The Social Enthusiast

Since the core of what we do at Doe-Anderson is building relationships between consumers and brands, we thought it would be cool to use relationships as a theme. So in honor of Valentine’s Day, all this month we’ll be sharing 28 Days to Make People Fall in Love with Your Brand. We hope you enjoy it.

Image by DavidDMuir via Flickr

I once knew an old marriage counselor that said couples argue over three things: who’s in charge, sex and money. While I can’t guarantee there are only three, I do know that money can be a deciding factor in relationships. It also is a very common discussion in the digital arena.

In the digital space you can find a vast array of ideas on what is the right business model regarding generating income.

You will find three general opinions in regards to financially leveraging digital content. There is one side of the argument that evangelizes the idea that everything online should be free. There is the other side of the argument that believes everything should be subscription based.

You will also find a third option that many are exploring, and that is the freemium business model. This works by offering services or products for free, and then charging for more advanced features or products.

Ventured capitalist, Fred Wilson defined the freemium business model this way,

“Give your service away for free, possibly ad supported but maybe not, acquire a lot of customers very efficiently through word of mouth, referral networks, organic search marketing, then offer premium priced vale added services or an enhanced version of your service to your customer base.”

Website such as Flickr, LinkedIn, and Skype are examples of the freemium business model.

However you choose to build your digital strategy, ultimately your business model will be driven by your goals. Whether you choose the “everything is free approach,” “the subscription model” or the “freemium model,” having a clear cut digital strategy is vital to determine and measure success.

If you can define the money question at the beginning, it will help define the purpose of your involvement in the digital space.