases I do agree with Matt and Craig above, you get what you pay for.  However, that is only relevant to the strategy that you are pursuing.

Seth Godin, master marketer, writes high-quality articles everyday on his blog.  Doesn`t charge anyone to read it, even though he probably could.  But he still manages to sell thousands of copies of his book, `Small is the New Big`, which...is merely a collection of some of these same Free articles.  Mint.com provides an incredibly valuable personal finance tool for millions of people, but doesn`t charge a cent to its users.  Mint makes money on advertising and connecting its users to credit card offers and such. Hubspot.com is an awesome internet marketing business that offers tons of free tools, info and articles to their audience.  This draws in prospects, and they then convert these prospects into clients.

Now I am not saying that you shouldn`t charge people for your service and give everything away for free.  But unfortunately the online consumer expects a lot from businesses these days.  If you keep everything behind lock and key, I think it will hurt your business.  What you need is a balance of both.  Offer some free advice, blog about your topic, connect with your community, and show your target audience that you you know what you`re talking about and can provide value to them.  This builds trust and loyalty from your audience.

I`d suggest writing a blog on your topic, hanging out where your target hangs out online, and in general try to help people with your advice.  If what you have is valuable, your customers will find you.  And then when they are at your site, and loving you for the awesome article you just shared with them, ask them to sign up for your guided meditation and your conversion rate will double.

Check out www.ZenHabits.net.  Leo is an awesome writer, and one that I think you will find a connection with.  He writes great articles on his topic and has over 100,000 people subscribed to his blog.  Once there, he promotes his book, has a few ads, and even asks for donations.  As I said, don`t give away everything (unless that`s your strategy), but offer something of value to your audience and they will find you.  Keep `everything` behind a credit card processor and it will make for a tough sale.

As for your pricing, I too know very little about what is appropriate for your market.  However, $3 a month seems reasonable.  Use the tactics above to draw prospects in, gain their trust, and pitch them with "Find greater happiness for $3 a month."  Now who could turn that down?

One last thought, an idea.  Offer "live" guided general meditations to all for free once a day, three times a week, whatever you are able to fit into your schedule.  Then, offer people access to the recordings for a fee.  Not everyone will be able to be online for the free live sessions and will want to meditate on their own schedule.

See `free` as a tool, not the enemy, and seek balance between them.  If your goal is truly to "...provide an important and meaningful service" stick with it and you will be successful. Best of luck.

Regards,
Michael B
eVentureToday.com

I think eVentureToday`s advice is pretty solid. Your justification for charging sounds like a valid reason, but you may need some free services or information to draw in your user and "whet their appetite", so to speak. You can establish a relationship with your customers by providing some free information, where they trust you and view you as an authority in this industry.  You can then charge for a "premium" service. What should be free and what you should charge is up to you. But I think offering something for free is a great way to attract initial visitors to your services.


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Motivation for Entrepreneurs
Entre-Propel.com