This forum has 0 ads... Well maybe it could.

[Crowz]

Most of the sites I host use the sponsor system. Some do ads only and a few are a mixture of ads and sponsors.

The sponsor system when handled right works the best in my opinion.

The key to it working from what I have seen is to give the sponsor their own section.
You go in there and its that sponsors territory. Which means you dont bad mouth the sponsor in their "home".

Outside of that section is wild country. The sponsor knows this upfront so it keeps their home section civil so they can handle customers and draw new customers.

But outside in the general section sponsors have to deal with people that may not like them so much.

It seems to work pretty well for the larger forums. They use a banner that rotates thru a picture for the sponsor with a link to their site. This banner isnt blocked by most ad blockers so the sponsor gets an ad and a forum section for what they pay.

The ad system seems to work but doesnt pay that much from what Im told by the people I host. Also most people run ad blockers. So you lose revenue from that also. Plus people whine all the time about ads. Its human nature so expect whining no matter how innocuous the ads are setup.

 

[Will Prowse]

Interesting

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Most of the sites I host use the sponsor system. Some do ads only and a few are a mixture of ads and sponsors.

I've been a member of SUCH forums. I agree they do tend to work well. I wouldn't object in the least.

 

[Rednecktek]

I've been a member of forums. I agree they do tend to work well. I wouldn't object in the least.

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[Rednecktek]

At the least set up a PayPal account that people can just click and put in a card number, amount, username, and send.

That way even the members that don't have Paypal accounts can still throw a few bucks your way.

 

[HarryN]

While I have not been around here long enough to know the lay of the land, one idea would be to offer special manufacturer and vendor memberships for a sizable monthly fee. They have their own section on the forum where they and other members can post. Threads can promote their products but members would choose to view them as opposed to banner ads or google controlled obnoxious uselessness.

The challenge with this approach is that vendors / suppliers really don't make very large margins on what is sold, especially on a DIY type forum.

I agree completely that banner ads and pop ups are so annoying that in some cases it simply drives people away vs encourages them to buy.

The idea of a section where a small business can do some kind "simple sponsorship" for a cost of $ 50 - 100 / year could fly, but much beyond that would not be attractive to a small business. Just look at the discussions and it is really mostly people buying a small hand ful of brands imported from the far east, and lots of DIY battery packs. That is not going to return much value to a small business.

If the sponsorship cost is relatively low, then at least I would view it as sort of a donation vs having any real expectations of ROI. If something is going to cost $500 / year, then I would never do it vs $50-100 / yr. The other thing that happens is that people are increasingly concerned about having their credit card info on file in auto matic subscriptions. I did this on two van forums and had a very hard time canceling / stopping the fees.

Most vendors do not want to have their customer interactions on a public forum - that is just another social media site to monitor and for a small mistake or disagreement to go sideways in public, plus a bunch of people making inflammatory comments.

 

[Will Prowse]

The challenge with this approach is that vendors / suppliers really don't make very large margins on what is sold, especially on a DIY type forum.

I agree completely that banner ads and pop ups are so annoying that in some cases it simply drives people away vs encourages them to buy.

The idea of a section where a small business can do some kind "simple sponsorship" for a cost of $ 50 - 100 / year could fly, but much beyond that would not be attractive to a small business. Just look at the discussions and it is really mostly people buying a small hand ful of brands imported from the far east, and lots of DIY battery packs. That is not going to return much value to a small business.

If the sponsorship cost is relatively low, then at least I would view it as sort of a donation vs having any real expectations of ROI. If something is going to cost $500 / year, then I would never do it vs $50-100 / yr. The other thing that happens is that people are increasingly concerned about having their credit card info on file in auto matic subscriptions. I did this on two van forums and had a very hard time canceling / stopping the fees.

Most vendors do not want to have their customer interactions on a public forum - that is just another social media site to monitor and for a small mistake or disagreement to go sideways in public, plus a bunch of people making inflammatory comments.

Completely disagree. Why do you think the raw cell vendors were flooding this forum not long ago.

You're entirely underestimating this industry and revenue. I charge 12-20K just to make a simple video on these devices currently, without any contract and 80% are garbage and I bash them for simple mistakes for all my viewers to learn from.

But if the product is better than everything else available, it will sell out in a few days. 10-40 million dollars in products. You can figure these numbers yourself. Not hard to find.

If a vendor shows that they know what they are doing, and trying to always improve their business relations with consumers, they can make millions. Easily. This forum gets 20 million hits a month and 360,000 unique visitors. And it's niche. Companies would pay a ton to get exposure here. And I get offers all the time.

But I don't need more money and I want people to have the best information. I want people to share evidence based assertions without fear of a company censoring them.


Signature solar and current connected dominate here, and just the seo boost alone will benefit their businesses greatly. And they know that. Search for niche solar stuff and see how often this forum shows up. It has incredible reach.

I am putting some "ads" for non members on the forum, but to my own personal website where I can share what I think is best. I am obviously biased after opening at least a hundred batteries at this point, but I can save people time. Sometimes the forum can be overwhelming.

But this forum will never be sold or have part ownership by a company, or be on contract or anything. I just won't allow it. Good information is priceless.

 

[45North]

Can't you just do what the big boys do - mine the data and figure out some way to monetize it?
Rule of thumb for online systems: if you can't figure out why it's free, it's because you ARE the system.

 

[robby]

Last year I was making a lot of money so I didn't mind the cost. The hosting cost was nearly non existent. But as the forum grows, I may need to charge a membership fee if people do not want ads. Or I would run my own ads to my website. Or my book. That way there is no corporate influence of the ads. Just me, and if something looks bad, you guys could have me fix it. When people are paying for ads, they start to control how the site looks and I don't like that.

