Pay-Per-Use Web Site Model
I’m sitting in my office trying to come up with an effective way to make the leap from web site revenue driven by advertising, to one revenue driven by payment for use of the service.
Right now, I have four web sites that are candidates for the pay-per-use business model. They are:
- http://www.firmscode.com – on online lookup tool for US Customs FIRMS codes.
- http://www.signatureconfirm.com – a digital signature service for signing contracts online.
- http://www.deliveryconfirm.com – a web based email return receipt service.
- and http://linktrack.info – an online link shortening and tracking service.
Here are the issues I’m facing. FYI – I don’t have answers to these questions yet (that will probably come in a later post).
- How can I implement a pay per use model without losing a significant portion of the users?
- What can I reasonably charge for the service?
- How should I charge? Subscriptions? Individual Transactions?
I’m really starting to believe that online services are the next generation of the web, and I want to be a part of it.