When I decided to make the Online Profits course free back in June I was not sure how it would work out. My goal was to make the course accessible to as many people as possible, while still making some money from it, and I found an interesting model for that.

The course itself became free, but in order to join people would need to sign-up for a hosting plan with my partner (HostNine). The cost of doing that is $3.95 per month, and there is a requirement of keeping the hosting plan active for at least 3 months. So for $12 people would be able to get a lifetime member account to my course, which last sold for around $400.

It should be a win-win-win situation. Members win because they would get access to the training program almost for free. My hosting partner wins because it would get new clients (many probably staying for the long term), and I win because I would still make some money from the referral commissions.

The plan was solid, but it could backfire. I knew the quality of my course was top notch and comparable to any other online course, but making it virtually free could affect people’s perception negatively.

Luckily this didn’t happen, and last week we crossed the milestone of 500 members (and that is counting only the members who joined after I made the program free in June). This is equivalent to almost 4 new sign-ups per day, which is way above by initial expectations.

The feedback has been great too, and I am starting to see people recommend the program spontaneously around the web (i.e., not because they are affiliates and want to earn some money, but because they really believe it can help other people).

If you are one of the 500 members, thanks for joining! If you are not, well, you are missing some good stuff! You can check the details and join on the Online Profits homepage.