Which to do first??

[TheStar]

I agree. PTC sites are good for bringing traffic but people (members and owners) have gotten in way over their heads with it. Seems like these sites are money making games - that's why there are so many popping up. If you check out some of these sites, you will see that all they advertise are other ptc sites - it's like some sort of circle and it's getting old.

As for me, I'm getting all these ideas about how to make this work out better for the advertisers. If after six or more months it doesn't work out, I'll probably walk away from it. It's all worth a try.

So, I know better than to advertise on those sites or forums dedicated to them. I've been active enough to know that the members have the mentality to make money from clicking only but I will be monitoring my site heavily to keep those kind of members away.

[vangogh]

It sounds like you're approaching this with the right idea and the right attitude.

Taking a step back in order to make the site valuable for advertisers you need to send them targeted traffic. In order to get that you can't really pay members to click. The incentive to click has to be interest in the advertiser. That's why I think it would be better to offer something else for members that doesn't rely on the advertisers. If you offer them content in general that they want to consume and then have related ads I think it could work.

Say you have some how to content for changing the oil in your car. An advertisement for motor oil could do well. Even an ad from Jiffy Lube could work. Some people after reading about changing their oil may no longer want to do it themselves. Match the advertisers to the content.

Without the extra content I think the only way to offer incentives to members while still offering targeted traffic to advertisers would be to offer discounts/coupons. You'd be creating the online version of a coupon book. If you go that route you'll probably need advertiser first and you may have to let advertiser in for free in the beginning.

Get advertisers on board by telling them your plans and letting them advertise for free provided they offer a discount specifically for your future members. Once you have some advertisers on board you can then look to build up membership. Assuming members do end up buying, you'll be able to get advertisers to buy in. Maybe give the advertiser 6 months for free. That makes it easy for them to say yes. Then after 6 months if your site is actually sending them new customers it's also an easy decision to pay to continue advertising with you.

[TheStar]

Hmm, I see your point! Gotta think all over again

Instead of offering a cash incentive, I can do a point incentive. Do you think that will make it a little better? Or should I not offer an incentive at all??

The thought of offering advertisers free ads kind of scares me a bit mainly because the offer might be taken and ran way with Then I thought, why run away from a good thing? So this is definitely something I can do (I don't know about 6 months though )

This idea will surely keep the 'clickers' away!!

[vangogh]

I think points would still be the same. As long as you're offering an incentive to click beyond simply being interested in the advertisers site then the clicks then the clicks are going to be artificial and it reduces the value to the advertiser.

Why does giving out the free advertising scare you? Some people will probably take the free advertising and not renew when you go to charge them. But you don't lose anything if they do. You need advertisers to attract members. Offering free advertising is one way to attract advertisers. You'll need to drive targeted traffic to them if you want them to renew, but offering the freebie helps you build the site while working to drive the necessary traffic.

[TheStar]

I'm going to offer free advertisements and still keep the idea of offering point incentives to see if it works out. If it doesn't, I will change it up again.

Thanks.

[vangogh]

What exactly would people get for the points? I think as soon as you give people an incentive to click beyond being interested in the advertiser the whole system falls apart. Under that condition it's going to become apparent to advertisers that the traffic they're getting is artificial.

[TheStar]

Stuff like cash, games, gift cards...

They have to build points to get them, though.

But, I do have plans to find out if members are really interested in the site or not.

[vangogh]

I'd say give points for something other than clicking links to advertiser sites. You could certainly give out points for other things to keep people interested in the site, but if you give an incentive to click on ads you run the risk of losing your advertisers and having your business model fall apart.

[TheStar]

I'll just have to go through trial and error to see what works.

[vangogh]

Absolutely. Don't take anything I say as the gospel. The only way to know what works is to give it a try and see what happens. As long as you learn something you didn't fail and maybe you'll hit on what's missing from this business model and be successful with it.