Nugget Shooter Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Hi All, This forum is continuously growing in membership as well as content which in turn makes the cost of maintaining it higher and higher. This brings me to a question about allowing ads on the front page, all pages, or ??? I have several options I can use, but the ads would help quite a bit to lower the bills. We do also offer the opportunity to join the forum and donate as a supporting member or premium member and this helps allot and perhaps if more supported our community we could avoid any ads all together. I am adding a poll to see how ya feel about it since the community belongs to all of us that use it and just looking to make it always better. Free forum hosting is free, but does not allow the photo options we allow as well as many other features we are used to here, but as we grow so does the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 I think adds would be a great idea. I was looking at membership rates yesterday and did not see benefits listed next to a membership. I think its perfectly reasonable that the site runs adds and if you buy a premium membership, all adds are blocked. If you could keep video ads from appearing, it'd probably help grow membership. One downside to adds though, is once video starts playing on these adds, my computer glitches, so anyone a first time user to the site might not come back if it glitches. Also, with advertising, the store link up top on the forum doesn't link to the store, just to membership rates. It'd be nice if it also linked to your online detector store. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 I think allowing you to get some ad revenue is the least we can do and I voted accordingly. I've hosted forums in the past and had an Adsense account and it in now way makes up for the drama and work involved... Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Hey Bill ... I'm OK with adds so long as they relate to our hobby/profession. I will also be joining as a premium member when I return to AZ next month ... I think the site is certainly worth the $40 a year fee. One caveat would be the option for premium members to be able to block adds if they so choose. That option would not be available to free members of the forum ... which in the end might be an incentive to join as a premium member and eventually negate the need for adds. We have a great forum here with a willing cadre of folks giving helpful advice freely and without a lot of BS. I would not want to do anything that would change that. Mike F 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDomingoJim Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Bill, I think ads would be a good idea to generate income to cover the costs. I also agree with Chrisski that video ads can cause some problems with some. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Soloman Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Go with the Ads Bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget108 Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) Well Bill, if it helps us keep this great forum up and going I'm all in. Let's do it. If you have to kick up the premium membership price some, I'm good with that too. Whatever keeps this going Bill. Edited July 6, 2017 by nugget108 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 The forum is not only an educational and social community, its part of your business. Run business like a business is my opinion. Ads would allow you to potentially turn the forum from a cost liability into a revenue generating asset. I drew some criticism from running ads on my old website and forum, however, the ads paid the bills and there was always some money left over to boot. As easy as it is to incorporate ads into the forum you could run the ads on an xx number of days pilot basis and just turn them off if any issues arise that you find unacceptable. My guess is that members will be fine with it and understand the reasoning and need. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefire Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 LOL, I can deal with ADD's if it will bring you in some CHA CHING ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relichunter2016 Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) Add......ads.. Edited July 6, 2017 by Relichunter2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 4 hours ago, Rod said: The forum is not only an educational and social community, its part of your business. Run business like a business is my opinion. Ads would allow you to potentially turn the forum from a cost liability into a revenue generating asset. I drew some criticism from running ads on my old website and forum, however, the ads paid the bills and there was always some money left over to boot. As easy as it is to incorporate ads into the forum you could run the ads on an xx number of days pilot basis and just turn them off if any issues arise that you find unacceptable. My guess is that members will be fine with it and understand the reasoning and need. Turning out more complicated than I thought, geeeeze..... Will be a spell figuring it out it looks like as google is very strict on URL placement. Much of this is way over my head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) The ad idea has two sides...The positive, of course, is the income...The other side of the coin is it becomes a restriction, ultimately, on forum content...Let's say that Xyz is an advertiser and someone criticizes their product...Suddenly the remarkable freedom of expression here become severely restricted...Just a thought.. On the other hand, Bill, you've been holding off on advertising your own business on here since it started in 2003 and I don't think any of us would have a problem with you advertising on here...That would just make it easier for forum members to see what cool deals and products you offer...Rob is restrained about what he does on his forum but does post such things from time to time with no backlash...To go from just posts about deals to actual display ads (restrained and undominating) would be happily accepted by memberrs and visitors ...Cheers, Unc Edited July 6, 2017 by Uncle Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azdigger Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 What ever it takes to keep this GREAT forum up .....love to read the posts and info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysdirty Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Ads are fine, but too many slow your computer and make browsing the forum annoying. I have ditched fullsizebronco.com because of this,it drives me crazy and is over the top, they show up on the sides, in replys and play videos which really slow you down. Like Chrisski said. Though if I were to pony up for a $25 membership per year the ads are removed. Maybe consider that, paid members see no ads, free members get ads. