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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 3196 Views
Awesome job, mate! - 06/07/2010 09:03:20 PM 1252 Views
I see that you've also fixed the spelling of "received" in the noteboards. - 06/07/2010 09:08:00 PM 1288 Views
Erm... can you recheck your settings? - 06/07/2010 09:20:50 PM 1238 Views
They've not changed. *NM* - 06/07/2010 09:22:07 PM 695 Views
Default quote setting is excellent - 06/07/2010 10:02:35 PM 1296 Views
Nice! - 06/07/2010 11:51:09 PM 1078 Views
Yay! - 07/07/2010 04:32:39 PM 1120 Views
Time zone - 07/07/2010 05:23:43 PM 1091 Views
Yeah, Us/Eastern is ahead an hour too. - 07/07/2010 05:44:40 PM 1287 Views
Cool, I must locate some money to get one. *NM* - 08/07/2010 03:48:59 PM 740 Views
I all of a sudden miss Wse - 10/07/2010 01:28:00 AM 1172 Views
In a way, yes *NM* - 16/07/2010 06:43:14 AM 615 Views
Just how much bandwidth is Read and Find out using per month? - 11/07/2010 05:50:02 AM 1240 Views
So, you think Ben should pay it out of his own pocket then? - 12/07/2010 09:33:27 AM 1387 Views
Oh Jing. - 12/07/2010 08:05:31 PM 1277 Views
It's a very reasonable question. - 12/07/2010 09:29:26 PM 1371 Views
Good point *NM* - 12/07/2010 09:38:25 PM 625 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 1440 Views
It is exactly the same stuff Mike asked money for - 14/07/2010 09:00:55 PM 1107 Views
Why can't people even ask the question(s)? - 14/07/2010 09:22:11 PM 1249 Views
Re: Why can't people even ask the question(s)? - 14/07/2010 09:36:54 PM 1303 Views
Well - 14/07/2010 09:57:09 PM 1426 Views
Exactly. - 15/07/2010 12:09:14 AM 1202 Views
The messageboards are perfectly functional without a premium account. - 14/07/2010 09:17:43 PM 1088 Views
I see it as a way of giving people something back for donations. - 14/07/2010 10:09:08 PM 1359 Views
He does have a point when it comes to hyperlinks. - 15/07/2010 06:52:41 PM 1079 Views
There are other reasons why I don't want links in posts - 15/07/2010 08:18:53 PM 1111 Views
Why is that? - 15/07/2010 09:14:52 PM 1271 Views
Viable alternatives - 15/07/2010 01:16:39 AM 1302 Views
I have to agree with you here - 16/07/2010 06:55:43 AM 1081 Views
Advertising makes a site look like shit. - 16/07/2010 08:28:00 AM 1022 Views
Only if you choose to let it. - 16/07/2010 12:17:47 PM 1320 Views
This is just the BBforum argument rehashed. - 16/07/2010 06:07:20 PM 1194 Views
But those are the very things being introduced by the premium accounts. - 17/07/2010 12:44:05 PM 1307 Views
Re: One Thing - 17/07/2010 04:24:51 PM 1187 Views
Agreed. - 17/07/2010 04:34:09 PM 1144 Views
RAFO is a lot of great things, but great-looking it is not. - 16/07/2010 02:28:50 PM 1220 Views
As I've said above... - 16/07/2010 01:49:37 PM 1280 Views
Just to be clear: - 16/07/2010 03:18:22 PM 1219 Views
Re: As I've said above... - 16/07/2010 05:58:39 PM 1232 Views
Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 06:05:07 PM 1279 Views
Re: Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 06:13:17 PM 1070 Views
Re: Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 09:03:27 PM 1087 Views
And - 17/07/2010 04:37:12 PM 1162 Views
To be honest, that misses part of the appeal for some of us - 17/07/2010 12:17:15 AM 1164 Views
It's a start - 16/07/2010 06:37:44 PM 1185 Views
Yeah, that's the other thing. - 16/07/2010 08:59:51 PM 1184 Views
Go Ben! \o/ *NM* - 18/07/2010 02:52:30 AM 524 Views
That's the root of the problem. - 21/07/2010 01:10:56 PM 1351 Views
Question - 18/07/2010 12:02:02 PM 1368 Views
I think it's reasonable - 17/07/2010 12:33:56 AM 1399 Views
I like it, and thanks =) - 23/07/2010 12:43:11 PM 1093 Views
I don't really have a problem paying - I just dislike Paypal. - 03/08/2010 05:53:14 PM 1490 Views

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