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View Full Version : Funding the DSF - an update



Justin
07-08-2011, 03:23 PM
My intention at this time is to start banner ads on the forum. This would likely consist of a small ad top and bottom of each page. Personally I hate any type of advert on a forum so I'm being very careful to ensure this doesn't interfere too much with your enjoyment of browsing the forum.

The banners will only be directly related to the industry and wherever possible will be advertising member discounts/new products etc. Therefore every member will have an interest in seeing them, they won't simply be an annoyance. I've started to invite suppliers to do this and there is interest but I intend to limit the number and placement of ads.

I've long hoped that the forum would be funded by ongoing small donations from members but this simply doesn't happen. Donations are only received when I beg for them and I have no intention of doing this any more. I would like to draw members attention to the poll that has been in place since 19th September 2011 here... http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/poll.php?pollid=4&do=showresults. This clearly shows a couple of things. Firstly, only 49 members took the time to vote, not a massive indicator but still has to be listened to. Secondly, out of this number the most popular way of raising funds is through advertising/sponsorship.

When the DSF was formed a couple of years ago it was the intention that it would remain independent from any particular supplier. I have had to compromise with these banner ads and I'm not particularly happy at having to do so. The fact remains that the forum need regular money coming in, not just to cover hosting but to look at future developments, security and so on.

I do feel that it's becoming more and more necessary to treat this forum as part of my business but have avoided doing so until now. It's important to me that members opinions are always listened to but that's up to you to tell me what you want and how we're going to pay for it!

I am more than happy to discuss this matter within this thread.

John G
07-08-2011, 05:45 PM
Shame about the banner ads but, as I've said in the past, if this forum wants to continue it has to generate its own funding rather than donations. Donations never work, they fizzle along at best then dry up completely.

You do enough hard work to make this forum part of your own business so I cannot see why not - it should be profitable and give you something in return, nobody wants to work for free.

If banner ads are the only way to keep this forum alive then go for it - i'd prefer a paid for membership though!

Paul
07-08-2011, 05:50 PM
Donations are only received when I beg for them and I have no intention of doing this any more.

cant blame you buddy :(after what I have seen last time when donation bar was up I 100% understand you...

AdamB
07-08-2011, 07:18 PM
..... If banner ads are the only way to keep this forum alive then go for it - i'd prefer a paid for membership though!

ditto Justin, it's hard for anyone to understand who has no experience in funding their website or forum and I appreciate the hard work you and your moderators put into the place.

But, as John said (and from the vote it seems we were a small minority) I would have prefered subscription membership.

Justin
07-08-2011, 07:28 PM
I'd have been far happier with the subscription myself but as the (small) survey shows the majority wouldn't. I think this would put many new members off joining.

We had discussed suppliers giving discounts to members, say £5 off their first order with company x. If we could get several suppliers signed up to this then new members would immediately get their membership fiver back...not as easy to implement as you might think though.

I'm still interested to look at this from every angle but just can't see how membership would work longer term.

gorgall2
19-08-2011, 04:32 AM
I'm still interested to look at this from every angle but just can't see how membership would work longer term.


It seems to work on the uksignboards forum

pitkin2020
19-08-2011, 05:12 PM
It seems to work on the uksignboards forum Really??? It does and it doesn't work from what I have seen. I have also seen it from the admin side after running my own closed industry forum (not related to graphics).

If you close the forum off to paid members only you don't get any new view points, only the same people who are more than likely established with the same opinions and ideas. Whilst you can split a forum so you have sections like offers from suppliers, for sale, training etc once people pay for it they expect it to be upto date and relevant aswell as being packed with the information they think they are paying for. How many times can you update an instructional post on doing t-shirts, mugs etc to make it worthwhile for people to continue with membership rather than just a one off membership.

Its a hard decision to decide whether to go advertising route or subscription route, if you go the subscription route you really have to offer something that no other forum is offering. A training area maybe just that, but its not a 5 minute job gathering and presenting that information. With things like youtube, websites and other forums most information that people want can be found easily enough with just a bit of searching.

Personally I think your advertising is subtle and not intrusive in the slightest but that doesn't mean you couldn't add a members (paid) area to the forum. Best of both worlds then, the general information is there for all for free but if they want the extras then they pay for it. I know how many hours it takes to maintain a forum and if you can make a little bit money off it then good for you!!

John G
19-08-2011, 05:21 PM
It seems to work on the uksignboards forum -
Really???


but that doesn't mean you couldn't add a members (paid) area to the forum.

That's the way UKsignboards works - i'm getting confused now! :redface:

pitkin2020
19-08-2011, 05:41 PM
Like I said it does and it doesn't work, i'm not going to go into the politics though lol.
It will only work if the content within the paid areas is kept relevant and upto date. If you subscribe and after 2 years there has been nothing new put in the members area why are you going to sign up for a 3rd or 4th year unless you really love the forum (not such a bad thing). Paying to gain access to this sort of information can just become a one off payment, which for the forum isn't much use as they really need continual subscription. Like I said its a fine line and you won't please everyone some people hate subscription services and others hate advertising.