We love free.
Dan Ariely proved this in his book “Predictably Irrational”
He sold two different candies.
A Hershey Kiss and a Premium Lindt Chocolate
Any candy lover knows that the Lindt chocolate is much more valuable.
So Dan sold the Lindt at a price of 27 cents, while selling the Hershey Kiss for just 1 cent.
The result: Most people purchased the Lindt Chocolate.
It was clearly the superior product, and most people were undeterred by a 27 cent price point.
The interesting thing happens when Dan made both chocolates one cent cheaper.
Now instead, we have the Lindt Chocolate for 26 cents and the Hershey Kiss is free.
This time, almost everyone took the Hersey Kiss.
By a WIDE Margin.
Even though both chocolates dropped by the exact same amount.
The Take Away: We LOVE FREE
So what does that have to do with websites.
Well, of course, people are going to be drawn in by the free option.
That’s just human nature.
But what are you giving up by choosing to create a free website?
Here’s my video explanation of why FREE is a problem:
The biggest three problems here are monetization, reliability and customization.
- Many free website builders do not allow you to monetize.
That means that they will not let you make money. But it gets even worse than that.
Many of these website builders will put ads on your site — to keep the profits for themselves.
They’ll annoy your visitors with ads. And take the money in the process.
Sucks right?
It makes sense, though. That’s how these website builders make money.
By giving you a free website, but then profiting off your traffic.
That’s good if you are obsessed with staying free.
Bad, though, if you want a good reader experience. And you know, to actually make some money from your content.
2. Mostly, the “terms of service” for these builders entitle them to remove your site at any time.
Sure, they probably won’t.
If you’re doing nothing unethical, why would the ban you?
My question to you is “why would you risk it?”
A good online business is reliable.
You don’t want to build up an audience, and actually start getting some progress, and then POOF, it all goes up in smoke.
You can avoid that completely by paying for hosting.
That way you have full control over your website.
3. The customization option when you own the hosting has no limits.
When you’re on a free platform, you have to use what you’re given.
On the other side of the coin, a website on paid hosting is only limited by the vast amount of add-on plugins and themes out there.
You can pretty much find a 3rd party plugin for any website function you can think of.
Unfortunately, you cannot use these 3rd party tools on a free site.
If you have a paid site, you definitely can (and should) use some of these awesome shortcuts.
Conclusion
If you just want a canvas to throw your thoughts at, then a free website could be a good option for you.
However, if you want to make money from your blog, then you need to buy your hosting.
That means that you need to pay a WHOPPING $6 per month.
Seriously, if you get hosting at HostGator.com, it only gonna cost you a few bucks per month.
Especially when you use the coupon code: get25offyourbill
That will award you a 25% discount on your hosting order.
And honestly, I’ve been marketing online for over eight years now. I’ve never seen a single person make a good income online that does own their hosting.
If you’re not paying for your hosting, then I question your dedication.
It’s a simple set up that takes a few minutes, and really only costs you a few dollars per month.
If you have any questions about, comment here and I’ll connect with you.
As always, thanks for reading.
See you in the next one!