WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

What's it Worth? (No seriously...).

DLC

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I guess you need to make more shirts and hats!!

As an inmate
I try to promote RDP as much as I can and feel that doing something to pay it forward for the Sites benefit is the least I can do !

adding content to threads
create threads
helping out fellow inmates
shopping at site vendors stores/ using their services
purchasing RDP gear
talking up the site w/ strangers



at some point you either go

corporate ( gamble on big money ) ads ads and more ads
or
stay mom and pop ( boating site purist )

that is up for you to decide!


We are all along for the ride
 

Ace in the Hole

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Well it’s the old adage what someone is willing to pay.. lol. Some of the big corps have offered me a little over 600.. There’s a guy on the east coast that primarily runs fishing websites and he has a standing offer at 750. To be honest I have zero intention of selling rdp, I love the forum and the community..

Plus they value the sites based on ad revenue. We make the bulk of our money via RE / swag / and ad revenue combined.. RE being the primary driver
I'll say the biggest value here to me is the relationships formed....I've made some amazing friends from RDP, people who have become practically family (While I've made some amazing friends here..2 people specifically.. though one unfortunately has left the board). This has never occurred on any forum outside of RDP for me... Rdp is the only forum I'm active on anymore as well. YOU built a community...and it has value. I hope it retains it's feel for many years..I understand business though. The star/dungeon model that p4x4 had before the overlords fucked it up was a good model...designated board sponsors, vendors etc...I'd look into that. Please don't flood with floating ad's though. I enjoy my time browsing..its usually my break in work stuff etc..and I enjoy being able to contribute on things I do for a living such as solar. It's also a wealth of information about just about anything...and the input from active members is very genuine.. there are a lot of inmates who would give the shirt off their back for others... No matter what you do, I hope that that is preserved.
 

RiverDave

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so I started the thread with some initial ideas of how I was going to break it down and what it was gonna cost and what approach I was gonna take..

I’m considering taking a different approach on that whole program now.

For a boat Mfg to advertise on here currently the cheapest ad we have is 375.00 per mo, and that goes to 750.00 a month (which to me is still incredibly cheap given the target audience and the numbers).

Having paid for advertising in different mediums (including boating magazines) I know how expensive it is and how affective it is and sometimes isn’t.

Instead of leaning on the boat mfg’s so hard I’m thinking that I’d like to create an entry level price point for the members businesses.. plumbing / electrician / construction

Something like a 225-250’ish price point?

Or maybe even something cheaper like 50.00 for biz signature ads? (I swore I’d never charge for those but 50.00? I know some of these guys get a ridiculous amount of biz off them)

Get a ton of those and that would make up a lot of ground on the quick
 

RiverDave

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I'll say the biggest value here to me is the relationships formed....I've made some amazing friends from RDP, people who have become practically family (While I've made some amazing friends here..2 people specifically.. though one unfortunately has left the board). This has never occurred on any forum outside of RDP for me... Rdp is the only forum I'm active on anymore as well. YOU built a community...and it has value. I hope it retains it's feel for many years..I understand business though. The star/dungeon model that p4x4 had before the overlords fucked it up was a good model...designated board sponsors, vendors etc...I'd look into that. Please don't flood with floating ad's though. I enjoy my time browsing..its usually my break in work stuff etc..and I enjoy being able to contribute on things I do for a living such as solar. It's also a wealth of information about just about anything...and the input from active members is very genuine.. there are a lot of inmates who would give the shirt off their back for others... No matter what you do, I hope that that is preserved.

I’ve wrote in here at least three times that I don’t intend on flooding the place with ads or using google Adsense etc.. seems like everyone keeps skipping that part.

I Jist need the forum to pick up some slack because we are incurring more and more expenses as we are producing more and more content.. well that and it’s worth more overall so why leave it on the table.

I’m just kind of trying to figure out the best way to do that without changing the user experience
 

DMF

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so I started the thread with some initial ideas of how I was going to break it down and what it was gonna cost and what approach I was gonna take..

