It's time to monetize, the question is how?

[DeadArmadillo 907]

I kinda know this guy, Kelvin Grogan or Morton or something.  Went to WT and owns some chain of snow cone stands or daiquiri shops or some such.  He's invested in sites like this in the past.  I'll give  him a call and see if wants to give it another shot.  From listening to him talk, he makes high six figs so he must have tons and tons of cash.

He must be a good dude.  He tells everyone he talks to how good he is

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

7 hours ago, SDG said:

I’ll give an extra $5 per month if you auto hide CR and any poster who post more than 75% of their post there...

bye bye Hugo, Dennison, BT

[Okie State 3818]

Who will partake in the profits after expenses are covered. 

I assume some sort of profit sharing program will be established. Maybe a quarterly dividend.

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

I see how this works......get us hook'd and then start charging us for our next fix. Well played.

 

 

I'm in for the $3.50 - $5.00/mo as the Shag has been good to me.

[immamac 42839]

8 hours ago, TXs said:

Who will partake in the profits after expenses are covered. 

Don't know if this is a joke, but I'm willing to be completely transparent. If we get up to our goal for runrate + 6 months I'm going to be using the rest for community based events, swag that goes out to members etc. 

 

The first rule of fight club is...

 

9 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Will some of the donations get squirreled away in a secret location

[Dark Horse 2280]

$3.50/mo.

Is there any way to make Blacklab whole again?

[immamac 42839]

6 minutes ago, Dark Horse said:

$3.50/mo.

Is there any way to make Blacklab whole again?

I can't talk about BL personal circumstances for pretty obvious reasons, but he's currently doing fine. He is still accepting donations if you are interested I would suggest sending him a DM. 

 

 

[phdhorn 6224]

Let me know when it starts so I can get to work on the paperwork.  You know, tax shelters, 1099 reporting, Form 8398 (offshore accounts), etc. etc. 

[AUS-97HORN 11757]

when help was needed on the old site, I donated, I had few problems with the ads- except those occasionally ones that would either hijack my computer, or have sounds automatically turn on with the add at full blast- but that was like a once eveyr 3 month thing that BL needed about 20 mins to fix. 

 

I think ads are fair,  I know the old site showed ads for the lurkers, so thats a good idea.   You just have to make sure U in her B is behind a login firewall to make sure those posts arent seen by the google ad people.

[Guest]

I would rather subscribe than have the ads.  Good lawdy they would bork things up on TOS.

 

We could save overages for Surly happy hours, a pork chop on a FRiday( in the Wootlands, no less) or banners. Not much of a fan for the tailgating thingy, for obvious reasons, but just wanted to say-

It's something pretty damned unique about this community that so many non-Horns are made to feel welcome.

Stay Surly, my friends.

Edited August 4, 2018 by slorch

[kevwun 15774]

I think donations make the most sense with what happened with shaggy.  It sounds like you have a good plan to avoid that being a problem again.

Edited August 4, 2018 by kevwun

[BearSchlong 8083]

I'll donate.

 

I'd even pay if we had a "shagslist" type deal where I could pimp my company's services. Like "here is what I sell, PM me and I'll waive the up front fees and give you a free bird rub or some scentsy. Sorta like a surly business network.

 

Kinda like LinkedIn without the bullshit.

 

 

 

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

2 hours ago, Fudbelty said:

I’m in for tree-fiddy a munt. Actually make it $3.49 so It’s only about tree-fiddy

Put me down for $3.51.  I'm an internet big spender.

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

Send people a free T-shirt or coffee mug after one year of donating.  That will give you some time to come up with an actual corporate logo to replace the lame ass heading you use now.  We all know someone who likes MSPaint.

[52-80 19150]

I'll donate $50 for box tickets at Wimbledon or French Open.  And we can ban certain posters

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Send people a free T-shirt or coffee mug after one year of donating.  That will give you some time to come up with an actual corporate logo to replace the lame ass heading you use now.  We all know someone who likes MSPaint.

Have a Surly latte...

[I Plead Da Fif 271]

+1 for treefiddy donation, or even the "about tree fiddy" donation which is a random number around 3.50, give or take 5%. Also would be in for any Surly tailgates when back in town for a game. Live in Denver now, but have made a number of Shaggy OU tailgates when I lived in Austin.

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

10 minutes ago, slorch said:

Have a Surly latte...

