Forum - View topicNEWS: Ad Free ANN?
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DCRavenX
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I have an ad-blocker so this site is already ad free to me.
Although a few forum areas only available to subscribers would be cool, because the serious people would be the only ones willing to pay for special access. You could even include a chat room for paying subscribers. That type of stuff would quickly make the fee worth it. I could probably be convinced to part with some money for ANN, this place is as addictive as crack. |
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Cerberus
 Posts: 120 Location: In front of a monitor |
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The ads just aren't that intrusive, so no ads just isn't a good enough incentive for me to pay $15 a year for. If some special coupon codes from sites like Anime Castle or AnimeNation were given every now and then, I think I might pay.
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radicaledward
 Posts: 776 |
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I think that just an ad free version of the site wouldn't be enough of an incentive - especially since some people (Not me, even though I use Firebird/Firefox) use ad-blockers. However, I would be all for it if there were added benefits. Here's some ideas that might be worth kicking around -
- A 'star' or such for profiles in the forums similar to the Slashdot.org asterisk for paying members. - A separate board area for paying members. - The member only contests is a good idea, but you should still keep some for non-members. - Discounts at some of the sponsors (If you can pull that off) - T-shirts are always good  (Even if we would have to pay for them, one with the mascot would be cool!)
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Cerberus
Posts: 120 Location: In front of a monitor |
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Having a separate board area for paying members and a chatroom for ANN "subscribers" would definitely be cool. |
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Samurai CDZ
 Posts: 776 Location: Manhattan, KS |
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It's an interesting thought but...how does it work? What would it be called? What would it be for? I'm having a hard time seeing it work. I would pay but only to support the site. The ads aren't a problem. |
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RyoShin X
Posts: 5 |
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The ads aren't a problem at all for me. In fact, I like some of the ads, since I've found out about certain places or things from them. The ads here are targeted directly at Anime/Manga fans, and as such aren't nearly as obtrusive as 'Where are your High School classmates' and crap like that.
If all you're offering is the removal of ads, $15 seems a bit much to me. True, I don't know your yearly cost, the amount brought in from ads, and what you would lose in ad revenue to remove ads for one person (and hence have them pay). If it was something like $5 or so, I would definately pay. But $15 (or especially $25) is a bit much for me, being a college student and all (with no time for a regular job :/). Now, if you tacked on some extra stuff, that would make it more appealing. Subscribe-only contests are a cool idea. Offering subscribe-only stuff-to-buy seems kinda anti-productive, unless you hold most of a limited run of something or you had something specialized or what not. A subscriber-only forum would be an incentive, but not a very big or good one. I'm an Insider at IGN right now, and their Insider boards are the same as their regular boards- crap. (I'm not saying that the ANN forums are, just that you won't get a different experience by talking to others who pay $15 as well.) Not that I use these forums a lot anyway. One thing might be along the lines of TotalFark. TotalFark allows TF members to see links before they are posted to the general public (thus hopefully getting to a small site before it's Farked), and also the chance to post comments early on. While ANN doesn't really link to small sites or doesn't get a lot of comments, the prospect of possibly getting news an hour before other people could be enticing. The problem with that, though, is that non-paying people could say "Well, they're posting it in an hour, but this other site has it now", and then you lose ad-revenue from freebies. I think probably the biggest thing you could do is to set up an Anime/J-Pop station and charge for that. Online Anime/J-Pop radios are big hits as far as I can tell, but there aren't many out there, and those that are usually aren't that great (i.e. bad buffering, poor quality, etc.) If you could get some liscenses or what not, offer the radio, and then as an added bonus people don't see ads on the site itself, that would work out well. Or, set it up so that you can subscribe to ANN Radio or ANN Plus, where Plus includes radio, no ads, Plus-only contests, and more. Only problem with setting up an online radio station is that it might be more hastle than it's worth. 
Just some things for people to think about. |
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Justin
Posts: 16 Location: Newport Beach, CA |
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I would think (and hope) that ANN is smarter than that. I see they have flash ads now, but please no sound ones. You have been so good so far! |
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bluechibi
Posts: 137 |
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I'm a little confused would there be two versions or does ANN not make enough money from the recently raised ad funding and want to turn it into a members only thing?
The site runs as fast as the light for this room when I press the switch. Although I have broadband but I also live in the UK and as such if members only can view this site then I'm afraid I'll have to say goodbye and take my business elsewhere. Your work was very appreciated. Goodday Gentlemen. 
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Tempest
 I Run this place.ANN Publisher  Posts: 10425 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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Hehe, that's what I get for being a stikler and refusing any sort of intrusive advertisements. No Pops of any sort (up/under/on-exit), no interstitials, nothing that forces the reader to be anywhere other than where they want to be. Ahh well, I'm sure we've been rewarded with a more faithful readership as a result, so I have no qualms. |
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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I'm not so sure I like that idea. Could easily create elitism among paying members, and there's not really much that would distinguish it from other boards. The mods have already said they'd never make a "General" chat, so what sort of content would it focus on? Having an "Anime" forum and an "Extra Anime" forum wouldn't really make much sense. |
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bluechibi
Posts: 137 |
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or get rid of the forums all together saving bandwidth, website stays free, everybodys happy. Including the anime advertisers who dont have many options when it comes to advertising online.
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Tempest
I Run this place. ANN Publisher Posts: 10425 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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There would indeed be two version. The standard ANN would be identical to what you see now. The subscription ANN would have everything this one has, minus the advertisements and with a dedicated server that would be faster. We'd also try to add a few other "thank you goodies" but the main point would be the no-ads and the faster load time. As I said earlier, I will never make ANN a "pay-only" site. As for "enough money," to be honest we don't make enough. Everyone working for this site is giving something up to do it, those that do take home money could certainly take home a lot more money if they put the same ammount of time into a normal job. And many of the people working on ANN are doing so for free. I'd like to reward everyone who contributes to this site properly, pay them for an article as they'd be paid if it had been published in a popular anime magazine. What's more, if we were able to do that we would be able to attract more good quality writers, I'm extremely happy with ANN's writers, but we could certainly use more like them. What's more, the recently increased ad cost doesn't come close to recouping our losses due to the falling $US. the $US has fallen 22% in the past 6 months, we only increased advertisement prices by 15%, and most of our existing sponsors purhcased their banner runs under the old rates. -t |
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bluechibi
Posts: 137 |
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ah I understand now ^^ disregard my posts then. I'm sure everyone would like to show their appreciation and support in someway. So whatever is decided I'm sure will be worthwhile
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DCRavenX
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Tempest,
Did you ever decide on a name for the new server? Just wondering. |
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bluechibi
Posts: 137 |
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Perhaps there are other ways to increase profit. Maybe hosting questionnaires for companies. Market research is very valuable to a company. Maybe small fees to advertise conventions so they dont have to spend so much on the banners as they're usually non profit making organisations
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