I’m considering taking a different approach on that whole program now.

For a boat Mfg to advertise on here currently the cheapest ad we have is 375.00 per mo, and that goes to 750.00 a month (which to me is still incredibly cheap given the target audience and the numbers).

Having paid for advertising in different mediums (including boating magazines) I know how expensive it is and how affective it is and sometimes isn’t.

Instead of leaning on the boat mfg’s so hard I’m thinking that I’d like to create an entry level price point for the members businesses.. plumbing / electrician / construction

Something like a 225-250’ish price point?

Or maybe even something cheaper like 50.00 for biz signature ads? (I swore I’d never charge for those but 50.00? I know some of these guys get a ridiculous amount of biz off them)

Get a ton of those and that would make up a lot of ground on the quick
I'm definitely interested in advertising my electrical business.
 

Ace in the Hole

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I’ve wrote in here at least three times that I don’t intend on flooding the place with ads or using google Adsense etc.. seems like everyone keeps skipping that part.

I Jist need the forum to pick up some slack because we are incurring more and more expenses as we are producing more and more content.. well that and it’s worth more overall so why leave it on the table.

I’m just kind of trying to figure out the best way to do that without changing the user experience
I never said you would...stated what my thoughts were and wasn't reading every reply.
 

Shlbyntro

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My idea would be to have your floating ads or ads between every so many posts for the general population of the internet that just visits and lurks. But if you are signed in as a user, (to remain free) the ads wont be there beyond the banners that we already have.

As I understand, the bulk of the traffic through the site is not actually members correct? You can even use it to drive new membership and content by advertising "Remove ads by signing up and signing in"
 
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RiverDave

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my idea would be your floating ads or ads between every so many posts for the general population of the internet that just visits and lurks. but if youre a signed in as a user (to remain free) the ads wont be there beyond the banners that we already have.

as I understand, the bulk of the traffic through the site is not actually members correct? you can even use it to drive new membership and content by advertising "remove adds by signing up and signing in"

I’ll ask the it guys about that
 

Melloyellovector

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As an advertiser on here, here’s my 2 cents

What business is generated from my banner ad itself, I’d say zero. I can count on 1 hand the amount of calls / emails that said I seen your ad, over all the years advertising. How ever it does keep company name fresh in peoples heads. 🤷‍♂️

Well over 90% of my business is referral‘s. Some of those referrals absolutely come from rdp. Many people with pools, also have boats, rvs, Offroad toys etc. We all have common interests. So many of my customers are also members. Members refer me, is it because of rdp or because they were already customers and just passing info thru rdp. Idk

I have built or remodeled at least a few pools over the years for lurkers. They just seen posts, pics, and the amount of positive support from rdp members over the years. So they wanted me to do the work. Is that from the banner or just the amount of posts in general and positive feedback. Idk

For me, I don’t advertise in hopes of getting work.
I advertise because I want to support RDP and be available to members that have supported me. Literally THE only advertising I do.
I try to add value by helping with any pool related questions, repairs, remodels, new builds (other builders and owner builders ) source materials etc… give real world advise/recommendations/help
Customers that are RDP members many times get priority, discounts, etc… so it’s usually a win win for all

Is the ad price worth it? At current costs, to me yes.

Soooooo, what do you do. I vote sell more homes, lol
 

CarolynandBob

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I’ll ask the it guys about that

I would be ok if there was 1 ad in the middle of the page similar to the banner ad's. Having one every 10 or 15 post would annoy me. I would also pay to not see ad's and yes I run an ad blocker. Never thought of disabling it for RDP. Can you tell if someone is running a blocker? Does it hurt your advertising cost? Example, if you can tell if someone is running a blocker and you have to tell an advertiser that we have 100,000 members, but 25K are running blockers. Does that hurt how much you can charge.

To me say $25 a year to not see ad's would be great. Especially for those that do not live in CA or AZ. I know I won't be using any of those businesses, so the ad's would do nothing for me. If you had 50k members at $25 a year, that is over a mil a year.

