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talkfootball365 - The future of this forum


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As you can see from our homepage, we have a donate button that we are eternally grateful for any contributions towards the forums running costs. 

We're due to renew our hosting in February and unfortunately our ads aren't performing quite as well as hoped. They're mostly based on activity and clicks, however due to our size and lack of clicks we've yet to truly benefit from it. In time as we grow, what we make from ads will hopefully lead us towards being self sustaining. 

Currently to cover costs, the staff are dipping into their own pockets. I myself donated £50.00 towards hosting today, because this site is an important part of my life, I made the journey here from TotalFootballForums like the vast majority of you but we find ourselves in a quandary regarding our future.

Something that has worked well on PESGaming and the larger PESfan forums is paid membership. Now I appreciate how divisive this may sound but I'd like to reassure you that at this juncture, it's quite simply something to put on the table and ask the wider community about. If we were able to collect 5.00 £$€ from even ten members over the course of a year on a rolling annual subscription, it would make a dent in our hosting fees. I've looked at the viability of emulating PESfan's Supporter member group, basically flagging you as a supporter. 

Something else they offer that has caused debate amongst the staff is the use of a secret paid only access forum sub-section. Given our size I don't believe it's viable but I wanted to be transparent with what has been discussed.

What we'd really like is some feedback for what you would like for being a talkfootball365 annual subscriber or donee because long-term, for this forum to stay alive its dependent on income. 

Let us know your thoughts

Cheers

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This is not an easy task by any means, honestly im not sure what the solution is but ill offer my two cents on a couple points.

The big issue I would see with paid subscriptions or access is drumming up new members. I havent notice a ton of new members as it is but i think what little there is will stop entirely if thats a requirement. Maybe you could get around this by giving even say 3 months free trials first? im just not sure thats even viable. Then theres the issue of chasing away some fringe posters or occasional users if we go down that road.

One thing i have seen on other forums who shall not be named is some sort of badge or title saying subscriber or donater. Just a little thing but that might encourage more people to donate. I think the sub forum is a good idea but as you mention there just isnt enough people as it is to really benefit from that at this point. 

 

 

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1 minute ago, Viva la FCB said:

This is not an easy task by any means, honestly im not sure what the solution is but ill offer my two cents on a couple points.

The big issue I would see with paid subscriptions or access is drumming up new members. I havent notice a ton of new members as it is but i think what little there is will stop entirely if thats a requirement. Maybe you could get around this by giving even say 3 months free trials first? im just not sure thats even viable. Then theres the issue of chasing away some fringe posters or occasional users if we go down that road.

One thing i have seen on other forums who shall not be named is some sort of badge or title saying subscriber or donater. Just a little thing but that might encourage more people to donate. I think the sub forum is a good idea but as you mention there just isnt enough people as it is to really benefit from that at this point. 

 

 

Firstly, paid subscription would not be mandatory because we absolutely do not want to drive away fringe posters or even new members.

Secondly, I like your thinking with the badge and title B|

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Just now, Pep Talk said:

I would be happy to donate 

maybe have a badge near to your name to show who does so maybe that can spread the word better than just one thread and have an option to click that badge to donate. just an idea?

That's a great shout mate. @Rab is that doable through a PNG on the member group?

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Just now, Blue said:

I'll donate $50 plus $50 more if you make my name sparkly in green as well as replacing Stan as admin with Cannabis

meant to be a serious topic mate. 

at least try. 

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Just now, Stan said:

meant to be a serious topic mate. 

at least try. 

I wasn't being serious about the sparkly name but I was being 100% serious about Cannabis replacing you as admin :)

In all seriousness though I would love to donate but I'm already committed to a few things. My website being the main thing. If I have a spare few it'll go into your bank. Won't be 50 pounds though like I did with AFF xD

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Just now, Blue said:

I wasn't being serious about the sparkly name but I was being 100% serious about Cannabis replacing you as admin :)

In all seriousness though I would love to donate but I'm already committed to a few things. My website being the main thing. If I have a spare few it'll go into your bank. Won't be 50 pounds though like I did with AFF xD

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I will give one bit of criticism and it's really only being said to help with future donations. It's fair to say not everyone of the highest posting members will always be here.

ive been meaning to say this a while back but the SEO is still crap. If you search football forums on google this doesn't come up. TFF was the first thing that came up. It takes time I'm aware but with the lack of new members at all, it needs to be said.

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for anyone that does want to donate now, by all means you can do! You don't have to wait til a decision is made following the outcome of this thread :) 

There's a link on the front page to donate. 

 

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Just now, Cicero said:

When do you need it by? I can make it an annual thing. 

You're an absolute ledge, and to be honest, whenever you want. 

I'd like to add, so we can track donations, as it is @Rab's account it fires to. Let us know when you've donated and we'll get the necessary adjustments made to your profile. 

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5 minutes ago, Blue said:

I will give one bit of criticism and it's really only being said to help with future donations. It's fair to say not everyone of the highest posting members will always be here.

ive been meaning to say this a while back but the SEO is still crap. If you search football forums on google this doesn't come up. TFF was the first thing that came up. It takes time I'm aware but with the lack of new members at all, it needs to be said.

We're aware of this and working on it. 

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Just now, Burning Gold said:

How about a Patreon style system where each level of donation gives you certain privileges. For example £5 a year for a profile badge, £10 for a badge and the ability to vote in certain polls, £15 to unlock a TL;DR summary for @SirBalon's posts, etc.

Patreon is an interesting shout. I'm not overly familiar with it, I know a lot of Podcasts use it for generating income. 

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