How about a heavy whipping cream portrait of C Struggs in coffee.  Or am I just being emotional?

[1978horn 892]

I donated on the last site and will on this one.  I inquired about it when this site first got going, so anytime you guys are ready let us know.  Come football season the poors are going to get going again and I don't know how I am going to handle it.

[T-shirt Sip 2100]

I will gladly donate right after I get access to NSAA. Not a second before. 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

I would donate, but don't really like a monthly charge.  I would say do a donation drive every year to cover projected yearly expenses. 

If there's going to be ads, then go full blown ads 100% of the time.   Spend it on wreaths, banners,  a beer for derka, legal expenses, whatever.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

Or take some donations and take it to vegas, bet the under on both aggy and ut win totals.  

[InkaUtexas 25905]

I am in. Prefer donations to a monthly fee. Where else are you going to find this many smart assholes with such broad interests? 

Love the Shaglist idea. I think we should take 10% and bet a long shot vs. aggy every year. You know they are going to lose at least 1. 

 

[Guest]

If you want a long shot vs aggy, then  bet the house on logic.

[woohorn 1131]

The "whale" option is the only one that really makes sense.

Make it so.

[Captainant 27653]

Unrelated to funding, but I can't imagine you wouldn't have some cost savings moving to cloud rather than physically hosted servers. And you'll have better durability and availability for the site. 

Also, in for $5/mo. I dig the idea of reinvesting any extra cash back into the site/community but not going full sellout mode. 

Definitely make some surly merch though. Good way for people to support the site and get something tangible. 

[Matuka 1310]

I'll donate 81,571 dong per month

[Orca of Peace 109]

what is the monthly operational cost of this place? 

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Orca of Peace said:

what is the monthly operational cost of this place? 

The moose out front said $1k/ month

[TexasTroll 454]

I believe it was said at about 1k

or

tree fity

depending in who you talk to

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by TexasTroll

[Chilly Water 415]

A $350 monthly premium should be charged to post in Politics with a $350 fine for shitting up any threads outside of it

Edited August 4, 2018 by Chilly Water

[TexasTroll 454]

I am leaning toward donations

with 90% of ads for the lurkers

 

[Slacks 6819]

How much is my Shaggy Investors Club stake worth? 

['stache 21802]

If I donate can I get back in on both tacos and lumpy headed shenanigans?  I voted no ads, $5/mo.

Edited August 4, 2018 by 'stache

[Hagbard Celine 10853]

12 hours ago, txhorns said:

If Blacklab still has any legal fees I think it should be monetized as much as possible until they are paid off, assuming that wouldn't violate any court orders.  After that turn the ads down as needed to where the site is making enough to pay the bills and maybe a basdass tailgate once a year.

Seconded and amended.... everyone who can needs to drop $100 today to get the costs covered for the first 10 months.

Then turn on the ads, until Lab is covered.  Everyone should be prepared, that this is going to take awhile.

At the end of the rainbow, we go back to donations reinvested in to community "fun and games".

But none of that until Lab is made whole.

[Hagbard Celine 10853]

and where the hell is the donation link?

[Hagbard Celine 10853]

12 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

As long as the ads don't hijack the page idgaf.

This is a challenge.  But our mods have skillz and an awesome set of tools.

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20395]

Wait a minute ... does 'investing back into the community"  involve large amounts of brisket?  If so, can I change my vote?

[happyhookem 224]

55 minutes ago, Matuka said:

I'll donate 81,571 dong per month

 

I'll donate one dong. Mine. To all the mothers you assholes talk about. BTW, I'm down for the tree fiddy.

[Degenerate Gardner 4085]

17 hours ago, Upgrayedd said:

I donated before and I'll donate again.

Will the strippers come to my house every quarter like I had at the last site?

That was Meals on Wheels you sick fuck.

[VolenteHawk 495]

Disclaimer: I have never run a message board, though I have used about a dozen since the late 90s.

Going to ads if the motivation isn’t to quit your day job is always the wrong move. It always costs as least some traffic, and if the mobile experience sucks some subscriber traffic, and that ultimately harms the product. I’m not a Texas fan (though do live in Austin)...I spend so much time here, because it’s among the best off-topic forum ties to sports on the internet. The fact that I live in the town and my team shares a conference helps, but I’d frequent the non-sports boards here regardless. So, ads feel (historical experience) like a damage to the product and an unnecessary one if the goal is covering expenses and throwing a righteous tailgate every year, targeting the Kansas game in odd numbered years no doubt...you don’t schedule fucking homecoming in a game you could lose.