I just turned my ad blocker off for this site. I will leave it off as the ad's at the top and bottom do not bother me.
 

farmo83

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As an advertiser on here, here’s my 2 cents

What business is generated from my banner ad itself, I’d say zero. I can count on 1 hand the amount of calls / emails that said I seen your ad, over all the years advertising. How ever it does keep company name fresh in peoples heads. 🤷‍♂️

Well over 90% of my business is referral‘s. Some of those referrals absolutely come from rdp. Many people with pools, also have boats, rvs, Offroad toys etc. We all have common interests. So many of my customers are also members. Members refer me, is it because of rdp or because they were already customers and just passing info thru rdp. Idk

I have built or remodeled at least a few pools over the years for lurkers. They just seen posts, pics, and the amount of positive support from rdp members over the years. So they wanted me to do the work. Is that from the banner or just the amount of posts in general and positive feedback. Idk

For me, I don’t advertise in hopes of getting work.
I advertise because I want to support RDP and be available to members that have supported me. Literally THE only advertising I do.
I try to add value by helping with any pool related questions, repairs, remodels, new builds (other builders and owner builders ) source materials etc… give real world advise/recommendations/help
Customers that are RDP members many times get priority, discounts, etc… so it’s usually a win win for all

Is the ad price worth it? At current costs, to me yes.

Soooooo, what do you do. I vote sell more homes, lol


I don't own a business nor do I live where i could hire trades from RDP but if I did this is basically what I would do. I would be much more persuaded to hire someone based on their post history vs an ad banner.

That having been said I would be willing to pay some amount for a subscription. My Dad is a 10 years plus lurker on this site and looks at it every day, I don't htink he would care if there were more ads. He would still look every day when he gets home to his recliner, lol.
 

240Hallett

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Some interesting replies so far.. So I'll try to explain a little better what I was looking for with the original post.

1. I don't believe in paid memberships to a forum. You will get 100-200 guys that'll sign up for 5.00 a month and that just isn't worth the aggravation and management of it all.

2. The Power of RDP (and most other sites like it) isn't so much in the actual membership as it is in the "lurkers". The lurkers outnumber the members by 10:1 on every thread / etc.. So to market it to the whole package is where you make "real money." Not just to the members themselves.

3. I know there's some guys on here that are on other forums, and even some guys that moderate other forums etc.. I was just kinda curious if maybe there was something out there I was unaware of, or haven't seen before so I was kinda looking to see if I've over looked something.

4. Believe me guys I'm on here more than anyone.. I'm not wanting to look at or sea "pop up" google ads or anything like that either. The only reason I mentioned it was to give an idea of "value" or what the website should be "earning" per year in its current status.


Someone posted our current rate card above.. It's seriously outdated, and most of it was so confusing that people couldn't understand it anyways.

So what I'm trying to figure out or "structure" for lack of a better term are the "packages".

For example
Forum Packages.
Package 1. Banner Ad - 350.00 a month (client is able to upload content to a single thread in the lounge and maintain it for the duration of the ad contract)
Package 2. Banner Ad & Article Once a month - 750.00 (RDP is responsible for creating content relative to said advertiser via an Article and or Thread created by our staff or me, and maintain said thread)
Package 3. Banner Ad & Video Content - (Unsure of $$ on this) RDP is responsible for shooting at least one video a month (3 minute highlight video edited) / posting to our audience and share video file with client so they may use for their internal marketing / sites etc..

FB Group Package
Package 1. User Generated Content - 100.00 per month. Client is able to post on our Group page once a week regarding their products and services (I was thinking this might be good for the never ending VRBO's that are constantly posting on my group page that I'm always deleting)
Package 2. 225.00 per month - RDP posts user generated content
Package 3. ($$???) - RDP generates content for client and share's across FB group

FB Biz Package
Package 1. 200.00 per month - RDP Posts User Generated content regarding their products and services once a month
Package 2. ($$??) RDP Generates content for said business

IG. - I don't even know where to start with this..




