Posted on 04/19/2012 5:38:57 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
RimJob Cries Uncle!
Last edited Thu Apr 19, 2012, 04:44 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)
For fifteen years, the Wizard of the cesspool FreeRepublic has been beyond adamant that his little sewer would never -never- adopt an advertising, pay, or membership model. Well, what have we here?
... the beginning of the end? One can but hope.
"Alternatives to donor based, ie, freepathon business model" April 19, 2012 | Jim Robinson
Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2012 16:22:35 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.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2874129/posts
Vile creeps. They are without conscience, honor or principles.
I guess I feel strongly about it!
Hey, I started out with nothing, and I've still got most of it!
That's not a bad idea, although the cost of those particular speakers might be prohibitive. There is already an FR convention in DC every few years.
But anyone who wanted to organize regional dinners at a hall and book speakers from a little farther down the conservative food chain would be able to raise funds for FR.
Jim I personally pledge an additional $250
Thank you very much, Living4theGreatIam!!
Oh at least a million five! (grin)
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