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0 pointskeiferski15y ago0 comments

Rather than downvote you, I'll disagree in a reply.

Ads are an extremely unreliable business model. If you want to be an entrepreneur, run a business. If you want to run a business, sell stuff. Don't fall into the trap of "oh, I'll just tack some ads on later and we'll be fine."

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axod15y ago· 4 in thread

> "Ads are an extremely unreliable business model."

How much money do you make from advertising revenue that allows you to quantify specifically how reliable it is? I'd question if you have enough data at your disposal to make a statistically valid assessment.

You can't disagree with data, and it's only unreliable if you don't know what you're doing.

MicahWedemeyer15y ago

I have data from my own experiences, and while I won't release it, I will say that in our case subscription revenue is an order of magnitude higher than ad revenue.

I can possibly see my business becoming a full-time job from subscription revenue. I wouldn't even cover hosting costs from ads.

axod15y ago

I guess in summary then, both are viable.

I've been making a living mainly from advertising income for just over 10 years now.

I've also tried getting users to pay for things, and it's orders of magnitude harder (for me).

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lyudmil15y ago

How about the fact that most successful businesses that have ever existed have charged for their products? Why is this data that can safely be ignored? It's the most proven business model out there.

Furthermore, it takes time to get good at anything. As you implied, making money from advertising is a skill, so how long does it take for you to get good enough at it to support yourself? Charging for things is simply more conservative. It's for people who don't want to risk going under while learning how to advertise.

axod15y ago

There's pretty substantial industries that are built on advertising revenue - free papers, television, and the internet. Over the last 15 years countless websites have proven you can make substantial amounts of money from advertising income. It's a proven business model.

Getting paid subscribers isn't trivial either. You need to learn as you go with either approach.

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