The big question is what's appropriate to charge for the forum / social media's... What's the best way to structure and manage that program.. Do you segregate them? Package deals? Menu pricing?

In this thread alone there's members that want to advertise.. One of them does wooden shudders, the other has a local farm that sources the best possible meats / food possible. Would those types of ads be ok with the membership even though they are "off topic" a bit? What would be a good entry price point to attract say HTW or the Accessory House? I was considering actually lowering the price on the banner ads a little to attract more / newer businesses.


I have a "phone book" style software installed running silently in the background right now, but it will actually show businesses based on location / type etc.. I was thinking maybe something like 50.00 a month or 500 annually to be in the "rdp" phone book?

To be clear, I'm not interested in "whoring" rdp out.. I'm just saying now that we have staff on payroll, and we are spending some serious money on content generation, the website needs to start making more $$. I'm over 30K in camera equipment alone just in the last year and a half.. and I just bought a 90+ mph drone for chasing boats this summer.. LOL.

RD
The amount of business that the farm fresh meat guy and wooden shutter guy have done with RDP members might indicate that RDP people would not mind that type of advertising.
 

Jay Dub

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I appreciate RDP and it's members. Such a diverse group with incredible depth of knowledge. I have done business with several members. I feel that I've been treated better every time because we are all part of this community. If I need something or something done I 100% will seek an RDP member. Not necessarily looking for a deal but looking to do business with people with common interests. That is rare and valuable.
 

pkrrvr619

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I’ve wrote in here at least three times that I don’t intend on flooding the place with ads or using google Adsense etc.. seems like everyone keeps skipping that part.

I Jist need the forum to pick up some slack because we are incurring more and more expenses as we are producing more and more content.. well that and it’s worth more overall so why leave it on the table.

I’m just kind of trying to figure out the best way to do that without changing the user experience
For your ig there’s a few ways to go about monetizing that.

If it were me, I would add a store link to the page and throw an rdp swag ad up every so often to drive revenue.

With a 100k following, there are brand sponsorships/deals you can make where they would pay you per post. Boat related stuff. Cleaning products, box anchors, etc. gotta make it look natural though and be in your niche so it’s not blatant whoring. You’d need to audit your followers though to see your valuation.

There’s affiliate programs as well where you can make a cut by driving traffic to others sites for sales.

We can always chat if you want to learn more. My wife’s river_Hautie Instagram page has had me learn all about monetizing via social media the past couple years, be more than happy to help.
 

hallett21

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@RiverDave

You’re really missing the boat with advertising. Just start hammering Facebook, Reddit, bitchute etc advertising River Dave’s Politics. Lock down the dungeon somehow so they can only access that point of the site.

Then start advertising MREs, iodine pills and whatever else Alex Jones sells. 😁
 

Moabifam5

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I can honestly say that on a few occasions, I have used ads for getting services etc from RDP, and in most cases, price and product were top notch. Keep up the good work Dave..
 

RiverDave

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As an advertiser on here, here’s my 2 cents

What business is generated from my banner ad itself, I’d say zero. I can count on 1 hand the amount of calls / emails that said I seen your ad, over all the years advertising. How ever it does keep company name fresh in peoples heads. 🤷‍♂️

Well over 90% of my business is referral‘s. Some of those referrals absolutely come from rdp. Many people with pools, also have boats, rvs, Offroad toys etc. We all have common interests. So many of my customers are also members. Members refer me, is it because of rdp or because they were already customers and just passing info thru rdp. Idk

I have built or remodeled at least a few pools over the years for lurkers. They just seen posts, pics, and the amount of positive support from rdp members over the years. So they wanted me to do the work. Is that from the banner or just the amount of posts in general and positive feedback. Idk

For me, I don’t advertise in hopes of getting work.
I advertise because I want to support RDP and be available to members that have supported me. Literally THE only advertising I do.
I try to add value by helping with any pool related questions, repairs, remodels, new builds (other builders and owner builders ) source materials etc… give real world advise/recommendations/help
Customers that are RDP members many times get priority, discounts, etc… so it’s usually a win win for all

Is the ad price worth it? At current costs, to me yes.

