I’d like to announce that my boyfriend of exactly 5 months has proposed to me…and of course I said yes!  We’re planning on getting married in mid-2011.

Working in the web hosting industry, I come across a lot of interesting sites and not surprisingly, I’ve found that a good number of new site owners have at least one of two goals in mind – to become well-known on the Internet, or to make money…sometimes even both.  It’s also not surprising to find out that less than an eighth of the people that have these goals will never meet them.

One of the more common trends I’ve noticed is the creation of free services.  No individual wants to pay for using things on the Internet nowadays, and anyone who has a choice between a paid and a free service will consider the free choice first.  Offering a free service also may mean big bucks for you in the long run, so if you were thinking about enhancing your presence on the Internet by offering a service, here are some tips to help get you started.

1) Come up with a solution

People turn to using services because they provide some kind of value that can help or solve a real-life issue. For instance, Mint.com offers free financial planning services. Facebook and MySpace offer social networking to help you keep in touch with other people. These services were unique to their time, which is why they are so popular – and now millions of people use them.  The first thing you should think about when starting any new service is what you can offer for people that may have a dilemma or need for efficiency. Stuck?  Carry a mini notebook around and jot down things that you do on a daily basis, then look back and think: Is there something on this list that would be easier to do or track if there was a something out there to help me out?  Also, don’t waste your time trying to clone free services that already exist unless you’re prepared to offer something that they don’t.  Instead, focus on coming up with something unique.

2) See what’s already out there

When I was in technical support, I would come across at least two customers every week that appeared to be starting some kind of social networking site, and some even admitted that they’re trying to launch the next MySpace.  Let’s get a reality check here – most of the popular social networking sites out there have been around for years and by now have millions of users, and are endorsed by multi-billion dollar companies.  You’re not going to have the next eBay or Youtube, so don’t waste your time trying.   When there are already hundreds of services offering the one that you’re trying to launch, you really need to know what you’re doing if you plan on being successful at reaching your target audience.  Your best bet at success is offering something that no one else does.

Instead, again, focus on bringing something new to the table or improving a service that isn’t as readily available.  One of the best ways to get attention for a free service is basing it off a paid one that is at least moderately successful.  The simple concept of something being free will entice your targeted audience to at least try it.

3) Figure out how you’re going to do it

Listen here, dreamer – if you want people to use your service, you have to do some a lot of technical planning.  Depending on what kind of service you’re starting, you may end up needing a design and custom content management software for your website, neither of which comes easy or cheap.  If you’re tech-savvy, expect to spend at least 10 hours a week for several months on development alone. If you’re not a technical person when it comes to programming and site design, well, let’s hope you have quite a bit of money saved up.

But – don’t just start throwing a bunch of junk together. You need to site down with a pencil and paper and plan out all the major aspects of your website before you get started.  This tends to be the most time-consuming part of the entire process if you’re doing this all yourself, because you have to think about how everything is going to tie together as far as programming, layout, and security.  Then there’s the actual doing of all this, which takes even more time.  Be aware of exactly what you’re needing and how long it’s actually going to take. Once you have a plan, start on it as soon as possible.  It helps to make an outline of what needs to get done, and then set deadlines for those items.

4) Think about maintenance

Running a service doesn’t end at its launch, that is, if you want your users to continue using it.  You need to think about how you’re going to support and maintain your service – your users may try to contact you every so often if they need help, or the site itself may eventually need maintenance and updates performed.  If you don’t think you’re going to be able to maintain the site yourself, see if you have any friends that will be willing to help out. Depending on how successful your service ends up, you may eventually need to hire staff members to help you maintain the site.

5) Make it free for them, but profitable to you

You’ll want to make all this worth your time, otherwise you’ll probably end up giving up.  Free services are almost always supported by paid ads, which offer a per-click or per-sale incentive for you.  Always consider putting ads or endorsements on the site that will bring in money, but make sure they are relevant to what your service is offering and they don’t affect the usability of the site.  Search places like Commission Junction for affiliate programs or other services that you think your users will find helpful. Either way, find ways to make your site profitable, whether it be supported by ads, or giving the option for users to upgrade to a paid service that offers a few more features.

6) Cover your ass

Believe it or not, people can pretty much be sued for anything nowadays, regardless of how stupid it is.  I’m not saying that you need to hire a lawyer, but you need to make sure your bases are covered when it comes to dealing with people that are either just out for money, or want to take things to the extreme by holding you accountable for their problems. Anytime you offer a service, you’re going to have people who are not satisfied.  Therefore, you’ll want to draft a Terms of Use and/or legal document on your site specifically stating that you’re not responsible for what your users do, or how your service works.  Basically, don’t offer any kind of guarantee, and let your users know that they are using your service at their own rish.  The exception is in cases where personal information is stolen, as if you obtain and store such information on your site you are responsible for its security.  That also brings up the point that you should avoid obtaining personal information for your members that isn’t necessary for then to use your site.  If you do have to obtain such information, take a few extra steps to secure it and cover yourself against liability by encrptying information and getting PCI certified by a trusted provider.

