Yup you are!
Hi James, Just noticed this ‘Yanglo’ site you are advertising on the right as I type. Checked it out and it seems to be doing EXACTLY the same thing as you are. So either it’s yours and for some reason you’re splitting the market, or it’s pure competition and wouldn’t seem to make any sense at all being advertised on SFN. Am I missing something?
Thanks for all your great ideas - just pondering about competitions right now - thanks for that one!
I tried to get a monthly painting competition going with a small entry fee but no takers so far.
One way to encourage advertisers is to keep clicking through on the ads which are on the site. We have used up our ad budget for this year for our businesses but will definitely use SFN for 2012.
Just an idea…why don’t you run regular competitions with a small entry fee? I don’t know - articles, short stories or poetry, with a French theme. Something like that. The prize could be a percentage of the total entry fees, or a book about France or something. That might attract non-members too.
I’m hopeless about money matters though so perhaps this idea’s rubbish 
Totally agree Roger! Here are some of my thoughts on likes and dislikes:
What I loathe about other networking sites is the constant array of stupid time-wasting applications that clutter up chat pages! I have had to post on Facebook that I don’t do applications so please stop sending me invites to them!
I don’t really want to have the whole array of chats between all my ‘friends’ unless I am involved - they are boring and irrelevant to me! So that is something that can disappear as far as I am concerned! Maybe having a way of filtering these would be unique?
I think the Photo Album tool is duplicated in too many other sites, such as Facebook, Flickr, Photocamel, Picassa etc. Maybe simply having links to a photo sharing album that is already online would be better - especially one that doesn’t require files to be made smaller! Photocamel and picasa are good in this respect.
I really do appreciate having the specialist interest groups on SFN. This is where the site scores. The Darkroom is the one I frequent the most. The CSF group is beginning to be used for help requests, although in many respects it is surplus to the CSF Forum that now exists. The weekly newsletter from both Catherine and James is much appreciated for its reminders of what is available. This is the personal touch which makes SFN unique. I feel I know youboth even though I haven’t met you.
Although I have not used it much, I think the live chat facility is good for those who like that sort of thing. However, as I tend to restrict my usage of the site to the groups I have signed up to, I wonder whether a live chat link to these could be workable?
I do hope out of all these responses a way forward is beginning to emerge!
Thanks David and Chris - please upload a photo - I would so much prefer to see who I am chatting with.
We will (WILL - fingers crossed and all that…) make money from SFN and we won’t be selling! Thanks peeps! xx
I think the best thing is to be honest here - I use the site occasionally, and have found a couple of links I find useful, and have every now and then joined in a discussion (like this). I think you need to get more advertisements and sponsorship, but for a site with 2,500 members I can’t see you getting that many advertisers and much income - facebook ran as a loss for a number of years with a hell of a lot more users. Conversely, if you start charging, I don’t think many will pay. Like many people I use loads of different sites, am a member of many forums, and I don’t pay for them - why should I pay for yours? Whilst your website is good, it hasn’t got an outstanding enough USP for me to pay for it, given the free alternatives.
Therefore I cannot see how you can make the site pay at all in the long run unless you massively increase the number of users, and thus increase the attractiveness of it to advertisers. I may be wrong - how many users do your competitors have? How much advertising do they get? Whilst I like your site more than other expat forums I have seen (you’re the only one that tempted me enough to join), how do they survive?
A typical menber who should be considered for ‘commercial’ ie pay to post, membership can be found here but I cant see any paid advertising on the site
Brilliant!
I think the more simple it is, the better. If there are 2500 members, and if just 20% of them would simply donate 5€ per year, problem solved. Every year make the same appeal. In New Jersey, it would go something like this:
“Hey, youse guys wanne keep dis site open fer business? Then ya better cough up some cash, capishe?”
Just an example, of course…
I don’t like to subscribe to internet sites either. It puts me off joining. And the idea of a two tier system or parts I can’t access without paying is off-putting as well. But I do donate to sites I like especially if they have a fundraising week/month. I think do it and see. Then ad revenue can grow over time.
Cheers
Denise
I concur, I have had to change tp Paypal FR instead of .co.uk to enable me to register french address for shipping billing and french bank cards etc.
Will let you know how long it takes me to do!
Works on the usual % 's - 1%, 9% and 90 % so not too worried about that - we are doing way better than most - but thanks for the thought! Cx
Thank you Roger!
Great name by the way - my dad is called Roger…
cxx
Thanks Roger, we are aware, from your post and one other from Mike Staubes that PayPal can be an arse, I had to jump through some hoops a while back to verify my account also. We will look into other methods. Thank you
Sorry James but I’m pretty ignorant in the whys and wherefores of collecting money - only spending it but when I buy or donate on line there is nearly always the option to use my credit card direct instead of PayPal. Maybe that’s not an option for SFN.
I must confess that I never considered the financial aspects of SFN but I’m sure most members would make donations to keep it going. I run my PC on Linux getting 99% of my software for free but that doesn’t stop me from making donations when I feel it is warranted and I feel SFN is definitely worthy.
Rog.
WHat other means should we look at do you think?
Thanks
James
Evening all
For my ten pence worth (no pun intended) I don’t think anybody is seriously going to pay to use what is a forum.
I’ve joined many forums over the last few years and some you stay with… some you don’t BUT, they all have one thing in common. They are all FREE.
On the subject of hosting. A VPS at around £3-400 per annum should do the trick
Advertising is the way to go I think. People could be able to pay for and post their own adds (subject to the content being given the OK)using something like Paypal to pay for a week/month/3 month/ etc. with discounts for longer periods.
Different rates could apply for different types of item on sale. Small items, Property, Vehicals etc.
As for where all the members went? Only 1 in 10 max (and that is being very generous) ever stick around for the long term and at some stage you will have to decide if you are going to play the (bullshit) numbers game like Angloinfo (56,205 members my bum!!) or you are going to cull the numbers to reflect the actual membership. I think it makes a difference when you are selling something.
Carl
I have the same problem with PayPal as Michael. Been using them for years and now they’ve decided I can’t any more because I live in France.
So, a “Donate” link to PayPal would be useless to me also, but I would be happy to make a donation by other means.