To charge or not to charge... that is the question!

I love forums about SEO, Project Management, and any other topic that has to do with dominating your abilities to be your own boss, provide a universally accepted solution or create a web presence. So the question comes into play with sites like Wicked Fire charging an astronomical $66 to post in the service section ( this change became applicable recently), do you think its wise to charge a subscription fee, posting fee or marketplace fee from the get go versus introducing that option later?

I know this seems like a slightly trivial question but I'd like to kinda knuckle down the options before I start the building content portion of the promotion of the forum I'm building. This is such a valuable resource and I value each of your opinions more than you know so require a pay now or think of adding it later?

 

Why would someone pay you a fee as an unknown when they can pay a fee to an established presence instead?
I think you need to get some people "in the door" and establish a presence before you attempt to charge.
Virtually no one will pay for something without knowing precisely what it is they are paying for.
And more importantly what they are actually going to receive for their money.

 

Thanks for that. I've seen quite a few forums that state they have " hidden information" that would ensure your success or had locked threads that you couldn't access unless you were a paying member. I really don't want to charge if I don't have to I just want to look at the avenues of additional income beyond advertising.

 

Nothing wrong with charging once you establish you have something worth paying for.
What you want to avoid is people feeling like they got scammed and announcing it all over the internet.

 

Oh yea! I know exactly what you mean. I appreciate your insight. I know it seems like a somewhat satirical question to ask but I'd like to roll out the forum the right way. A bad reputation can follow you around even for potential endeavors that have nothing to do with the forum. What is your stance on " donor" accounts with more access ?

 

It's always a good idea to have a category or two for special members. Give them extra privileges or access to a hidden forum or a custom avatar or user rank or something that shows they have done more for your site than the average member. I know Brandon has a writeup on that around here somewhere ...

 

I learned my lesson the hard way, do not pay for anything unless you know what you are doing. Sure I understand membership would have some perks but paying that much for that is kind of a little out there, I was promised they would open up these key things to help me and well it really didn't help at all and I totally got scammed out of my money. There are other options to secure the payment for the forum or website to help with the bills,subscription is a good way but ease up on what you are charging for.

 

I don't bother purchasing services myself; I only utilize free resources.

As for charging for my forum content/access, I have a Marketplace and Advertising section on my forum for people to buy/sell and advertising their goods, websites, services etc, at the cost of £10. You're probably thinking "God that's expensive/unnecessary for a new forum", but the point behind it is it's for people wanting to support the forum financially. Also, purchasing access is somewhat beneficial for them because when/if the site does become popular they'd gain more interest in whatever it is they wanted to get from those sections.

 

$66 no way to just post in a section no thanks you could spend that $66 on something actually worth paying for i don't see why you would make someone pay to post in a section pretty stupid if you ask me...

 

It is probably the false perception that if it costs money, it has to be better than free, and that you get what you pay for, yada, yada...

Best things in life are free. That's why I started a free advertising service. I have no idea yet how to monetize this, but it will come in due course.
.

 

Basically, if your site's new... don't even bother. There's zero reason for anyone to pay you for the privilege of posting in a section on a forum that barely anyone uses, since they're unlikely to get any value for money/return on their 'investment'.

When your site is established though, then maybe charge money for people to post in the service area.