Question ShrimperZone V.I.P's & Fund-Raising

[Cricko]

Hi all, due to the spiralling costs of running the Zone and having lost a recent sponsor we are looking at ways to bring some funds in.

An idea we are thinking of is creating V.I.P Zoner's at a cost of £12 per year..This would mean you would appear in another colour on the Zone and in the lists and also if enough people joined up to this we could also create a V.I.P Lounge Forum for those members.If you are interested in this and wish to help us please say so in this thread.

The idea is at an early stage so any input on this or any other suggestions that may help us create income would be most welcome.We do not want to cover the site in adverts though.

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

Can you not get Sainsbury to bank roll Shrimperzone

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Maybe.But only if you agree to let me see who's leaving rep.:winking:
(oops now I can).:blush:

 

[gpd]

What costs are we looking at ? What level of sponsership is needed if split between sponsers ? I ask this in preference to a two-tier membership - unless thats the only way.

 

[Cricko]

What costs are we looking at ? What level of sponsership is needed if split between sponsers ? I ask this in preference to a two-tier membership - unless thats the only way.

PM sent..................

 

[McNasty]

We are looking at different ways of raising monies to keep the Zone running.

We have no desire to make anyone pay to be a member but we are using this thread as a sounding board.

It costs around £2000 a year just to run the Zone without any extras and we don't wish to make money, just keep a small amount for un-expected out-goings. People might feel it is down to the owners to meet the short-fall but we put in thousands of man-hours monitoring and working behind the scenes, all un-paid.

Personally I feel the time I spent years ago funding the site myself enough.

 

[pickledseal]

Is this a formal clique? ;)

I'll be honest, it's not ideal but necessary. I don't really like the idea of a separate area... but names in a different colour to show those who support Zone is a nice touch.

Anyone know of other potential sponsors? This site gets a lot if traffic right? Would be a good opportunity for local businesses I would of thought.

 

[Cricko]

Is this a formal clique? ;)

I'll be honest, it's not ideal but necessary. I don't really like the idea of a separate area... but names in a different colour to show those who support Zone is a nice touch.

Anyone know of other potential sponsors? This site gets a lot if traffic right? Would be a good opportunity for local businesses I would of thought.

We certainly do not want it to become a clique and that is a very valid point Andy. As Ken has already pointed out this is just a "sounding out thread" to get ideas..that is just one I had...

Another major sponsor or two would be the ideal answer.:smile:

 

[Lord Football]

On my other forum...

We introduced a premium membership for a fiver a year. Works well enough for us not to have to rely on sponsorship. We offer a Members Only Forum, which isn't moderated and I believe we still give out an email address as well (not that I really understand that bit). The only problem we encounter is behind the scenes on the Admin CP when people's membership lapse as it seems to default that the individual has no posting rights (which in some cases is a good thing) - but this is dependent on how they paid. Also, occassionally, if we end up having to ban or suspend someone they often bleat about the fiver they parted company with. Ha ha.

I'll also note the amount of time it takes to run one of these things (which is why I don't do it much these days) and if people want a facility such as this, then asking for them to donate a few quid for a few small added extras seems fine to me.

 

[ldnfatso]

do i get rep advantages??

 

[Mick]

Can you not get Sainsbury to bank roll Shrimperzone

Maybe the Trust would pay half ?

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Maybe the Trust would pay half ?

Do we get to play some friendlies in Scotland?

 

[McNasty]

Maybe the Trust would pay half ?

Perhaps we should start a ShrimperZone Trust to give people an alternative choice and raise money. :winking:

 

[McNasty]

Perhaps we should start a ShrimperZone Trust to give people an alternative choice and raise money. :winking:

Anyone got any sensible ideas.

 

[Pubey]

I'm a member of another forum which has a tiered membership system and it works well.
http://forum.watmm.com/index.php?app=subscriptions

Personally I'd be for putting The Pub behind a paywall of perhaps £5 pa, which for pretty much every regular zoner I'm sure would be fine, and this would raise a good few hundred. I'd be wary of having a smaller group having their own sub-forum. There's enough paranoia (and shenanigans) on here, without needing SZFC sub-forum-gate again (just to clarify, not blaming anyone for that, but it did lead to a lot of people, both SZFC and SZers leaving in the end).

Other options are to put personalisations behind a paywall as well, things like signatures, increased PM space, polls etc.

 

[McNasty]

Please keep your ideas coming in.

 

[Hotman]

I'd happily pay a score towards a power base private forum. Removing rep limits would be worth even more?

 

[davewebbsbrain]

I'd happily pay a score towards a power base private forum. Removing rep limits would be worth even more?

#Barnabluedoesn'tlikethis

 

[mark387]

If you install the GCBOS Shout/Chatroom (Minus Shoutbox) I mentioned during Matchday Chat Saturday (I'm SurreyShrimper) you could make that available Matchday to just Donators/VIP/Staff to keep the server load down.

Customisable ranks for just Donator/VIP is another possible reward.

 

[McNasty]

I'd happily pay a score towards a power base private forum. Removing rep limits would be worth even more?

Someone might think we were promoting bullying.