How to Make Money in 2009 With Your Web Startup
January 5, 2009
I am about to drop a bombshell on you. The kind of secret that you only hear about on the radio associated with some weird 800 number and really bad domain name.
The real good stuff… you ready?
The answer to how to make money in 2009 with your web startup is…..
CHARGE PEOPLE MONEY!
Are you completely taken off guard and shocked at such advice? I wouldn’t be surprised. We’ve been slowly conditioned over the past couple years (as consumers and as web entrepreneurs) that the products/services we use or create should be free (Twitter, Facebook, gmail, etc, etc) or at least start out that way.
Let’s be clear, this is a sure-fire way NOT to make money. Got it?
My mantra for 2009 is “Charge Early and Charge Often.”
Sure you might have less users, sure the users you do have will be more demanding. But that is OK! I am completely floored everytime someone brings up the issue of monetizing Twitter (or another such ‘free’ service’). Ummm, charge your 1 million+ users $1/month to use the service. Even if you lost 50% of your users (highly unlikely) that is still a pretty nice chunk of change. Right?
The measuring stick is no longer how many users you have and how fast your userbase is growing. It will be how quickly you’re generating revenue (remember what revenue is?), and how fast your revenue is growing.
This has been a lesson in common sense. Thanks for reading ;-)
