Trying to fill in the Nitches of this hobby... (Business marketing talk)

[rebel]

Where dem lazies?

I think the subscription model (news letter) was trialled in the Barr report forum many years ago. Some things to learn from that.

 

[Ed Wiser]

I have seen people attempt this thru the years they start off gun ho then run out of steam and time.
https://aquascapinglove.com/
https://blahblahblahblah-yeah-aquascaping.tumblr.com/
https://aquascaper.org/
https://blog.aquariuminfo.org/
I could go on and on.🙂
You have sites on the Reef hobby like:
https://reefbuilders.com/
but they are just a PR site and never honestly review stuff.

Like mort said you really have a hard to getting an honest opinion out of anyone due to the way the hobby is controlled. It is like the mob.🙂

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

The problem is then resisting the urge to make money from it by taking on sponsors etc
Some money could be made by licensing websites, magazines etc to publish articles % goes to the writer % goes to pay for the website % goes directly to an aquatic charity/organisation for setting up marine parks or breeding programmes - good causes

This is a fantastic forum compared to most... regardless of the subject.

Like mort said you really have a hard to getting an honest opinion out of anyone due to the way the hobby is controlled.

I think you are all correct, and I don't think charging for access will work.

If you need money to keep a forum going then you have either to get the patrons to voluntarily make a contribution (like we do via the <"donate button at the bottom of the page">) or to get money from <"sponsors"> or both. I just don't think people will pay money up front. Sponsors can be a good thing, I don't think any-one is going to object to <"SwissTropicals"> or @Mick.Dk on their forums, they are definitely an asset.

For me the real advantage of forums over Facebook etc. is that they have searchable indices of past posts. If you look at <"UKAPS"> and <"PlanetCatfish">, they are both long-lasting, well-established forums which have good quality posters on them, but they also have owner/administrators with a huge amount of tech-savvy and active moderators.

My suspicion would be that if Julian Dignall (@Jools at PC) or Paulo @LondonDragon were to stop doing the fantastic job they do, things would start to unravel fairly rapidly.

cheers Darrel

 

[DutchMuch]

this is a fantastic forum compared to most... regardless of the subject.

couldn't agree more, so thankful its here