What is harder to monetise and WHY?
Business Marketing with Nika
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I asked this question a few weeks back on Twitter. But would like to know your angle of view.
Feel free to open discussion and your experiences with monetising service vs. product. So...
What is harder to monetise + why?
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lilly william@lilly_william
Monetizing specific types of digital content, such as news articles or creative works like product and service, can be particularly challenging. For news articles, the basic difficulty lies in the more availability of free news content online, making it hard to convince users to pay for subscriptions. Additionally, the decline in traditional advertising revenue, coupled with the need for high-quality journalism that requires significant resources, creates a tough financial landscape.
Creative works like product or service face a Ions fonts different set of challenges. The niche audience for poetry and the limited commercial appeal so it is very important for the Ions fonts compared to other forms of entertainment make it difficult to generate substantial revenue.
Both types of content struggle with the balance between maintaining accessibility and generating revenue, making monetization efforts complex and often less lucrative compared to other digital content.
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It really depends on the specifics, but in general I'd say services are harder to monetize than products. With a product, people pay once upfront and the revenue model is clear. But with services, you have to figure out ongoing pricing that provides value to customers while being profitable long-term. Things like churn, utilization rates, support costs etc. make the unit economics trickier for services businesses. Just my 2 cents though, interested to hear others' experiences!
@robertthomas2 and what about selling? It is harder to sell product or service? Because many people (in my case) try to find service rather than product.
Monetizing niche markets can be more challenging due to the smaller audience size. However, if you can identify and target a highly engaged niche, it can lead to higher conversion rates and customer loyalty.
In my experience, services can be harder to monetize compared to products. Services often require ongoing investment in time and expertise, which can be challenging to scale and price consistently. Products, on the other hand, have clearer value propositions and can often be sold at scale with less ongoing effort.
@priyankamandal WHat's wrong with me? :D people want from me more services than products. 😅
I think service bcz you have to convince the clients everytime whenever you ask for the payment in service model
You can say that our product is essentially about providing services to users, or that the services we provide are essentially a type of product. Therefore, the core should be to monetize based on the value that the product or service provides to users. I believe this is the key point. As for value, it should depend on the benefits the product or service brings to the users and the users' acceptance. This is likely the difficult part.
@zhang_jon do you mean something like making a product from the service?
This is a tough one. I believe services are hard initially because if you don't have a clientele to show, you can't just get work. In the case of product, you can build a good one and it'll help you get the initial traction easily.
@busmark_w_nika Is it so? What's your challenge, Nika?
I think it is service? (I am not sure though).
Only because how do you value your hour? How do you value your quality of service?how do you scale efficiently?
In a product there are some cost you incur which can be factored in easily, you can scale easily, you can play around with pricing levels more.
@my3_murthy This is something I try to handle. Because I thought that service is harder but it seems to me, that the product is harder in my case to sell.
Monetizing niche content is often harder because the audience size is smaller, making it challenging to reach critical mass for significant revenue. Additionally, niche markets may require more specialized marketing strategies and can have limited appeal to advertisers looking for broad reach. What's your experience with monetizing niche vs. broad content?
@vhim_jana I think that niche content is harder too. Too specialised can be good for those who want to go deeply but there are a few people who can afford to be professionals at certain things (afford with their current level skills and financially too).
I think products with a high churn rate or low perceived value can be difficult to monetize. Keeping users engaged and justifying the cost become significant hurdles. On the other hand, if a product solves a critical pain point or offers a unique value proposition, monetization can be easier.
@david__joshua If the product significantly solves the issue, it sells itself. But competition is always strong. So it is questionable.
For a company just starting out, it'd be easier to sell a product than a service. Not easy, just easier. Assuming the product and service are both good. This is because it's much harder to build trust in the quality of service than for a product. For one thing, you can test a product before you buy, usually extensively. Service, not so well. Also, the quality of service delivered by one team can differ a lot from another in the same company. Once a company is established and have lots of positive social proof, then it's hard to say which would be easier.
Monetizing a service is harder due to scalability issues, the challenge of conveying intangible value, variable quality, limited market reach, and the need to build customer trust 🙌
Launching soon!
Some service companies try to sell their services packaged like products, thinking that it is easier to buy. But customers know even then that those are services. It means, in any shape or form, services seem to be harder to market and sell, than products.
Physical products can have higher upfront costs for manufacturing and inventory management. Shipping and fulfillment logistics add another layer of complexity. Digital products, on the other hand, have minimal marginal costs after creation, but they might face higher competition and require effective marketing strategies to stand out.
Free content, like blog posts or YouTube videos, can be difficult to monetize effectively. It requires consistent content creation to maintain audience interest, and ad revenue or sponsored content might not always be reliable income sources. Selling premium content or creating a subscription model with exclusive benefits might be more sustainable.
Niche products can be harder to monetize. While they cater to a specific need, they have a smaller potential customer base compared to mass-market products. Scaling a niche product can be difficult, limiting overall revenue potential. On the other hand, services can often be more easily adapted to different client needs and scaled through team expansion.
It depends! Services can be harder to monetize in the long run. Products offer a tangible good with a clear upfront cost. Services, however, are intangible and their value can be subjective. Additionally, maintaining consistent client engagement and justifying ongoing service fees can be challenging.
In my experience, services can be harder to monetize because they often require more personalization and time investment. Products once built can scale more easily.