YWS Pay per Page Model?

I notified the mods of this a while ago, but the slowing economy has hit YWS. There are just as many clicks on ads as usual, but advertisers are paying much less per click. Fortunately, the YWS bank account is large enough to tide it over, but some financial experts are calling the current crisis, "Fall of Rome" type stuff. I don't buy into such hyperbole, but I know a couple of such people and they're really smart. So when they call this, the "Fall of Rome," I listen.

Moreover, I remember very well the dot-com bust of 2000. A lot of Internet sites did not take the bust seriously, and they were gone a couple of years later. The major ones managed to stick around, but a lot of the minor ones disappeared.

To ensure that YWS remains a presence on the Web, I'm thinking of possible revenue models in case this crisis really is "Fall of Rome" type stuff. Of course, this assumes that there is not a run on the US dollar, but if that happens, we're all doomed anyways.

One of the models I'm thinking of implementing is a pay per page system. Every time you view a page, you would be charged one cent. It's not much, but it would raise hundreds of dollars a month, which would then be used to keep YWS afloat.

Of course, every YWS member would have to create a paypal account, but everything would be done behind the scenes; that is, you wouldn't notice anything different. It's just, every time you viewed a page, one cent would be automatically charged to your paypal account. Again, it's not much, and would be totally opaque.

I am thinking of other possible revenue models, but the pay per page model strikes me as efficient and not burdensome in the slightest.

YWS is becoming a Pay-per-view? How do we pay anyway then? Even if I amke an account somewhere, how do I put money into it?

There are about 8000 members in this site and one cent from all of them per page? The YWS will be the richest site in the world if that happens. XD

Well, it's not an altogether pleasant idea, but I can see how it would be necessary and if it happens it happens. I'd be willing to make an account and pay a cent.

What's wrong with a flat rate?

-Kylan

If that were the case, I wouldn't go to YWS very much at all. It's sort of like me with my cell phone minutes... I freak out about spending money on minutes, even though we, as a family, usually have over 400 per month left over. I get way too obsessive about that sort of thing.

I agree with the flat rate, there are enough active users that a flat rate would bring in some serious cash flow, perhaps even just $5 a month or something. I know that I look at a lot of pages on this site per day, and that adds up to a lot of dollers really quickly. If you look at it this way, I look at 100 pages per day, depending on the day isn't far off, I don't believe (I don't really count the pages as I surf this site). Then that would be up to 31 dollars a month give or take.

Not that I don't love the site, but I don't have a whole lot of dollers to spare at this point.

I agree. I'd probably not be involved as much and be WAY careful what I'd do and look at. That's just me though.

Scary thought, but curse you for getting us addicted first. If it goes to that, and I can afford it, yes, I'll pay.

Something to consider, though, is that not all of the members have a source of income. There are quite a few 13 and 14-year-olds who would only be able to pay through their parents, and then their parents might not like them being overly active on here because it would dip into their cash. Not by a lot, no. But it'd add up if someone was visiting close to a dollar's worth of pages a day, assuming we get charged for hitting the back button to revisit a page and do something else there.

But again, if it's needed to keep YWS around, I'd gladly pay a cent a page. YWS got me to write my first novel, lol. Would need to talk to my parents about it, of course, but would still be willing to do it. Cent a page isn't that much, after all. Might just mean limitling my visits.

I might be willing, and I have my own bank account now, but I would scale back my page-clicking by a lot. It's only one cent, but still. I don't think it'd make that huge a difference though, just cut down on my aimless clicking, e.g only click on something I'm going to review. So it could be a good thing.

Another thought: What if the parents don't approve of the child being on YWS in the first place? I know my parents didn't, and there's no way they would have paid for me to go on here. A lot of users might be forced to go away because they're dependent on their parents incomes and their parents don't like the site, or aren't willing to pay for it.

What if the parents don't approve of the child being on YWS in the first place?

Good point. I was in the same situation for a long time.

-Kylan

EDIT: I viewed 71 pages on YWS today alone.

I think a flat $1.00 per page would be sufficient. $0.01 seems far too inexpensive.

This may be a good idea on some levels, but it's going to run off a large number of members permanently; especially the younger ones whose parents sometimes don't see YWS as a priority. Just my two cents (ha ha).

Buscador! wrote:I think a flat $1.00 per page would be sufficient. $0.01 seems far too inexpensive.

I'm not quite sure, but I think charging $1 per premium page would work. Take stories, for instance. Charging $1 to view a story would probably work out quite well.


Addressing some concerns

I understand that a lot of 13 and 14 year olds would probably no longer be able to access the site under this plan, but drastic times call for drastic measures.

I also understand Snoink's cell-phone argument, but this system would ensure that people don't mindlessly click. Having to think before you click is a good thing.

A dollar a story sounds horrifying, personally...

Just wondering: if you guys do decide to set this plan in motion, is there a rough idea of how long it would take to get it implemented? A few weeks? A few months?