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 1 hour ago, Uncle Ron said: The ad idea has two sides...The positive, of course, is the income...The other side of the coin is it becomes a restriction, ultimately, on forum content...Let's say that Xyz is an advertiser and someone criticizes their product...Suddenly the remarkable freedom of expression here become severely restricted...Just a thought.. On the other hand, Bill, you've been holding off on advertising your own business on here since it started in 2003 and I don't think any of us would have a problem with you advertising on here...That would just make it easier for forum members to see what cool deals and products you offer...Rob is restrained about what he does on his forum but does post such things from time to time with no backlash...To go from just posts about deals to actual display ads (restrained and undominating) would be happily accepted by memberrs and visitors ...Cheers, Unc Unc, speaking from experience I disagree that criticism will impact contextual ads or ad partners like Google AdSense for Publishers. Opinions come with the territory and last I read them, the TOS for AdSense do not require policing opinions on publisher's sites. Just my 2 cents. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 1 hour ago, Bill Southern said: Turning out more complicated than I thought, geeeeze..... Will be a spell figuring it out it looks like as google is very strict on URL placement. Much of this is way over my head AdSense has a pretty helpful community Bill: https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!forum/adsense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) I voted to allow advertising... with the caveat that paid members are still ad free. That seems fair and that idea has been voiced by a few others too. Edited July 7, 2017 by ArcticDave 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Yo Rod...I was referring to responses from the actual advertisers... As an obvious example, if ML was advertising here and someone trashed their products, Bill might get a call ... There's not alot of product trashing on here but there have been criticisms of different potential advertisers' products...If I'm not mistaken (which I could be) Adsense is much broader advertising ... That's the kind of thing that could impact on the forum in a not good way ... IMHO...Cheers, Unc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) Thanks for the clarification Unc. You're right, if ML advertised directly they would need to enter any agreement with eyes wide open given the medium here is a forum. Freedom of expression, specifically consumer, is just part of business. IMHO, if all reviews expressed are only positive, i.e. never a criticism, then authenticity is lost. Adsense is contextual. Ads are generated by the words on the webpage, users search history and/or other factors. When I used AdSense the ads were relevant to the site's/pages topic(s) about 95% of the time. Both advertisers and publishers have controls to allow or disallow ads from or to each other. With Bill's large audience and traffic I believe that ads would be win for both parties. It was not unusual for my AdSense revenue to exceed my site's operating costs 10+ times over per month. Others in the gold community who use AdSense have told me the same. Again, just personal experience. Edited July 7, 2017 by Rod Re-worded revenue statement for improved context Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Bill I think this is a great discussion and l have some good learning going on about AdSense and other things I did not know existed before today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 On 7/6/2017 at 6:45 PM, chrisski said: Bill I think this is a great discussion and l have some good learning going on about AdSense and other things I did not know existed before today. Yep and bet ya didn't know Rod is the one who got me going on a forum way back in the 90s on a free platform called Bravenet. I am sort of hinting to him I may need guidance lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 9 hours ago, Bill Southern said: I am sot of hinting to him I may need guidance lol Somehow I think the hint got out and the request has been made! Ya think! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 17 hours ago, Bill Southern said: Yep and bet ya didn't know Rod is the one who got me going on a forum way back in the 90s on a free platform called Bravenet. I am sot of hinting to him I may need guidance lol Thanks Bill! I'm happy to help however I can. Perhaps we can start by you sending me an email (rod@detect.gold) of your roadblocks and concerns. I'll be out and about this summer so if at any point you see a delay, don't think I've forgotten about you - just off grid finding the gold :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted July 8, 2017 Author Share Posted July 8, 2017 Thank you Rod and will likely be in touch soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser John Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 I'm so old and senile I posted comment but forgot to vote. Do what ya gotta do but this sure should be a tax write off as store, product lines sold and all are retail sales? You know darn well they'll tax ya on add income so it all should be a write off. OR only for the rich now as all my costs were write offs for many years and audited 3 times and all were good?? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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