Need help converting client into a client who pays monthly maintenance fees. Or other options?

[ad_1]

Hi there. Back story. If Wong sub please advise better locations.

Built a WP site for a client on the cheap for a fixed price about 3 years ago as a one off to get my business going.

Over the years the updates have been fairly minimal. Mostly updating pictures to the gallery a few times a year.

I’ve never charged for updates, or monthly maintenece fees.

I was young, dumb and naive. For the last few years I’ve done this client favors and now it’s like they just expect me to maintain their site for free.

So they’ll call me with an attitude saying their website is down, when they’re credit card info has expired and they’ve failed to send me new info.

Then again, I’ve never charged for updating payment info either.

1) I need to either wash my hands of this client or convert them into a playing client.

2) How do I go about canceling my services in a manner which doesn’t get me sued, or makes me enemies?

3) Can I sell the “Management” of his website to someone who thinks they can turn this into a potencial revenue stream? Could this get me in trouble? Is there a market for this?

I’ve considered calling them or writing them and saying hey. I would like to either lighten my load or you start paying me monthly maintenence fees. Which seem to be common in the industry.

“Here’s the new contract, take it or leave it”

I’ve spoken to aquantences who’ve never built websites about this and I’ve been told it sounds like im trying to blackmail the client. That either you pay or I shut down the site or sell the access to someone else.

They’re concern was…

1) I get sued for blackmail or something similar.

2) I get sued because technically the client has retained “their” domain name via their credit card. Meaning the client owns the domain name, and I have no right to sell it.

The issue I have with this is I don’t want to sell the domain name out from under the client and that’s not what I want to do.

I want to sell the “Management” of the website to someone who thinks they could turn it into a profitable revenue stream.

In such a way, I view myself as a “property manager” who charges no rent to their client. Is this accurate at all to you guys or am I fooling myself here? And selling the “Management” or access to the site is basically the same thing as taking their domain name or holding it ransom?

This is somewhat of a moral conundrum to me although I’m inclined to justify it as, “well all you really do is rent the domain name”, as I’ve myself lost domain names before. But its true that anyone who’d I’d transfer control of his site to would be the one who decides the fate of the client’s domain name.

3) They also said that to go from charging $0 to charging anything without adding value is basically a scam for money. Or will be seen as such

I can’t imagine I’m the first idiot to put themselves in such a place. I don’t mind continuing, but only if they pay me a monthly amount that I feel is fair market value, given their business and the value to their company.

Pleads help, if you’ve got any experience with similar situations. I feel that I have a right to stop business or conduct business however I please. But after talking to certain people they’ve made me reconsider and search out other opinions from people more seasoned in this space.

Edit: I’ve spoke to some local business owners who tell me that their developers charge $1800 per month. Including Facebook ads here and there.

Im hoping to charge $1250/month as I feel that’s affordable given the client’s business nets around $150-250k/yearly.

Does this sound like extortion to you guys? When I put it that way? I’ll be literally doing exactly the same amount of work I’ve always done, except now I won’t feel bothered about doing it.

[ad_2]