Soooooo, what do you do. I vote sell more homes, lol

I agree 100%.. the banners work for “mindshare” and just to let people know you’re still in biz. To get real work it comes out of the forums and the community.

I am working on somethings that will be more effective for the existing advertisers instead of just banners.

I have considered doing “sponsored by” on articles at the end, and even cutting up ten second commercials and inserting them into some of the YouTube videos.. if we gotta watch a commercial in the middle or beginning of a video because of YT monetization I have considered ditching that and doing a thing at the end or?? Where it’s a quick blip on a current relevant advertiser
 

caribbean20

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The one and only time I tried to visit the RDP store in Havasu, normal workday, to generate some revenue for the boss, it was closed up. It WAS during Happy Hour, so I get it.😀

That’s all I got, back to your regular program.
 

Bobby V

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The one and only time I tried to visit the RDP store in Havasu, normal workday, to generate some revenue for the boss, it was closed up. It WAS during Happy Hour, so I get it.😀

That’s all I got, back to your regular program.
RDP has a store in Havasu? 🤔 Or was it the RDP Real Estate Office that sells t shirts and swag. 🙃😄
 

FUN4ME

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My idea would be to have your floating ads or ads between every so many posts for the general population of the internet that just visits and lurks. But if you are signed in as a user, (to remain free) the ads wont be there beyond the banners that we already have.

As I understand, the bulk of the traffic through the site is not actually members correct? You can even use it to drive new membership and content by advertising "Remove ads by signing up and signing in"

You stated it much clearer than i did thanks.
 

HubbaHubbaLife

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I used to be on several forums, I still visit several of them occasionally. Most of them are vehicle/ boating/ off-road related, a few aren’t.

All of the forums that sold to vertical scope/ internet brands, and/ or added intrusive ads went to complete shit and died. They might still exist but they are only useful to read through old posts, as the flow of new information has all but stopped.

All of the forums who tried the membership/ pay for content route lost members and died.

The (very) few that found the balance of non-invasive advertising, and balanced moderation, without charging membership fees to get to the content (like RDP) are doing very well.

The rest are stuck in a sort of limbo, with some participation from the core members but not a lot of activity other than lurkers.

I can’t speak to the economics of running a forum, but I’ve seen some forums that offer an affordable membership option (or member donation for server costs) without severely neutering PMs or the ability to view certain forums are able to find a way to strike a balance of paying and non-paying members vs. mass exodus. The ones that restrict access or restrict PMs seem to wither away once people have to pay for content.

The beauty of RDP is the depth of knowledge the members have. I can get pretty much every question answered regardless of what it is. I don’t need to go to a specific forum unless I have a really obscure or focused need for knowledge on a subject, and am willing to dig through the archives on another site to get it.
Well said. Agree with these statements.
 

HubbaHubbaLife

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Enjoying your thought process on this... its a delicate delicate line to walk. Always keep foremost in your mind the user experience right. Currently it appears that is going quite nicely and its the key component.... however you should do more than simply cover costs. But if I hear about you in a DCB lol... I mean how much happier will you really be. Ok Ok, very.
 

ahavasu

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I have zero issues with extra ads, whatever. I am used to it by now from the rest of the internet, make your money Dave you earned it. The rest of the tribe will easily adapt as well. Perhaps the entire header full of ads from RDP business owners advertising on a larger header with a changing random ad on the edges IDK, but whatever it is we will all adjust, adapt, and overcome.
 

Wave Hi

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I get that, but free isn't free anymore. It's costing someone something to produce.
 

RiverDave

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People get really cheap at $1.

Not trying to be a jerk but it’s just a fact.

Lol I wouldn’t even do it for 25.00.. and you are a 100% correct.

