- Thanks RedMDer for the help with the background.
| Free Republic 2nd Qtr 2024 Fundraising Target: $81,000 | Receipts & Pledges to-date: $14,911 | |||
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| Woo hoo!! And we're now over 18%!! 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.
Last night, I didn’t understand what was going on in the forum because I haven’t been here in a while.
However, I now understand a bit just from reading one reply to you.
I will post my name in agreement with your excellent post.
Thank you for being so daring.
Bump in agreement, knowing I’ll possibly be banned.
I would hate that because I love FR. :o(
I know the feeling. :(
Thank you, dixiechick. My ‘daring’ days may be coming to an end.
I can’t reach anyone here and am getting black and blue from the abuse.
I’m going to just post on doggie threads and so on for a while.
Isn’t it possible to both have donations and advertising?
Yes, but then we have to live with the restrictions and drawbacks that will be put on us by the fact that we’d be a for profit commercial venture and that we would have to comply with our advertisers wishes or lose the revenue. I believe going commercial would alter the nature of Free Republic.
FR book that is a good idea.
Good morning.
Can we send checks? (I didn’t see the option on the link)
Thanks.
I am supporting the constitution party for president. Wee need to bash both Obama and Romney and tie then together. and have someone with guts to taken on the GOP-E. The two party system has failed. I am voting for Virgil Goode the nominee.
Apparently, no one gives a hoot about your idea.
My point was to NittanyLion...as she appears/appeared to be calling Jim out.
If that's a problem with you.....take it up with Nittanylion.
When Jim Robinson asks, it’s a good time for a topic FReep. My apologies for the off-list topic ping.
Bravo!
I’d love to see a single banner by Ruger or Smith * Wesson.
You can ask that question? In this economy, seriously?
I know some people that five dollars will buy a months supply of medicine.
If sixty cents a day is going to deprive you of medicine, dump internet access.
On the bright side, we may not have to go through the anguish of voting for Romney.
Or anyone, ever again...
INDEED.
Robust, healthy organizations can handle diversity (in a good sense) AND EVEN NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
VERY CONSTRUCTIVELY.
Others . . .
I think that is an excellent idea.
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