So here's a simple way to do it. Subscription to the general list is free,
but with each free email transfered there is a advertisement (you need to
support HTML to do this in the most effective manner). Google Adwords will
probably be interested, and if not them, then there are many others that
would be interested in such a targeted list. You could even sell the
sdvertisements directly.
Subscribers pay $30 per year to have no advertising, and also have access to
advanced features once you have some.
That's the simplest model, there are many more. You might find this
uncomfortable given your academian background. Personally, I find poverty
even more uncomfortable. You're in the publishing business. But you've been
giving away the magazines and not charging for advertising.
Marketing Sherpa has an extensive amount of information on
subscription-based web services and how to switch over without losing
subscribers. In fact, if you do it well, you'll gain subscribers.
It may not make immediate sense to you, but the value of something has a lot
to do with what you charge for it. You can afford to develop and refine what
you do. The problem with your old flea market was that you didn't grow and
develop it--you didn't increase the number of potential customers which
attracts sellers, which finances getting more customers. Virtuous cycle. The
opposite of that is a downward spiral.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-fot@autox.team.net
To: fot@autox.team.net
Sent: 9/22/2005 12:30 PM
Subject: Thanks, folks!
Thanks to the folks who've contributed, I do appreciate it. Several
people have asked for a mailing address to send contributions, letter
bombs or whatever, so here it is:
Fat Chance Garage
PO Box 58333
Salt Lake City, UT 84158
And don't worry, the FOT list will still be free, "subscriptions" are
strictly voluntary.
mjb.
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