Nick from Nikos wants me to do a memorial party up there with bands / stage etc.. budget is around 10 grand all in.. I asked who’s gonna pay for this and he suggested a 5-10.00 cover charge.. I honestly don’t think people would pay it, especially if they gotta pay for beer once they get in.

I really think memberships and charging the membership is a bust unless you bring something for the money. Like those mystery boxes people subscribe to, or maybe parties they they get to go to etc.. private events etc

If any of that is the case it’s more like 50-100 a month not 25.00 a year.
 

hallett21

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I get that, but free isn't free anymore. It's costing someone something to produce.
100%. I think it’s costing @RiverDave 50-100kish a year. And that’s not factoring in scaling it.

I’d have no problem spending $50 a month to access this website. At a minimum the retired electrical contractors on here are worth that to me. Let alone all of the “free” boating/construction/machinist/ real estate/etc content we get.

But I think the average Joe has a problem
with that. If you don’t believe me go to any of the speed threads. People who have no money in the game want to see the business fail.

This is my opinion. But everyone is looking for something for free. Very few are willing to pay for it.

Perfect example is @Melloyellovector as a pool contractor (and he is paying monthly for the exposure). He is an advertiser here. And I’m going to send him a text/email about doing a pool at our havasu house.

Originally I only knew him from buying his old vector trailer lol. But because of this site I’m asking him for bid. So where do you put that value???
 

Wave Hi

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Lol I wouldn’t even do it for 25.00.. and you are a 100% correct.

Nick from Nikos wants me to do a memorial party up there with bands / stage etc.. budget is around 10 grand all in.. I asked who’s gonna pay for this and he suggested a 5-10.00 cover charge.. I honestly don’t think people would pay it, especially if they gotta pay for beer once they get in.

I really think memberships and charging the membership is a bust unless you bring something for the money. Like those mystery boxes people subscribe to, or maybe parties they they get to go to etc.. private events etc

If any of that is the case it’s more like 50-100 a month not 25.00 a year.
I will get a second job... So im in...
 

havasujeeper

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I'd recommend $99 for a lifetime membership, $20 a year, or $3 a month. That's how my company does it.
And obviously, this membership comes with a tee shirt and sticker for our Lambo's.
 

hman442

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Ida know, it's a delicate balance. Remember last year when RD took tapatalk away from us, all the bitching that went on (me included), he probably lost half the members, now, some ads, the other half will walk....not!
 

rivermobster

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RDP PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP $25.00 a year. Is very cheap to bypass Ads...
I'll say the biggest value here to me is the relationships formed....I've made some amazing friends from RDP, people who have become practically family (While I've made some amazing friends here..2 people specifically.. though one unfortunately has left the board). This has never occurred on any forum outside of RDP for me... Rdp is the only forum I'm active on anymore as well. YOU built a community...and it has value. I hope it retains it's feel for many years..I understand business though. The star/dungeon model that p4x4 had before the overlords fucked it up was a good model...designated board sponsors, vendors etc...I'd look into that. Please don't flood with floating ad's though. I enjoy my time browsing..its usually my break in work stuff etc..and I enjoy being able to contribute on things I do for a living such as solar. It's also a wealth of information about just about anything...and the input from active members is very genuine.. there are a lot of inmates who would give the shirt off their back for others... No matter what you do, I hope that that is preserved.

This. XaMillion

I'd be all in on a paid membership idea. The value of the knowledge here is priceless.

But to start...

I'd bill the "copy and paste" guys 100. 00 per post.

I'm SO fucking over these guys it's unreal. I'm sure you'd get rich overnight. 👍🏼👍🏼
 

Cole Trickle

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Ida know, it's a delicate balance. Remember last year when RD took tapatalk away from us, all the bitching that went on (me included), he probably lost half the members, now, some ads, the other half will walk....not!
Everyone is a big talker about walking away...lol

nobody is leaving this place if ads pop up. If they are or they can't handle $20 a year to support the community and block ads then who cares. Tons and tons of us have gained friendships, knowledge or connections from this place that are invaluable. Shit there are people here that have probably made 100's of thousands of dollars +++off sales or service.

