The company bills itself as "Your Sermon Resource Center" and the facts would appear to back up that claim. Offering a library of some 60,000 sermons, the site is used as a resource by clergy around the world. Some ministers contribute sermons, others download them for Sunday use, and many people use the site's trove of parables, jokes and statistics.

"We were a 100-percent free site, trying to support it with Internet advertising," said site director Brian Mavis. However, after the dotcom bubble burst surviving on advertising alone turned out to a tough proposition.

To help support the site, SermonCentral launched a subscription plan in January of 2002. To administer the plan's system, the company hired Rodopi Sofware, makers of automated billing and customer-care applications.

Administering the Many
Setting up a subscription system that administers SermonCentral's 200,000 users across the globe is no small logistical chore -- and certainly not a task the company could handle manually. However, the Rodopi application makes offering subscriptions possible by handling all facets of SermonCentral's multi-tiered plan.

Much of the site's content continues to be offered for free. About 95 percent of the site's users access only its free content. However, access to SermonCentral's advanced features and tools is available only to subscribers. These features include a better search tool, PowerPoint templates and richer content such as the jokes and stories that spice up a sermon.

Of the site's subscribers, 80 percent pay a $9.95 monthly fee. The remaining 20 percent pay a $99.50 annual fee. Some ministers earn "key contributor" status by contributing 40 sermons, which earns them a year of advanced access.

"Rodopi also handles some special exceptions," Mavis said. For example, the site offers a 50 percent discount to cash-strapped international ministries. "Someone from South Africa who says 'I want this but I can't afford it,'" will be given a discount, Mavis said. In some cases a subscription is given for free.

SermonCentral.com's marketing plan includes distributing trial offers at conferences. Rodopi also handles these special promotions. Attendees get a code, which they can enter at the site for limited-time access. These codes are set up for 30 or 90 days of free access. In the future, SermonCental is considering adding a subscriber rate for students.

Its Toughest Competitor
Supervising the Rodopi system is relatively easy, Mavis said. He gets a monthly printout of recent subscriber activity, which includes net gains and losses, retention trends and reports on failed credit cards.

While SermonCentral.com offers more than 60,000 free sermons, the company survives by offering products such as PowerPoint templates on a subscription basis.

When a user buys a subscription, Rodopi charges SermonCentral a $1.50 one-time set-up fee. This $1.50 creates what's known as a "seat." If that subscriber then cancels his subscription, that seat is left open. Rodopi does not charge SermonCentral for the next user who signs up for it. Rodopi does, however, charge SermonCentral a recurring support fee.

Mavis said he is pleased with the way that the Rodopi system allows the site to work toward its mission. That said, one of SermonCentral's biggest hurdles in increasing its subscriber base is the site itself: So much of its library is available for free. "There are other sermon resource sites, and we give away more than they sell," Mavis says. "We are our own toughest competition."

Vital Statistics
Name:	SermonCentral
Founded:	August 1998. Subscription service offered January 2002
Sales/revenues:	Not disclosed
Hosting provider:	SBC
Ad server:	BanManPRO
Payment solutions:	Rodopi
Number of employees:	4
Number of tech staff:	1
Key strategies:	• Build a large base of potential paying subscribers by offering extensive free content • Leverage technology to steamline administration •Attract new users by offering free trials and special promotions at conferences.

James Maguire is a contributor to eCommerce-Guide.com. His column appears every Friday.

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