Input Needed - Forum Direction

[Matt]

Folks,

This is a follow up to BC Boys thread about an auction or fundraiser for the site. I have been thinking about ways to generate some money for the site of late but haven't had any time to really look at it. Things at my real job are settling down a bit and I think now is a good time to revisit this.

There really are three options to keep the forum viable:

1) Paid advertising spots. In this situation I approach potential advertisers and offer to run their banners or text links in exchange for money. Typical terms are one year. The benefits of this are no money comes from the members pockets. the challenges are intgegrity of the forum (ugly, slow banner ads) and lots of client maintenence on my part. I do this on the main CoastAngler.com site and it has been pretty successful, albeit time consuming.

2) Member supported. This is the model FishBC uses. By becoming a subscriber or paid member you recieve some sort of recognition above your avatar and advanced feature such as access to the photo gallery or ability to post buy/sell ads, PM feature etc. The benefits are with a model like this we may be able to keep the forum ad free. The challenges are I don't want to make any feel left out - I understand that not every one has an extra $15 kicking around and we do not want to limit the discussion.

3) Sell the site. With the member base we have I could approach a retailer or manufacturer and offer the site for sale. Benefits - really only to me. I could pull a decent amount of dollars from the site in one chunk. Challenges are that the future direction of the forum wouldn't be known. Someone may want to add the member base to a larger venture.

It's important that I state now that if none of the above were to go through I would continue to support the site. Unlike what other forums have done this isn't a threat to shut the forum or a cry out for financial support, either way I will be fine. That being said it seems logical and fair, at this point, to recover costs incurred the past 3 years and maybe even pocket a buck or two.

let me know your thoughts on this one, there are probably some great idea's I haven't considered. I'm looking for open and honest feedback.

Thanks,

Matt

[MB_Boy]

Matt,

I will say from my opinion please do NOT sell the site!! If you do....can you let us all know so that we can change our e-mail addresses associated with our accounts?

Personally I have no trouble with a membership fee.....auction etc. As with HBC I threw a chunk of money to send Marc and his wife out for dinner and I would love to do whatever I can to help support this site. I spend more time on these forums just enjoying the reading and conversation than I do in front of the boob tube. I pay ~$60 a month for the TV and get more enjoyment out of this so throwing some $$$ towards the forum to keep it going is a non-issue for me personally.

Oh and by the way.......thanks for all you have put into this over the past years.

Scott

[bcboy]

I opened a can of worms did I not

[fullcurl]

I'm sure that there would be companies willing to do some advertising on our site with the membership numbers we have. That could be a start. How about some member donated items to auction off? This is a great site that myself and several friends enjoy and I'd hate to lose it.

[Gatehouse]

I think that paid acess can limit the amount of participation, and limit newcomers. Most of us wouldn't mind chipping in a few bucks, but newcomers may balk.

Canadian gunnutz has gone to banner ads form companies, I htik that is a good idea...

Also runnign a fundraiser form time to time is a good idea. We did that at HBC, and generated quite a bit of cash,

[bucktrack]

This site has been great. Perhaps one of the reasons that I so enjoy it is that there are no popup advertising to annoy me and the fact that there are no retailers overtaking the site. Remember when the buy&sell used to be mostly private sales? well now look at it. With that said, i recocognize the need for support. Paid memberships would scare many people away and what you would be left with is an old boys club. Could we not have a for sale section that would allow a few select retailers list their products or provide links directly to their stores and charge them a fee for that link. That way if you are looking for something you have a choice to open that site or not and not be bombed by advertising everytime you log in. Maybe limit the number of links allowed so that the stores who paid have a real advantage over their competitors. but still collect enough revenue to cover the site costs and maybe have a few extra bucks left over.

[308BAR]

Personally I really enjoy the website especially the people and the experience they bring. I came to this site because it was free, so paying a fee would deter from this site.

I would like to see this site get some sponsorship and grow, for example like the Canadiangunnutz.com website or bcsportbikes.com. Banners on top no pop-ups. Were members get info on new products from retailers and maybe some expertise from the reps.

I wouldn't mind supporting this site through donations or a raffle but how often would the members need to do this in order to make it sustainable?

I would hate to see the dynamics of this website change if it were sold to a larger company however it's not our decision to make.

Keep up the good work.

[BCWILL]

Originally Posted by admin

2) Member supported. This is the model FishBC uses. By becoming a subscriber or paid member you recieve some sort of recognition above your avatar and advanced feature such as access to the photo gallery or ability to post buy/sell ads, PM feature etc. The benefits are with a model like this we may be able to keep the forum ad free. The challenges are I don't want to make any feel left out - I understand that not every one has an extra $15 kicking around and we do not want to limit the discussion.

While I realise this may exclude a small # from "Signing up" it is probably the only option that would allow the site to continue pretty much "AS IS" hence this would get my Vote
But then I don't have to write the cheques to keep this Place running

[Gunner]

I'm new to this site,but I enjoy it very much,and I would be willin' to pay a membership fee,if that's the direction you guys would like to take.What about allowing new members a grace period(perhaps 1 month),to see if they would like to join,and pay a membership?This would give them a chance to check out the site,and make a decision.(This might be too complex to administer so it's just a thought).I'm not crazy about advertising,but if that's what it takes to keep the site going,then do it.I appreciate that administering this site is a lot of work,and you have my thanks for your efforts.Cheers,Gunner

[Cariboo]

I personally would like to see a few major sponsors step up to the plate and fund the site through banner ads and links to their retail sites. (Sponsors who offer true discounts to forum members would be even better. )

Failing this a member-run fund-raiser on an annual basis would be my second choice.

The idea of paid membership is probably the last thing I would look at.

[bcboy]

Originally Posted by Cariboo

I personally would like to see a few major sponsors step up to the plate and fund the site through banner ads and links to their retail sites. (Sponsors who offer true discounts to forum members would be even better. )

Failing this a member-run fund-raiser on an annual basis would be my second choice.

The idea of paid membership is probably the last thing I would look at.

Pretty close to a good idea I reckon..funny HBC almost has caught up to us in members and they have ads.???

Hey Boo and Admin. even thou, its gone to 2 threads maybe bury my last one .
I still would spend big on a Raffle...

[Silent Wolf]

YA BUT ONE THING THIS IS A WAY BETTER SITE THEN HBC TO ME I HAVEN'T BEEN BANNED YET ON HERE THIS IS HOME TO ME ANYONE HERE ON THIS SITE IS WELCOME INTO MY CAMP ANY DAY

I am game to what ever the Mods or Admin aka Matt come up with.


Rob

[bcboy]

Maybe you smart guys can do a poll to see where most of us feel this forum should go..

Gary...Matt ????

[Elkhound]

I like the idea of sponsership banners. Raffles, auctions, small membership fee. All is okay with me. We should take some responsibility to help Matt out.

[Silent Wolf]

Elkhound I like the idea of sponsership banners. Raffles, auctions, small membership fee. All is okay with me. We should take some responsibility to help Matt out.

Couldn't have said it better