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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.
Working the FReepathon you hear stories. People out of work, one lost their house and was living with relatives. She sent $3. Dear one, she WAS a "premium member". And she's not the only one.
Can you take me off the quarterly donations ping list Jim...
What an asinine comment for a 'free rider' to make. If people disagree with the Mission Statement of this website, then they shouldn't be financially supporting it in the first place.
And, if you think a person's donations ought to buy them the luxury of spitting in the owner's eye, then you're no better than the average Obot.
Yep. Welcome to Obamaville. That is probably part of the Marxist’s plan. Break the economy to the point that we have no voice.
What would you do if you wanted to completely break the free market economy and replace it with something else?
How would you do that?
What is it that one thing that you could do to raise the price of everything and blame it all on the free market economy
and the “rich”?
Simple. Raise the price of energy.
How would you do that?
Increase the regulations on the energy companies regarding producing energy via the EPA or the UN.
What did Obama say about energy prices? “They will necessarily sky rocket”.
When energy prices “necessarily sky rocket” what happens?
The cost of delivering seed for crops and feed for live stock increases.
The cost of delivering the resulting products to grocery stores increases.
The cost of delivering the raw materials to manufactures increases.
The cost of delivering the resulting products to retail increases.
The cost to the consumer increases. The sales taxes are percentages and take a bigger bite out of every-ones budget.
When most of the population needs help who steps in to help?
The slave master, the government is like an abusive parent. The more that we give, the more that we give in.
Replacing our current economic and governmental system is ON PURPOSE and has been in the works for a long time.
Throw all of the use-full idiot so called ruling-class lifelong politicians out on their butts!
TEA Party On!
I'd definitely spend too much on Freeper stuff!
That's the funding model that I'm leaning toward. It works great on the Delphi Forums network (I've been a member there for nearly a decade).
It's like a welfare recipient eating at posh restaurants while those footing the bill can't even afford McDonalds.
And saying that donations should equal "pay to play" is pathetic. Sounds like a liberal to me.
Exactly right!!
Agreed. People aren't donating because they've seen fellow posters banned for offenses they deem minor or not offenses at all. The bannings seem arbitrary to them and thus they will not freely part with their money because one relatively innocuous comment could result in their banning. If you want to increase donations, either allow a true free-for-all dialogue like the kind that existed 10 years ago, or segment the forum into multiple common interest "rooms".
Cute idea!
Would blocking ads still help FR? If everyone blocked the ads, there'd be no sense having the ads in the first place, would there be?
I would block the ads because they are such a pain on dial up.
I can't agree more. It's simple to install, and hovers up in the corner of your screen, almost unnoticed. Simple to use, too. Once you've killed a tracker, it won't work on any site that uses it. After about a week of killing trackers, there are hardly any new ones that show up.
Arby’s? C’mon. We do Chevy’s. W/lots of hot sauce. LOL! Thanks!!
Free Republic is not just a forum. It is a grassroots activist site. And Jim will not allow it to be used to push an anti-conservative. That's his right.
As to not donating because you can't say what you want, hogwash. But it really does sound like a good excuse, doesn't it. Do they also eat in restaurants and get repeated free meals after complaining about the food?
Emerald is my birth stone. I like!
Got it. Thanks
You sound like you want to leave, so why don’t you?
Jim has explained his position on Mitt Romney til he’s blue in the face, yet there you sit, still encouraging him to roll over for the Socialists and their enablers.
Tell you what, Drew. If Jim actually did that, I think he’d lose a helluva lot more Freepers than those he’s been forced to zot. This place would be without honor or a soul if he backed down to the threats of RINOs, cowards, and other assorted traitors.
Please see my reply to that particular post.
Of course it's his right. But the market is speaking, isn't it? From a "business" perspective, these actions are chasing away paying customers. Jim can do whatever he wants - but remember how that worked out for the Dixie Chicks...
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