And I'll never use Google ads. Those look god awful haha

Charge a membership fee.
It does not need to be mandatory, it works great on the Reef Aquarium Forum I go to. They use the Badges that Xenforo already supports. Your Supporter Badge gets put on the moment you donate $30 per year or $50 for two years. Supporters also have access to another forum section. In your case it could be a Video Suggestion forum.

I also like the Build Thread Badge which when clicked takes you to the Persons personal thread of their system build. You get that badge once you share your build with the community. They have several other Badges that can be earned by people who contribute certain Technical Skills to the Forum plus Badges for those who Donate equipment or personal help to those in need.

Example Badge

 

[Crowz]

The main problem with a subscription system is the owner states "I don't need the money" and now your limiting people from using all of the site features behind a paywall. That's going to piss folks off for no real gains.

 

[robby]

The main problem with a subscription system is the owner states "I don't need the money" and now your limiting people from using all of the site features behind a paywall. That's going to piss folks off for no real gains.

The gains are the income. There is nothing on the Forum that you cannot see or post if you don't pay, except for the one forum section that is for Subscribers only. If in the case of Will-P if this is a forum section for suggestions on video content then pay if your interested in adding input. Don't pay if your not interested.

 

[JRH]

Yeah I actually like the ads on rc group. I have been a member there for about a decade. And yes I am noticing that if I do everything right, it will cost a lot. I am currently paying monthly for email hosting. Also our server will need to be bigger in the future.

Last year I was making a lot of money so I didn't mind the cost. The hosting cost was nearly non existent. But as the forum grows, I may need to charge a membership fee if people do not want ads. Or I would run my own ads to my website. Or my book. That way there is no corporate influence of the ads. Just me, and if something looks bad, you guys could have me fix it. When people are paying for ads, they start to control how the site looks and I don't like that.

And I'll never use Google ads. Those look god awful haha

I signed Up to be on a site let’s say had to do with the state of Arizona .. a windy and sunny place… the add pop ups were terrible .. they had some sorta decent info and interaction , but the adds and pop ups ruined it for me ..I canceled it and never went back……
just my opinion …..

 

[JRH]

The gains are the income. There is nothing on the Forum that you cannot see or post if you don't pay, except for the one forum section that is for Subscribers only. If in the case of Will-P if this is a forum section for suggestions on video content then pay if your interested in adding input. Don't pay if your not interested.

If Will needs to charge something to run this deal just say what it needs to be … I’m in… nothing good is ever free in life except love from your momma….where else will you get this type info and knowledge… I have no problem in paying for knowledge … I pay a fortune for taxes, insurence and other social crap and they don’t give anything back…. Not ever…not a thing….Go Will.

 

[Will Prowse]

Can't you just do what the big boys do - mine the data and figure out some way to monetize it?
Rule of thumb for online systems: if you can't figure out why it's free, it's because you ARE the system.

Yeah I won't sell the data. I just don't think it's right.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Yeah I won't sell the data. I just don't think it's right.

You'd also end up with all those silly Europeans and their data protection laws suing you

On a more serious note: a Patreon account for the forum an idea?

 

[Crowz]

I still think the sponsor system is the easiest solution. They are hawking their warez on the site already to some extent why not get paid for it?

No ones obligated to the sponsors since they would have their own forum section as a haven but people can dis on them in the rest of the forum with no obligation to them so no bias given outside of their sections.

I cant see an angle that isnt a win for everyone. Site has money to pay for operating cost. You assign moderator powers to an account that the sponsor wants over their section and its their problem to police their sections contents.

Again outside of those forum sections the site stays exactly the way it is now with no one beholden to the sponsors.

If you don't go into their section the only thing you would notice is the rotating banner up top advertising the sponsors site that changes from time to time and even that's optional.

 

[SamDeleted]

You're entirely underestimating this industry and revenue. I charge 12-20K just to make a simple video on these devices currently, without any contract and 80% are garbage and I bash them for simple mistakes for all my viewers to learn from.

Not bad money if you can get it lol!

The fact of the matter is, advertising works , otherwise businesses all over the world wouldn't be spending $$$ on it every year

 

[littleharbor2]

I signed Up to be on a site let’s say had to do with the state of Arizona .. a windy and sunny place… the add pop ups were terrible .. they had some sorta decent info and interaction , but the adds and pop ups ruined it for me ..I canceled it and never went back……
just my opinion …..

I don't have a clue what you are referring to with pop up ads on "that" forum. Been a member for over 10 years and I don't think I have ever seen a pop up ad.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

really mostly people buying a small hand ful of brands imported from the far east, and lots of DIY battery packs. That is not going to return much value to a small business

That isn’t really a fact.
Marketing 201:
- you have buyers buying something in your sector
- you present a good product in a good way at a specific value to those buyers
- you offer value above the cost in whatever way you choose that’s honest
- some of those buyers become your customers
- you present value in exchange for referrals in some fashion that makes sense for the product segment, cost of conversion and margin expectations

Saying DIY isn’t a good market doesn’t make a bit of sense to me. Some of those diy potential customer base people eat food, buy audio equipment, use clothing, buy offgrid supplies, use air conditioning, buy tires, drink water, use cellphones…. Even Will has developed a reasonably successful business in this segment.

Oddly enough success is not guaranteed in life but its likelihood goes way up with vision and a willingness to work.

 

[Browse]

I like the forum as is. I wouldn't change a thing.
If Will is doing well financially, I sincerely applaud him for giving back to the community in the form of a simple, clean, ad-free forum with great people, learning tools and excellent advice.

I understand circumstances may change. I hope that never becomes the case. It's actually refreshing to see that in some places it isn't all about the almighty dollar.