Free Republic 3rd Qtr 2024 Fundraising Target: $81,000 | Receipts & Pledges to-date: $39,861 | |||
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Woo hoo!! And we're now over 49%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless. |
Posted on 04/19/2012 1:22:35 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
I've checked with an ad agency. We can probably raise the funds we need to operate FR at our current level and at the current market price for online advertising if we run a banner ad at the top of every page and at least one rectangular ad in the above the fold body of the page and a couple rectangular ads in the sidebar. If that doesn't generate enough revenue, we can also run pop ups or pop unders and we can even run audio and video ads if need be. But of course, if we go full bore commercial, we'd have to insure strict copyright compliance with very brief excerpting of all articles to avoid lawsuits. And the agency would require that we install a filter to censor out any bad or unacceptable words in our posts.
Or, of course, there's always the membership model. We could setup a members only system where paying members get full access and non-paying members get throttled back, etc.
I don't like either of the above models and think we'd soon lose a lot of our readers and participants. Of course that may happen anyway if we can't fund it and if we cannot get our equipment problem under control, or if my refusal to vote for or support an abortionist/homosexualist/statist who has plans to install ObamaCare, er, I mean RomneyCare into all 50 states runs everyone off.
The donation model has served us very well since 1997 when we first started using it. It's very clean, uncomplicated and we attract participants who perhaps can't afford membership dues but do want to join the discussion and join our rallies, protests, prayer sessions, etc. And the advertising model would probably bring in the revenue, but it comes with strings attached.
I'm sure there are other ways and ways to combine features of various models, sell books, cds, gear, etc, offer no ads for paid subscribers, etc, even ISP services, but all of these also complicate matters.
I'm an old dog and I like to avoid new tricks, new complications, additional overhead, additional accounting, additional rules and regulations, etc, wherever possible. I like to stick to simplicity and with what works.
Thank you all very much for your continuing participation and support.
So, would it be better to do chunks of donations instead of monthlies?
***************************** I think it would be neat to 'sell' premiums like t-shirts, coffee mugs or mouse pads, etc.
(wonder how much that generates for sites?)
So you decided to ban me for simply disagreeing with you?
You piece of cowardly filth, you can ban this account too, and stick this entire forum in the crease. I am sure you would rather have obsama in that place.
You talk about a Free Republic? you you are a coward, and a liar, and a traitor, and will never be anything else.
My opus is a single finger wave good bye.
Are you man enough to leave this posted?
I did not think so.
I hope things will be able to stay the same (FR is different, but I’m getting used to it & it’s definitely growing on me!), but whatever you do, Jim, will be fine.
Free Republic is The Best conservative news aggregator on the internet.
(I’m planning to bump my contribution $5 a quarter once the election is past, so my target is $100 a year...WELL worth it for constantly updated news & info)
:-) Oh. & please keep the little cartoon guy who winks, waves, & points (to the donate text) even if it’s just for posterity. It *always* makes me smile.
Are you getting funding/revenue from sites like this?
http://www.zazzle.com/free+republic+gifts
Might be neat, and probably a pain in the neck too, to offer premiums for ‘big’ donations.
Automatic monthly donations would put an end to FReepathons were every, or a majority of regular users and members to donate monthly.
FReepers are truly the absolute best. FReepers always come through, even though it’s taking longer and longer. I know that Jim is concerned about the strain it’s putting on our loyal membership when every regular user doesn’t feel the need to donate. The Marxist’s unconscionable economy has hit a whole lot of us hard and despite the lamestream cheerleading, it’s not getting better.
Wow indeed!! As a free rider I find it incredible long time donors are purged every year or so for speaking their minds. What did paying get them?
Nah, that’s exactly what you DON’T want to do!
With banner ads, all you are giving them is the exposure. No guarantees about type of audience or number of click-throughs, none of that. Exposure only.
If you start filtering content, you’d get sued or dropped so fast it’d make yur head spin.
Is 22% in 19 days really working?
It's not over yet. Wait until Tampa... Oops... wrong thread.
I was just asking if it would be better to pay a larger chunk instead of monthly -say giving $120 as one chunk would be $2 processing fee - $120 over 12 months is $24 processing fee, right? (Just trying to understand the fee structure)
Uh, excuse me, but I have not zotted every Romney supporter. But I am a pro-life, pro-family, pro-liberty person and I cannot possibly vote for or support an abortionist, homosexualist statist for president and have posted that fact thousands of times on FR over the last six years or so since the abortionist, homsexualist, RINOs Rudy and Romney had the audacity to run for president as pretend conservatives. No way in hell will that change.
Whether or not Romney supporters get zotted depends 100% on the level of their demonstrated RINOism, belligerence, obnoxiousity, personal attacks, etc, against me, against our conservative candidates, against our conservative positions, or against our members.
I will never excuse Romney for his part in advancing the cause of the culture of death and or his part in murdering millions of our unborn or corrupting our young innocents by promoting and advocating the homosexual agenda or for forcing RomneyCare, now ObamaCare and a likely second term for the Marxist on our nation!!
FUMR!!
Sorry, but I cannot state it any plainer than that.
Conservative political (gun rights, etc) and/or tasteful non-political (home schooling book series, etc.) banner ads would be fine and even popular!
What donations? I know somebody makes donations, but me? Uh...
You prove yourself the coward and liar with your second, devious account. Foul mouth, too.
I hope this account rides the lightning and fast!
No, and I have no desire to participate in outside funding organizations. Not particularly interested in big donations either. They’d have strings attached.
Wow. What a Masshole you are.
How could you argue with a man wielding a graphic like that. :)
100 ?
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