Sponsors and Sponsorships

[vvvvvvv]

Questions.
I was considering this for my new business until I saw the prices.
Can you give some justifications for the pricing?
There are 25,412 registered usernames and 70-80% have never posted, so cannot be considered business prospects.
For the remaining users.
How many have logged on in the past year?
How many active monthly?
The per active user price seems awfully high for advertising.
Why would an "individual" be allowed to sell constantly in the classifieds but a dealer couldn't without paying?
A lot of individuals are actually running a business, whether they call it a business or a hobby.
How exactly are you going to make it a level playing field?

Market information and demographics (current as of 2014Q1) are on Page 3.

As for the number you mention - 83% of last month's active users have posted. We're in the middle of summer, which is always a bit of a slump, so the number active for last month is low. 51% of the year's active users have posted.

Some additional data...

In the last month, 42% of people who access OKShooters.com do so more than 26 times per month. Of those who did not log in during those 30 days, 33% accessed the site more than 26 times per month. Of those who did log in, 80% accessed the site more than 26 times per month. Of mobile app users, 46% accessed the site more than 26 times per month. Anonymous users spend 7m50s viewing 7.3 pages per session. Logged-in users spend 14m1s viewing 12.67 pages per session.

For what it's worth, the pricing for packages was set based on recommendations from reputable marketing and PR firms that regularly do online ad buys. The price points were set significantly lower than recommended. We could probably get full price through a third-party service, but we'd rather work with those already active in the community first.

 

[michaeld]

Questions.
I was considering this for my new business until I saw the prices.
Can you give some justifications for the pricing?
There are 25,412 registered usernames and 70-80% have never posted, so cannot be considered business prospects.
For the remaining users.
How many have logged on in the past year?
How many active monthly?
The per active user price seems awfully high for advertising.
Why would an "individual" be allowed to sell constantly in the classifieds but a dealer couldn't without paying?
A lot of individuals are actually running a business, whether they call it a business or a hobby.
How exactly are you going to make it a level playing field?

How much is it?

 

[Glocktogo]

Questions.
I was considering this for my new business until I saw the prices.
Can you give some justifications for the pricing?
There are 25,412 registered usernames and 70-80% have never posted, so cannot be considered business prospects.
For the remaining users.
How many have logged on in the past year?
How many active monthly?
The per active user price seems awfully high for advertising.
Why would an "individual" be allowed to sell constantly in the classifieds but a dealer couldn't without paying?
A lot of individuals are actually running a business, whether they call it a business or a hobby.
How exactly are you going to make it a level playing field?

I'll tell you this. I come here to socialize AND find stuff I want to buy. For every item I've bought off here from a private seller, I've probably bought twice that from dealers, sponsors and other commercial sellers I found through this website. If it was a gun, it came through someone like B.A.N.G. or USSA, and the associated fees went to them. If they advertise something I need at a good price, I'll buy from them (like FBT). If they offer something I want (or didn't know I wanted until they posted it) at a great price, I'll buy it from them. If I can get it from them for a few dollars more and have a nice visit while I do it, I'll do that too.

Your business model is primarily dependent on you yourself, not where or how much you advertise. What will you sell? At what price point will you sell it? What level of service will you offer? How will you treat your customers? Simply put, if your business model is to treat customers like B.A.N.G. or SSP or FBT, you'll probably get your money's worth advertising here. How much you sell will be up to you, based on how what you advertise and how often you do it. If your business model is to treat customers like some of the less successful businesses that we all know and love to bash, well, you can do the math...

 

[tRidiot]

I spend a LOT of money on guns and associated products. And I buy from vendors on here preferentially if the price is even in the ballpark. I know I've spent thousands through vendors here, have purchased firearms from several in OKC and had them shipped to Tulsa vendors, so in those cases, two of our vendors benefit.

And let's just say, when I go in someplace like FBT to pick up something that's shipped to them, I always end up spending more money in their store. They can vouch that I will USUALLY end up spending 5-10x more than what I intended when I walked in the door. Yeah... you read that right.

They LOVE to see my ugly mug walkin' in their door! I'm trying hard to remember, but I don't believe in the couple dozen times I've been in their shop that I have EVER walked out the door without spending money. EVER.

 

[FamousAJ]

A legend....

in his own mind

 

[michaeld]

1. Diamond Sponsor ($3000/yr, 2 slots, annual commitment)
● Banner (450x70) at top of forum pages, 3x rotation multiplier
● Banner (200x300) in sidebar of forum index, 3x rotation multiplier
● Dedicated forum section where you can post as many product listings/ads as you’d like
● First priority positioning (1 ad) in Sponsor Marketing emails each week
● One exclusive email sent to the Sponsor Marketing list each week
● Mention and link in new user “Welcome” email
2. Gold Sponsor ($2500/yr, 2 slots, annual commitment)
● Banner (450x70) at top of forum pages, 2x rotation multiplier
● Banner (200x300) in sidebar of forum index, 2x rotation multiplier
● Dedicated forum section where you can post as many product listings/ads as you’d like
● Second priority positioning (1 ad) in Sponsor Marketing emails each week
● Mention and link new user “Welcome” email
3. Silver Sponsor ($2000/yr, 4 slots, annual commitment)
● Banner (450x70) at top of forum pages, 1x rotation multiplier
● Banner (200x300) in sidebar of forum index 1x rotation multiplier
● Dedicated forum section where you can post as many product listings/ads as you’d like
● Third priority positioning (1 ad) in Sponsor Marketing emails each week
4. Bronze Sponsor ($875/6mo, 12 slots, 6mo commitment)
● Banner (450x70) at top of forum pages, 1x rotation multiplier
● Fourth priority positioning (1 ad) in Sponsor Marketing emails each week
5. Steel Sponsor ($500/6mo, 12 slots, 6mo commitment)
● Banner (450x70) at bottom of forum pages, 1x rotation multiplier
● Fifth priority positioning (1 ad) in Sponsor Marketing emails each week
Addons
● Exclusive push notification to Tapatalk users (limit 1/wk, first come first served) $10/notification
● Exclusive email to Sponsor Marketing list (limit 1/wk, first come first served) $10/email
● Promoted post via Facebook and Twitter (limit 1/wk/sponsor) $20/post

 

[SMS]

So, do licensed gun sellers who are advertising multiple guns in the classifieds need to be sponsors in order to continue?

 

[Parks 788]

A guitar forum Im on we pay to buy/sell in the classifieds and then there are levels of 'sponsorship' dues like gold, silver, etc.

Quite frankly, I really like this forum and think there should be some pay-to-play areas. One as BB and others said - a VIP subforums where anything goes with posting. For $20 a year or $35 for two years seems fair. Another site I'm on it's called The Dark Side. I also think that since this is a great place for peeps to visit and it seems to take a fair amount of time and energy to keep afloat I say there is a $5-$10 fee to post in the Firearms for Sale Classifieds. Not all the classifieds just where the handguns, rifles and shotguns are sold. If people ***** about the small fee then they can deal with the CL and Armslist dipsh*ts. The reality is for $5-$10 you can post your firearm to people who you probably know, to some degree, and will most likely sell quickly.

On a forum called ColoradoK5 I was on for years you could be a visitor of the website nut moly post on minimal subforums. If you wanted full access to the whole site it was, iirc, $35/year. Well worth the price to play.

 

[FullAuto]

Is this a for-profit forum or not? That should be the first and most important question. Those prices look extremely high.

 

[Gabriel42]

Is this a for-profit forum or not? That should be the first and most important question. Those prices look extremely high.

Agreed. $52k + add-ons doesn't seem like scraping by.