The future of SFN

General Discussion
21

Hi James,

I haven’t read the 7 pages of comments so hopefully I won’t bore you with repeats but I would start with tshirts, bumper stickers and the like. With all the gripes and goofy language misuse, etc… you have enough to go on for years.

You could also branch out to other countries with large expat communities, which is pretty much everywhere, and start with a membership fee right off which people wouldn’t object to by comparison to an after the fact that is most difficult to swallow. I’m based in the Algarve(Portugal) which is basically a British colony.

Third and last, members could donate their time (or exchange it in a system of credit) for services that other members could pay a small fee for, i.e. language tutoring, administrative help, etc…

You have all the basic material on the site; it’s just a question of exploiting it.

Cheers,

Franck

22

There are so many of them already I wonder if people would actually pay to get listed here?

23

Hi David - most of your ‘competition’ have business directories that advertisiers can list on - either tiered pricing v position - or same rate for all subscription - ex-pat businesses in France always need to work hard to be found - I think if you added that (in a self serve format) that could provide some revenue & users etc.

24

Thanks everyone for all your comments on this thread, we’ve simply added a voluntary contribution button to the site with a number of options for you to choose from. Please help support SFN now!

Thanks

James

25

Looks interesting, thanks for the link Nicole :slight_smile:

26

maybe you could have really horrible plinky-plonky music on the free version which could be switched off if you paid!!

27

OK then - you can pay NOT to have the music :slight_smile:

28

I’m all for paying for good quality content - and the levels you’re talking about seem very reasonable. As long as you don’t start playing me music the moment I enter - the way so many French websites seem to do these days!

29

Thanks Valerie, I was aware of this in the NIng pipeline :slight_smile:

30

I´m an infrequent user of SFN but I enjoy ´plugging in´ so to speak and we´ve greatly appreciated the guidance and support we´ve had from various groups. In fact, since we now have our own house, I think I´ll be frequenting the construction and gardening groups a lot more!

I know that I´ll benefit from being able to read posts in these two groups, just as examples, because I´ve had the opportunity to dip into them even when I´ve not needed them, for free, and over a period of time. This has shown me that the other members of the groups know their stuff, are helpful and supportive, and that it´ll be worth me coming back to them when I have a question in those areas.

Perhaps a free trial period would be worth considering, followed by a gentle nudge/suggestion in the direction of a voluntary subscription? I´d be willing to put my hands in my pockets to help SFN continue.

Good luck with all the cogitation. . . !
Rosemary

31

May be of interest: http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/15/ning-now-allows-network-creators-to-charge-for-premium-access-and-subscriptions/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

32

Thanks Mary! All great thoughts and are being duly noted…! Cx

33

Freudian slip perhaps, but I like inventive!

34

1000 Euro a year seems pricey. If you want to message me your site usage stats (storage and bandwidth) I would be happy to shop around and see if I can find you a (significantly) cheaper host.

Agreed with the donation model. My gut feeling is “User supported” could be the way to fly here.

Membership models are tough unless there is content of genuine value behind the toll gate. Cheers.

35

OOPS! Meant to say “incentive - based”!

36

I remember a similar campaign for membership on a foodie site - I won a set of first class knives for my efforts.
You never know,an inventive -based recruitment drive may do the trick!

37

I am sure y ou are not trying to just break even. Most businesses are looking for a profit at some point in time (the earlier the better). I, for one wouldn’t mind paying 5 euros a year for access to the site. As for advertising, you could have an English-friendly business section where businesses in the hospitality, food service, beauty services, banking, notary, real estate, automobile sales and other areas could be listed for a year fee of say 50 euros. If they want a banner or display ad, that would be more. Someone needs to be out beating the street selling the listings and ads. Buout to get businesses to advertise you have to grow the membership. You could do a member get a member campaign wherein when someone refers a new member who signs up, their own membership is free for a year. I know I have referred a number of people who have joined. I am sure they wouldn’t have minded a small 5 euro maintenance fee. What about cross links with compatible sites who are selling real estate and vacations in France? Just a few ideas from a marketing person.

38

I know what you mean, we recently did some video and I can’t stand watching it, I suppose we need more practice to become comfortable with it. I liked your idea and may do something similar in the future is what I meant.

Thanks :slight_smile:

James

39

Me: Am I missing something?
Catharine: Yup you are!
James: You’re not missing anything Sab

Well that’s clear as mud then! ;~S

Thanks James about the vid - as usual I can’t bear to listen back to the things for a good few hours or days, so I’ll take your word for it that it wasn’t too cringeworthy, although I think I lost it at the end a bit!

What exactly is it you want to rip, by the way (maybe this isn’t the place to discuss it). My interest in SFN and any competitors is to help you guys out if I can.

Cheers, Sab

40

You’re not missing anything Sab, by the way I loved your video on Mike’s photo’s, I hope you don’t mind if I rip your idea?