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Viable alternatives Werthead Send a noteboard - 15/07/2010 01:16:39 AM
Rather than just question the viability of the premium account idea without offering alternatives, I've taken a look at how other boards handles the same issues without resorting to some sort of multi-tiered poster structure.

The first thing they do is employ Amazon and Google Ads, and make big drives to get people to order books through those ads (they get a cut of them) rather than just going to the sites direct. You have a lot of people reviewing books on this site, it should be relatively straightforward to set up a link on those reviews to the respective Amazon pages, and if people like the sound of the book they can order it that way and RAFO gets a cut of the cash. Since RAFO has provided a service in making them aware of the book, that works out. Obviously, you can also encourage the WHEEL OF TIME fanbase to order TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT via an Amazon link on the site as well.

Secondly, is the good old-fashioned pledge drive, maybe mixed in with competitions and raffles. Whenever other sites' hosting fees are coming up and they haven't made enough money via advertising, they simply say, "We need £xxx, we've provided you with countless hours of entertainment/job-endangering time-wasting, help us out," and put up a PayPal account. When they reach the amount needed, they take it down, say thanks, and sometimes throw in prizes or some sort of raffle arrangement so those who contribute get a chance of winning some books or other gear.

Thirdly, sponsorship. This is harder to get, but as an SFF-related website with several thousand members, it's possible that at least one or two publishers might consider some sort of deal in return for advertising their books on the site in a relatively non-obtrusive way. £6 a month to get their names in front of a couple of thousand book-buyers isn't a lot to a company like Tor or Orbit, especially considering the site's long association (through its direct ancestor, Wotmania, which I would recommend playing up, as Wotmania was very well-regarded by some publishers) with the WHEEL OF TIME web presence.

Just some ideas. Other sites use them to pay for much higher web hosting fees than RAFO has, so they do work.
This message last edited by Werthead on 15/07/2010 at 01:18:14 AM
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EDIT: Remember folks, today's the last day of the free premium accounts! - 06/07/2010 08:52:02 PM 3192 Views
Awesome job, mate! - 06/07/2010 09:03:20 PM 1248 Views
I see that you've also fixed the spelling of "received" in the noteboards. - 06/07/2010 09:08:00 PM 1284 Views
Erm... can you recheck your settings? - 06/07/2010 09:20:50 PM 1234 Views
They've not changed. *NM* - 06/07/2010 09:22:07 PM 693 Views
Default quote setting is excellent - 06/07/2010 10:02:35 PM 1292 Views
Nice! - 06/07/2010 11:51:09 PM 1074 Views
Yay! - 07/07/2010 04:32:39 PM 1114 Views
Time zone - 07/07/2010 05:23:43 PM 1087 Views
Yeah, Us/Eastern is ahead an hour too. - 07/07/2010 05:44:40 PM 1282 Views
Cool, I must locate some money to get one. *NM* - 08/07/2010 03:48:59 PM 738 Views
I all of a sudden miss Wse - 10/07/2010 01:28:00 AM 1168 Views
In a way, yes *NM* - 16/07/2010 06:43:14 AM 613 Views
Just how much bandwidth is Read and Find out using per month? - 11/07/2010 05:50:02 AM 1235 Views
So, you think Ben should pay it out of his own pocket then? - 12/07/2010 09:33:27 AM 1384 Views
Oh Jing. - 12/07/2010 08:05:31 PM 1272 Views
It's a very reasonable question. - 12/07/2010 09:29:26 PM 1366 Views
Good point *NM* - 12/07/2010 09:38:25 PM 623 Views
You want to charge people for functionality every other forum on the web gives them for free? - 14/07/2010 08:47:32 PM 1435 Views
It is exactly the same stuff Mike asked money for - 14/07/2010 09:00:55 PM 1103 Views
Why can't people even ask the question(s)? - 14/07/2010 09:22:11 PM 1244 Views
Re: Why can't people even ask the question(s)? - 14/07/2010 09:36:54 PM 1299 Views
Well - 14/07/2010 09:57:09 PM 1419 Views
Exactly. - 15/07/2010 12:09:14 AM 1197 Views
The messageboards are perfectly functional without a premium account. - 14/07/2010 09:17:43 PM 1084 Views
I see it as a way of giving people something back for donations. - 14/07/2010 10:09:08 PM 1355 Views
He does have a point when it comes to hyperlinks. - 15/07/2010 06:52:41 PM 1075 Views
There are other reasons why I don't want links in posts - 15/07/2010 08:18:53 PM 1107 Views
Why is that? - 15/07/2010 09:14:52 PM 1266 Views
Viable alternatives - 15/07/2010 01:16:39 AM 1295 Views
I have to agree with you here - 16/07/2010 06:55:43 AM 1076 Views
Advertising makes a site look like shit. - 16/07/2010 08:28:00 AM 1018 Views
Only if you choose to let it. - 16/07/2010 12:17:47 PM 1315 Views
This is just the BBforum argument rehashed. - 16/07/2010 06:07:20 PM 1190 Views
But those are the very things being introduced by the premium accounts. - 17/07/2010 12:44:05 PM 1302 Views
Re: One Thing - 17/07/2010 04:24:51 PM 1183 Views
Agreed. - 17/07/2010 04:34:09 PM 1139 Views
RAFO is a lot of great things, but great-looking it is not. - 16/07/2010 02:28:50 PM 1214 Views
As I've said above... - 16/07/2010 01:49:37 PM 1275 Views
Just to be clear: - 16/07/2010 03:18:22 PM 1215 Views
Re: As I've said above... - 16/07/2010 05:58:39 PM 1227 Views
Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 06:05:07 PM 1272 Views
Re: Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 06:13:17 PM 1066 Views
Re: Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 09:03:27 PM 1083 Views
And - 17/07/2010 04:37:12 PM 1157 Views
To be honest, that misses part of the appeal for some of us - 17/07/2010 12:17:15 AM 1160 Views
It's a start - 16/07/2010 06:37:44 PM 1181 Views
Yeah, that's the other thing. - 16/07/2010 08:59:51 PM 1180 Views
Go Ben! \o/ *NM* - 18/07/2010 02:52:30 AM 522 Views
That's the root of the problem. - 21/07/2010 01:10:56 PM 1346 Views
Question - 18/07/2010 12:02:02 PM 1363 Views
I think it's reasonable - 17/07/2010 12:33:56 AM 1394 Views
I like it, and thanks =) - 23/07/2010 12:43:11 PM 1089 Views
I don't really have a problem paying - I just dislike Paypal. - 03/08/2010 05:53:14 PM 1486 Views

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