Seems people just want free.

Reading some of the replies i would just sell this bitch for 750k and move on with my life...haha
 

RiverDave

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Ida know, it's a delicate balance. Remember last year when RD took tapatalk away from us, all the bitching that went on (me included), he probably lost half the members, now, some ads, the other half will walk....not!

Irony is I took tapatalk away because of the ads.. they were popping ads (without my approval or knowledge) on various products and in the middle of threads! Lol.
 

RiverDave

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So here it is seven months later and all I've done is gone around in circles.. :oops:

I have really put a lot of thought into this, and have considered what Mellow Yellow Vector had to say. Namely because he broke it down differently than I have it in my head.

The way he broke it down is his "advertising" is the banner ad, but the referrals are something that came out of the forums.. The forums themselves are absolutely where the value is at, not the banner ads. It's the referrals, recommendations etc that drive the business. I'd be ok with ditching the banner ads all together and just running it that way, but it would seem impossible to try and monetize that efficiently as there's so many grey areas. So I'm stuck back at square 1...

The banner ads are the revenue, but the network is the business driver.

Something absolutely mind fucking me.. The advertising on a website with 100+ thousand people a month going through it to a direct audience of people with dispensable income, is somehow worth less than what I'm gonna charge to advertise on my LED sign truck, that no matter where I put it it's going to see that many eyeballs, or have a direct audience with the amount of income on here. How the fuck does that make sense? I

RD
 
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Sportin' Wood

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So here it is seven months later and all I've done is gone around in circles.. :oops:

I have really put a lot of thought into this, and have considered what Mellow Yellow Vector had to say. Namely because he broke it down differently than I have it in my head.

The way he broke it down is his "advertising" is the banner ad, but the referrals are something that came out of the forums.. The forums themselves are absolutely where the value is at, not the banner ads. It's the referrals, recommendations etc that drive the business. I'd be ok with ditching the banner ads all together and just running it that way, but it would seem impossible to try and monetize that efficiently as there's so many grey areas. So I'm stuck back at square 1...

The banner ads are the revenue, but the network is the business driver..

RD
I need to go back and read the entire thread, but Angie and I had a discussion about this months ago. Do you remember how Pirate4x4.com used to function under Lance Clifford pre-sale to the Canadians? He had a star program that seemed to work well. I apologize if I already covered this. Otherwise, I'm happy to explain what he did. I thought it worked well.

PS we may need to inquire about advertising, we are considering a business.
 

RiverDave

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I need to go back and read the entire thread, but Angie and I had a discussion about this months ago. Do you remember how Pirate4x4.com used to function under Lance Clifford pre-sale to the Canadians? He had a star program that seemed to work well. I apologize if I already covered this. Otherwise, I'm happy to explain what he did. I thought it worked well.

PS we may need to inquire about advertising, we are considering a business.

I was never on pirate.. I can tell you though paid memberships just kill forums.. The only person I have ever seen get away with it was OSO way back in the day.

They never work out, they are a pain in the ass to manage etc..

RD
 

HullofaTime

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So here it is seven months later and all I've done is gone around in circles.. :oops:

I have really put a lot of thought into this, and have considered what Mellow Yellow Vector had to say. Namely because he broke it down differently than I have it in my head.

The way he broke it down is his "advertising" is the banner ad, but the referrals are something that came out of the forums.. The forums themselves are absolutely where the value is at, not the banner ads. It's the referrals, recommendations etc that drive the business. I'd be ok with ditching the banner ads all together and just running it that way, but it would seem impossible to try and monetize that efficiently as there's so many grey areas. So I'm stuck back at square 1...

The banner ads are the revenue, but the network is the business driver..

RD


Due to mostly everyone on here, receiving value of some sort, wether it be advertising, referrals, news, help, advice, entertainment, ect…

How about a $10 subscription fee per year, per screen name. (Havasu scanner is more than that per month and there’s more news in here alone)
Might be a conflict for businesses advertising on a public platform, maybe an adjustment for business vs regular users?

