Saw this on
A VC, which has added to a list of business models from
The Long Tail.
Its a useful piece, I've noted them all here and added to it (is this a meme?)
CPM ads ("cost per thousand views"; banner ads online and regular ads in print, TV and radio)
CPC ads ("cost per click"; think Google ads)
CPT ads ("cost per transaction"; you pay only if the customer brought to you from a media sites becomes a paying customer.)
Lead generation (you pay for qualified names of potential customers)
Subscription revenues
Affiliate revenues (think: Amazon Associates)
Rental of subscriber lists
Sale of information (selling data about users--aggregate/statistical or individual--to third parties)
Licensing of brand (people pay to use a media brand as implied endorsement)
Licensing of content (syndication)
Getting the users to create something of value for free and applying any of the above to monetize it. (Like Digg or our own Reddit
Upgraded service/content (ed: aka "freemium")
Alternate output (pdf; print/print-on-demand; customized Shared Book style; etc.)
Custom services/feeds
Live events
"Souvenirs"/"Merchandise"
Co-branded spinoff
To that list, I'd add:
Cost Per Install (popular with top Facebook apps who can help others get installs)
E-commerce (selling stuff directly on your website)
Sponsorships (ads of some sort that are sold based on time, not on the number of impressions)
Listings (paying a time based amount to list something like a job or real estate on your website)
Paid Inclusion (a form of CPC advertising where an advertiser pays to be included in a search result)
Streaming Audio Advertising (like radio advertising delivered in the audio stream after a certain amount of audio content has been delivered)
Streaming Video Advertising (like streaming audio but in video)
API Fees (charging third parties to access your API)
To these I'd add:
- 3rd party revenue models - the service is given away for free, it generates revenue from some other asset that the service drives activity for. (In theory Skype would do this for eBay)
- Commission for selling 3rd party products on web asset (as opposed to direct sales)
- Commission for referrals to other sites from content, not Ads (eg price comparison sites)
- Product placement in Web TV clips
- Sponsorship (eg of Web TV shows)