7) Make it known

You need to get the word out about what you’re trying to do, and set it up far enough in advance to where people are actually looking forward – and waiting anxiously – to using your service. This means using Twitter, Facebook, and other social media networks to tell everyone about the site, and reach out to other blog owners that may be interested in posting about it.  You’ll want to start letting people know about it at least 2-4 weeks before your expected launch date.  Your site should have a visually-friendly page up indicating what services and features you will offer, when they will be available, and that it’s free.  It may also be worth setting up a mailing list that people can opt into so they are notified of updates, and purchasing ad space on more popular sites, which can eventually pay off if your service is a success.

8) Stick with it

One of the hardest parts of starting anything is sticking with it. In this case, you may be looking at a project lasting six months to well over a year.  If you think about giving up, motivate yourself by thinking about how much money you’re going to make, or how you’re going to be helping people.  If you find yourself in a bind, consider getting help or making your goals a little more realistic.

Those of you who are regular readers of my blog know that I’m a huge fan of open source software. I don’t think it’s smart for people to drop upwards to thousands of dollars on software unless they have that kind of money to waste, or have a need that isn’t being met by the open source community.  And then there are the less legal alternatives, which I’m not against, but then again I can’t promote them here, either =)

So here’s a nice list of open source alternatives for people who want to save money by using open source software.

1) Use Linux instead of Windows

The transition from Windows to Linux is not as hard as you may think it is. When people think Linux, they think of an ugly black and white command prompt. This may be true if you’re thinking of running Linux as a server, but as a desktop you have a GUI similar to Windows and Mac, in the form of KDE or Gnome.  If you have applications that require Windows, you can usually run them by installing a program called Wine.  It can take a little getting used to, but for those buying a new PC or refurbishing an old one, Linux is the route to go if you want to save money and get better performance, security, and stability than you’ll ever get with Windows.  For newbies, I’d recommend Ubuntu or Fedora.

2) Use Gimp instead of Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop will run you between $700 and $1000, maybe less if you purchase from an independent software distributor. If that’s a little steep for you, consider using Gimp instead. It has a lot of the same functionality of Photoshop, and can read files created in Photoshop (.PSD) as well.  My sister is a photographer and just when she thought she was used to Photoshop, I introduced her to Gimp so she can do her photo editing outside of school, and she said it does as good of a job as Photoshop does. Similarly, I hear that Inkscape makes an excellent alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

3) Use OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office

My Dad, who has headed the IT department of his company for years, didn’t believe me when I told him that the thousands his company was spending on Microsoft Office licenses every couple years could be a waste of money, since OpenOffice has the same kind of functionality. The base package of OpenOffice contains alternatives to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access, all of which have the same familiar interfaces and support for files created in their proprietary alternatives, but without the expensive licensing costs and resource requirements. The  software in OpenOffice also has a number of features that the other does not.

4) Use Thunderbird or Evolution instead of Outlook

Outlook sucks. I can’t tell you how many calls I got about it when I was in technical support, where email would suddenly stop working and the customer wouldn’t want to believe that their beloved Outlook was the problem. It usually comes bundled as part of the Microsoft Office suite, but you can buy it standalone. Why would you want to? Thunderbird is free, and a lot more efficient, feature-rich, stable, and secure than Outlook. Love the Outlook feel? Evolution is the Linux alternative to Outlook, only it doesn’t suck as much.

5) Use ClamAV or AVG Instead of Norton, TrendMicro, or McAfee

I’ve heard from many people that even though ClamAV is free, it’s better than its leading enterprise alternatives. It also works on Windows (Via ClamWIN) and Linux. Need a firewall too, but don’t want the steep cost of Norton Personal Firewall? Consider APF or Smoothwall.

6) Use Turbocash instead of Quickbooks or Microsoft Money

I personally haven’t used Quickbooks before, but I heard it’s comparable to Turbocash, which is perfect for smaller organizations or individuals needing software for finance management.

7) Use VirtualBox  instead of Microsoft Virtual PC, VMWare, or Parallels Desktop

I generally used Virtual PC in the past to play with other operating systems, but you may find a use for it if you’re a software developer or you have applications that work on one OS but not another. Virtual PC usually ends up being free quite some time after its initial release, but it only runs on Windows. VirtualBox is open source and runs on Linux, Mac, and Windows, and supports a large variety of guest operating systems.

8) Use OpenVZ instead of Virtuozzo

Virtualization with something like Virtuozzo isn’t the same as using something like VirtualBox in terms of mass-management of virtualized servers. If you’re offering VPS hosting or need to run multiple servers on one, you’ll want to use something like Virtuozzo.  Virtuozzo may be the best, but OpenVZ doesn’t fall far behind at all…and it doesn’t carry the multi-thousand dollar licensing costs.

9) Use OpenWorkBench instead of Microsoft Project

I’ve always found web-based software like dotProject to be more effective for project management, but if you need a more local solution for your PC, try Workbench instead of spending dough on Microsoft Project.

10) Use Partimage instead of Norton Ghost

Norton Ghost will generally cost around $70, but Partimate is free and essentially does the same thing. I’ll mention though that Norton Ghost only works on Windows, and Partimage only works on Linux. So Partimage is something you’d consider using if you’re switching from Windows to Linux and can’t use Norton Ghost anymore.