The model of "Free", any multi millionaires yet?
 

I keep hearing about the new way of marketing is "Free" but has it produced any big money for anyone yet?

The Unix guys? Other open source guys? I suppose the Hun would count. Anyone else?

Linux, wordpress, facebook, google..

Google is not free. Facebook is rich in that they keep getting big checks but they lose the cash running the site. So lets call it an unknown. Wordpress folks made some big cash?

Kevin Rose from Digg. :2 cents:

facebook ? :p

Google isn't free? Everything but buying ads is free. As a Webmaster, it's tools are free.

Facebook was losing money but I would be surprised if it is still is. It's one of the richest properties on the Internet for buying targeted traffic....

Wordpress is godly.. they do hosting, plugins, poll software, normal ads, lots of stuff... they're killing it with a free product that is giving them free branding like nothing else I have ever seen.

Go Fuck Yourself





























dot com

The payoff with "free" or Open Source is with the customization that comes at a stiff price tag. However, this has not always worked well since there is this sort of attitude out there that once something is free then everything related to that product should be free as well. It is also my experience that when someone is insisting to develop with a Open Source system and free software that they have no money to begin with to spend on development.

The Free Porn model, much like the free news or anything out there that gives value for free, but then markets to the viewer with ads has sort of fizzled. Viewers are simply not clicking on the ads or if they do they are not buying.

I had a muse the other day; what if every single adult website took down its free content and insisted that the viewer pay? I bet the viewer would pay and not go away. But you see, every site has to do this or its a no go.

Plentyoffish?

Freemium is the new free.

Good post.

It's also easier to make money giving away "free" product you stole vs product you paid for.

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The search engines make money with their "free" product. Doubt if many else do. A better question would be "Who has lost a million with a free site?"

I think www.magentocommerce.com falls into that category?

They started off with a free e-commerce shop but soon added the obvious shop functionalities into an extremely expensive "premium" version

just millions of millionaires.

Let's bring this down to 'reality' for a moment, shall we? yes, we can discuss Microsoft or Google or any GIANT COMPANY that is now successful and analyize how they started.....so what? None of us on here are Microsoft or Google (or facebook or and of the other 'free' examples listed above, and I know Microsoft isn't 'free' just pointing out a GIANT company).

So: how many of US - webmasters making, say, UNDER 1 million a year in income, are 'getting rich' (comparatively)? I mean, how many of US would consider OURSELVES 'successful' if our business model is giving away our shit for free? Hmmmm?

Using Google, Facebook, Wordpress et al as examples is useless. IMHO

Our Industry has a lot of multi-million dollar a year affiliates running free sites, free traffic, free logins, giving away free content, using ads/upsells, or whatever to cover the grap. I can't say how big MFP is, no idea really... but it's probably safe to guess it's that big.

An $85k+ a month affiliate isn't the most common thing, but they are around... even more in mainstream.

The lesson with google/facebook is, if they are free, if huge models like wordpress are free... then it works, all over, big or small, any niche, any industry. But just because you create another wordpress, exactly like they did... it doesn't mean it will be successful, free or paid.

youtube, sold for over one billion, no?

And it continues to be a supposed money pit. Who is losing money running a free site? Oh wait hosting - fuck!

Excellent points. I was just saying the average webmaster trying to 'make it' will not do so - or will face an incredible uphill battle - if their prime business model is giving away 85% of their content for free. Free sites, TGPs, even tube submissions - all free, yes, but should - should - only represent a small percentage of your actual content. What I'M seeing these days, a trend, is desperate Webmasters, who have seen their revenues shrink over the past eighteen months, panic and start throwing ALL (or most) of their shit 'out there' in some manic attempt to net whatever fishes they feel are left. This is a mistake.

COUNTER-trend people. COUNTER TREND! Porn sites - legit ones, who can back this up - should be charging $49.95+ for their content. Why? because the perception will be: "Wow, their shit MUST be good for them to charge THAT! MUST be better than all that free, over-exposed shit I see everywhere..."

Just sayin'. :)

google is a good example. it was early is my excuse. Facebook is cash flow positive so that is working now. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/...million-users/

I am not a fan of the "free" model as it makes so less money then going straight paid to start with but it is hard to argue that is not getting traction.

That guy is google's highest paid adsense user. Or so I've heard.

Facebook is also profitable now.

Most news sites?

the tubez ;)

the guys running all those file storage sites are making a killing I'll bet: mediafire, rapidshare megaupload etc

Let's ask Brazzers. They supposedly make $9 million a quarter.

Free is not new its been around in the shops for years before they started using it on the interwebs. The only difference is the guys on the interwebs used it all wrong so Free dosent mean " you buy one and you get this free" Free now means you dont buy nothing its just well ...."FREE"

Who cares about money these days?

What would make the surfer buy? If he didn't see enough preview, he would close the site and rather watch porn in TV. Free content is here to tease the surfer and make him pay.