Just a thought💁🏼‍♂️

the site does come full circle for everyone at some point. One get a referral then that referee ends up receiving back at some point and so on.
 

HullofaTime

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I was never on pirate.. I can tell you though paid memberships just kill forums.. The only person I have ever seen get away with it was OSO way back in the day.

They never work out, they are a pain in the ass to manage etc..

RD
Well I posted to soon 🤣🤣

Ppl do blow more on onlyfans though 🧐
 

hallett21

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Are you selling ads or are you setting up a network?

Edit. I think the real value would be in the network.
 

Sportin' Wood

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I was never on pirate.. I can tell you though paid memberships just kill forums.. The only person I have ever seen get away with it was OSO way back in the day.

They never work out, they are a pain in the ass to manage etc..

RD
It was kind of unique. I'll try and explain it as I remember. It has been a while. I think the Pirate team kind of stumbled on it, but knowing Lance and Camo they may have planned it all along.

I can't say for certain how it started but it was 100% optional.

They had different color stars next to your avatar. Blue, gold red etc. One color was earned by making a donation to a land use org, I think Blue Ribbon and it was a blue star. Gold was that you supported the site with an annual subscription (it opened some hidden forums) Red was for people who owned businesses and wanted to pimp themselves. The nature of people was that they wanted to belong to the club, so they bought a star. It made it a little cliquey but you could get in the club by stroking a check. Collect the whole set. :)

In the case of RDP, that star could allow you behind the velvet rope at all the events that seem to happen. Too Short concert VIP area = only for RDP star holders, early slip reservations at regattas =RDP star members. You might be able to roll that in the other direction as well, by giving access to advertisers to your Baller star holders through direct messages or emails of special deals like detail services, etc. Open houses for new product releases at boat manufacturers or new real estate communities?

Maybe that free beer you have at every event requires a star membership?

RDP maintains a target demographic, it seems a valuable network, and banner ads seem small thinking.

Whatever you do, automate it.
 

RiverDave

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Due to mostly everyone on here, receiving value of some sort, wether it be advertising, referrals, news, help, advice, entertainment, ect…

How about a $10 subscription fee per year, per screen name. (Havasu scanner is more than that per month and there’s more news in here alone)
Might be a conflict for businesses advertising on a public platform, maybe an adjustment for business vs regular users?

Just a thought💁🏼‍♂️

the site does come full circle for everyone at some point. One get a referral then that referee ends up receiving back at some point and so on.

Paid memberships never work on forums.. We have tried it before and it's blah..

RD
 

Cole Trickle

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I need to go back and read the entire thread, but Angie and I had a discussion about this months ago. Do you remember how Pirate4x4.com used to function under Lance Clifford pre-sale to the Canadians? He had a star program that seemed to work well. I apologize if I already covered this. Otherwise, I'm happy to explain what he did. I thought it worked well.

PS we may need to inquire about advertising, we are considering a business.
Ran into Lance at the Eye Dr. in St. George yesterday...such a small world
 

LargeOrangeFont

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Paid memberships never work on forums.. We have tried it before and it's blah..

RD

Paid membership does not work here because there is no value in it. Think of it the other way.

You need to start charging for your events and members get free access, a free beer, a free shirt, or something. Most of the people here will give you $120/year for a unique member t shirt, koozie and a couple free beers.

It’s a balancing act because if it impacts the user experience, people will bail.

The risk here is you have so few contributors vs lurkers.

The other side of the coin is that this is just your loss leader as a feeder for swag sales and RE leads and keeping it open to everyone makes more sense.
 
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spectra3279

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I don't have a clue how any of it works. I'm here for moral support
 

Skinny Tire AH

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Paid memberships never work on forums.. We have tried it before and it's blah..

RD
RD this guy has the same model @Sportin' Wood talked about. Stars or whatever for different levels of support.

 
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