In for subscription if we go that route. I do think it should be 3.49 or 3.51 a month to carry forward “about tree fiddy”.

If somebody is serious about trying to meaningfully help BL get whole, I’m in for that too.

 

['stache 21802]

1 hour ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

Wait a minute ... does 'investing back into the community"  involve large amounts of brisket?  If so, can I change my vote?

If I donate extra can I get some frozen and mailed?

[caliHORNia 44]

To complicate this may I suggest another approach?  If community integrity is the goal and differentiation from $9.95's is the unique value prop for Surly, have you considered modeling your financial goals on The Slicing Pie model?

Slicing Pie would have you take the costs you incur at a 4X valuation and your risk (that is your market value for the time it takes to do the work) at a 2X valuation and derive at the number you should aim for.

In this instance it would be $4K for the costs (because it's easier to save money than to spend it, it has a higher valuation) + whatever your market value is (for whatever job you could be doing other than this) X 2  - then divide that by the number of Users and then either try to raise that amount by a monthly fee or by donation.

This way the community integrity remains intact - you're charging a fair price and getting value at the same time - and won't have to resort to the methods which introduce variables that dilute the community integrity.

By the by, I'm all for you making money, and if that's the goal then you should charge as much as you can while maintaining a paying user base.

[Nivek 16923]

17 hours ago, clapclapclap said:

Can we get socks if we donate?

you can have my sock.  

[BurntOrangeCrush 1011]

I vote for donations so we don't have ads. I would like the option to pay annually rather than monthly.

[JohnnyRage 1617]

Only read the first page...

There exists a community of exceptional minds that compose the majority of our bullshit. There is an even larger group of rapier wit geniuses jerking off in the shadows that only come out to flash their skills when it moves them. Then there is the majority of dickheads, dolts, drama queens, and potential darlings that give this message board it's strength...numbers, new ideas, and turnover.

If you go to an exclusive community it will become stale. A lot of shtick is already stale. Many of the current contributors are originally from other school's message boards who stumbled on the old board and stuck around because of the laughs, content, and the fuck-you egalitarianism. There just needs to be a way to quickly dispense of the trolls through preemptive loopholes and software, some moderation, and community banning.

 

Your timing is correct with the upcoming football season

1) Very public heart wrenching go-fund-me fundraiser

2) Another fundraiser with the promise of getting laid

3) minimal and light ads

4) nominal fee for a members only jacket

Extra goes towards a flying banner for the USC game and a troll aggy billboard at a rival sec school

Edited August 4, 2018 by JohnnyRage

[Victor Lazlo 1776]

9 minutes ago, BurntOrangeCrush said:

I vote for donations so we don't have ads. I would like the option to pay annually rather than monthly.

Agree with this. 

And let me Venmo it. 

[tejas60 3533]

17 hours ago, pyrohornIII said:

I also think that it would be good to delineate those who are financial contributors and those who aren't.  I would think it would help to recognize trolls and socks. 

sure thing rocko

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

I also think it's fair for immac to take a reasonable salary for whatever hours he puts in for the site.  4 or 5 bucks an hour or whatever a administrator makes. 

[tejas60 3533]

1 hour ago, caliHORNia said:

To complicate this may I suggest another approach?  If community integrity is the goal and differentiation from $9.95's is the unique value prop for Surly, have you considered modeling your financial goals on The Slicing Pie model?

Slicing Pie would have you take the costs you incur at a 4X valuation and your risk (that is your market value for the time it takes to do the work) at a 2X valuation and derive at the number you should aim for.

In this instance it would be $4K for the costs (because it's easier to save money than to spend it, it has a higher valuation) + whatever your market value is (for whatever job you could be doing other than this) X 2  - then divide that by the number of Users and then either try to raise that amount by a monthly fee or by donation.

This way the community integrity remains intact - you're charging a fair price and getting value at the same time - and won't have to resort to the methods which introduce variables that dilute the community integrity.

By the by, I'm all for you making money, and if that's the goal then you should charge as much as you can while maintaining a paying user base.

look at the big brain on caliHORNia.