Free Services Can Be Costly for Online Businesses
On the heels of Twitter going down last week, this week the news is of a popular free service not going down, but closing it’s doors altogether. Popular with many online marketers who use social media sites like Twitter, tr.im URL shortening announced it is closing it’s doors. And there’s bigger news, yesterday Facebook Acquired Friendfeed. These trends are interesting indicators of what is going on with social media services, online businesses must be profitable or their doors will close. Take note, this serves as a wake up call for anyone serious about building a lasting online business, count the cost and choose wisely.
Free Services Can Be Costly for Online Businesses
Last week Twitter went down (why I didn’t care much) and more than a few people were upset about it, even as I write this, there are complaints that Twitter is slow. Now with tr.im URL shortening service closing up shop, (thanks to Michelle MacPhearson for her post on this) and a sense that other such services are not far behind (cli.gs), online marketers should pause and ask some questions.
- Impact: What impact would there be to your business if all the free services on the internet went away? Not only the services you use but those used by your market.
- Cost: What would it cost your business if these services go away, consider that against what it would cost you to invest in a paid service (or purchased software that you can host yourself and get support for).
Free Services Will Always Be Around – Some Are Worth Paying For
No doubt there are other free URL shortening service you might consider, just count the cost of using these (here is a paid service for URL shortening and another one I use on this site) but there are some services for your online business that are just worth paying for.
Which Ones Are Worth Paying for? This is an important consideration especially for Internet Marketing newbies. Email List Management? Hosting? Coaching (information products about your market)? Chime in with your thoughts in the comment boxes below.
*Image Credit Mijori
jack on 
Facebook
Plaxo
LinkedIn
YouTube
Twitter
Skype
Hi, my name is Travis Campbell, I operate this site. I'm here to share what I can from my lessons marketing online. With sizeable investments in continuing education, various software products and services, I have had some winners, and some losers. One way I can extend what I've learned is by writing about it, here... and helping you along the way.
Comments