Don’t monetize too quickly: Build a large audience first, then monetize. One of the most common mistakes companies make is to attempt to monetize their free user base before they have built an audience. Understand that as soon as you monetize, some of your loyal free customers will disappear. Your free user base will also see an immediate drop. There is no way around that. Monetization always causes friction.Couldn't disagree more. See 37Signals (and their writing on the subject) for a great counter argument.