Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Networking/info Site-how Much To Charge??

Posted by Anonymous on 3/11/2008 at 3:59 PM ET 250 Points
We are starting an information website about a local art community. We will be offering a list of local galleries, artists and related business. Each will be offered 3 listings: Basic (free), Intermediate and Advanced. As we get going - artists will be allowed to "buy web space" and their art will become searchable. We will also be offering chat room access, classifieds, portfolio reviews, and ad space. For free - there will be news feeds, blogs, forums.

A couple of questions: How do we establish fair market price for these options? And, how do we "get over the bridge" when we are first starting - as an unknown entity - we won't have the community presence to validate our worth for advertising.

Thanks for your help!!!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 3/11/2008 at 4:04 PM Member
    You should invest in a Pay Per Click program. I use www.ppcmanagement.com They are very effective and can help drive "qualified" traffic to your site.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 3/11/2008 at 4:57 PM Accepted
    Is the site selling product or bios about the artist and their shows/gallery? (you state information vs product) If the later, it wouldn't be possible to track commission on sales.

    Pay per click is a good idea, but if you have no traffic-- this could be a losing proposition. What I would urge you to do is put together a business plan with strong attention to the marketing and the financials. This will tell you what you need to charge. Doing it on excel will let you do several "what if" scenarios. Then the answers will bubble up.

    As far as marketing, a few hours of planning will also give you a plan (obviously) but give you a tool to sell the advertising. A good way to start your email list is fusion marketing. Putting links on others sites, and having them broadcast email your info (and you reciprocate) will give you a good start.

    In many cities they are developing areas as artist areas, and there may be grant money available. If the artists are together geographically, do once a month open galleries. We have 1st Fridays in Denver and they're packed! Its fun to walk gallery to gallery -- the local restaurants benefit as well. And all contribute to the marketing of the event. With everyone contributing to the event in this manner -- you could give away links on the site until you get established.
  • Posted by AdsValueBob on 3/11/2008 at 8:44 PM Member
    I believe I can provide you most of the "from the trenches" answers you're seeking. Check my profile for my contact information.

    Sincerely,

    Bob
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/12/2008 at 8:50 AM Member
    Initially, charge nothing. As others have mentioned, without traffic you have nothing. As traffic increases, and the value of your site becomes clearer, you could charge for listings or simply sell AdSense-type advertising (you profit from the traffic, and traffic arrives because of the artists' content).
  • Posted on 3/12/2008 at 11:48 PM Author
    To answer the question posed: We will be a calendar of events as well as a listing of local galleries and artists at a basic level for free. Higher level searches, artists' web sites, chat rooms, e-courses will be charged for. Initially- we will not be selling product. As the site develops we will at a minimum sell reproduced art (print on demand, customized gifts) - and evaluate selling original art for commission. Should we decide to sell art - the decision will be to make commission or to charge the artist to post a certain number of items in a time frame...or some combination of the two.

    Thank you all so much. We're almost done with the business plan...we're just finishing up the sales prospective. Your ideas are helping out a lot.

    Does anyone know specific dollar ranges for pay-per-clicks and for various levels of ads for specific time ranges ??

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