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Ad-Free… For A Fee

Entrepreneur, Oct, 2001 by Melissa Campanelli

Afraid customers are sick and tired of those flashing ads plastered across your Web site? Then get rid of them.

Many companies today are experimenting with the concept of offering ad-free pages with premium services for a fee. Earlier this year, online magazine Salon.com launched its $30-per-year Salon Premium service, which gives members exclusive dispatches on politics, extra columns and audio downloads of short stories. Premium subscribers also have the option of "turning off" banner and pop-up ads on most Salon pages, ensuring fewer interruptions and faster downloads.

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Also jumping on the trend is Quia.com, a Burlingame, California, Web site that allows educators to design their own classroom games online and integrate those tools into their curriculum. Currently, the site offers a free section with ads. But there is also a section on the site that costs an educator with a class of 30 students $59 per student; it offers ad-free content and custom-tailored educational quizzes and games.

"We heard from our users that this is something they would be interested in, so we decided to do it, and it's been successful," says Paul Mishkin, Quia's 29-year-old founder. "I think the general public is accepting it more, and understands that if they are getting something valuable, they should pay for it."

Analysts believe giving customers ad-free content will become even more prevalent in the future. Says Gartner Inc.'s Denise Garcia, "My prediction is that as [more obtrusive ads] are placed on Web sites, people will be more open to paying for content that is ad-free."

Business Services Industry

Ad-Free… For A Fee

Entrepreneur, Oct, 2001 by Melissa Campanelli

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