More questions from a Paysite rookie!
 

ok, as you all have probably surmised, we're thinking of opening a paysite. The question now is what in your opinion is a good member retention idea.

updated content is obvious, but I'm wondering if any of you have other ideas. If you don't want to share them, that's totally understandable. If you'd like to share them with me via email, that's cool too. http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/smile.gif

[email protected]

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Webmastercommerce.com

I don't know if what I do helps or not, but I have a news section going. Whenever I update I write a little news thing, basically trying to get a community feel going rather than just a members area which is links to like 10 feeds and lots of pic galleries.

I do get mails, talking to me personally saying great update etc. so maybe it works.

matty

There are two keys to member retention: 1) make it impossible to figure out how to quit; 2) make your site too interesting to quit.

Okay, 1) was a joke. As for 2), interesting content updated regularly. I update my http://www.girlsdotcom.com site every 3 days, but I know of sites that update 3 times a day. It's seldom said, but I think it's important to have content that satisfies the impression left by the tour. If your tour prominently features women having sex with clowns, there had better be substantial quantities of clown sex content in the site, right? How often do site operators forget this? And then they wonder why people charge back or fail to renew.

If you are making your first pay site, pick a niche and work it. You can't compete against Cybererotica, Hustler, and Kara's Adult Playground.

While in my own case, GirlsDotCom.com works an overworked market, teens, I make my own content and have my own style, and that keeps 'em coming back: their taste in girls and photography is similar to mine.

Original content is another big factor. As soon as you can afford it, pay to get original content made. Sites which can say "We have photos you won't find anywhere else" always do better than ones which buy their content nonexclusively.

Hope that helps.

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Check out the new content at Wonders of the Unseen World Will trade content for good traffic.

[This message has been edited by UnseenWorld (edited 01-08-2002).]

1) Price

Have had paysite for 4 years, prices all over the board. Cheaper means longer retention and less likelihood of chargebacks.

2) Content.

Most surfers are impulse buyers, esp if you work in the general niches like big tits, amateurs, teen. All bullshit content recycled over and over. They want to get in on the cheap trial, pop off a load or 10, and cancel before they get rebilled 30 bucks.

BUT, if you have content that nobody else has, and I mean nobody else has (and its good) you can retain like fucking mad, esp if it is in a good niche that is not glutted. I have alot members that have been recurring for OVER 2 years simply due to this fact.

They only getting rebilled 9.95 a month, and you can only find my content on my sites. I dont know about you, but I would rather have a member recur at cheap ass 9.95 for 6 months, than someone who never gets past the trial because monthly charge is excessive. I cant believe what some sites are charging today.

I have worked in both areas. For awhile I ran a site that had several thousand dollars in feed costs per month, content updates almost daily... good content in a niche that had a bit of competition but was not horribly over glutted. It costs me a shiny penny to run the bitch every month. And for the life of me I cant get those motherfuckers to recur past 2 months. I know others with same style paysites and they have the same trouble. I know its because I have to charge more to cover all the expenses. It sucked, I shut it down.

Im half drunk and rambling, prefunk for the Hatebreed show. ANYONE around here like them? Just fucking brutal. One of the smaller bands on Ozzfest last year.

Anywho, just my two cents.

If you are thinking about a teen site and have full control over your content icq me and I will tell you how I used to hang onto members for months. If you are buying in one off picture sets then I can't really help.

My net connection is poor at present so there might be a delayed reply.

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