September is almost here. We will have 4 months left in the year. I have come to the conclusion it will be another year of being in the red for the site.
It is tough to give up something you put so much effort and time into. The cost of running the site (server and ads) far outweigh the income it generates. My hope was to make enough to pay for site expenses. I don't care about a profit.
I have the option to sale the site. I have been approached several times by some of the bigger sites to buy me out. I'm sure if they do, they will charge a membership fee.
I have done what I can but it is not enough. I was hoping members would help by spreading the word throughout the net. If you are a member of other social networking site, own a blog, post on forums, etc, putting a link to our site helps with advertising.
My other option was donations to help offset some of the cost. I don't expect lady members to donate, but if each male member contributed a dollar or two every month, it would help pay for the expenses.
paid membership
You may think I'm a rookie at this but far from it. Been doing this close to 8 years now and pretty much have done and tried every possible SEO (search engine optimization) and free marketing idea there is. However, if every member took a few minutes to post a link or spread the word about our sites, in 2011 I may be able to cut advertising costs if enough members spread the word.
Some members have suggested I charge a membership fee. I can't. I don't want to get into the details of the legality, but the cost for running a membership fee site is something only the big boys can afford to do. There is no legal costs involved with donations. Consequently, my hope was donations would be a way to help pay for the expenses without involving the government and other legal requirements of a fee based membership site.
ideas
Ideas are welcome, but there is really only a few possible solutions. Not all ideas can be utilized because of federal or state laws. However, I'm open to suggestions.
What is the most viable solution? TRAFFIC! The more people who visit the site, the more revenue we can generate. However, to get people to visit a site, you need to get the word out. As I have said several times already, one way to get traffic is for members to help spread the word.
your site
When I first started, another webmaster told me that once your site is established it isn't your site anymore. It is really the members who belong to the site that will determine if it will fail or succeed. Now I know what he means.
But I do have a job as a webmaster and I do my best with the time and resources I have to make the site as user friendly as I can. There is only so much time and resources are limited, so what I can and can not do varies. But all in all, I think I do ok.
what keeps us going
It is quite simple. Money out of my pocket to pay for the expenses. This has to change for me to sustain the site for any length of time.
good luck
One thing we always want, is for every member to find the same happiness Eileen and I have found. Is it easy? No! Eileen did not knock on my door, it took hard work, time, patience and persistence but it was worth it.
No matter where the site may lead to in the future, we will always treasure the many friends we made along the way.
cheers and good luck
dan
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dan