Weekly Poll: Site Sponsorships

An incredibly important poll for subscribers!

Published on December 3, 2007 By Zoomba In WinCustomize News

This week's poll is a little different from what we usually talk about. This week it's all about how we support and fund the site. Currently we support WinCustomize primarily through subscriptions and web ads. However we have repeatedly turned away the much more profitable ads because they're just so darned annoying. We know that at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how well an ad pays if it drives users away. That's why you'll never see pop-ups, hover ads etc on WinCustomize, even though they pay extremely well.

That said, we are still looking to find additional revenue sources, especially as the cost of the site continues to climb. One of the ways is through a "Site Sponsorship" program.

A "Site Sponsorship" is basically where a company decides to sponsor WinCustomize for a month or more at a time. They would get something akin to the image to your left as a static image placement on the site. In the case of the example here, it would be a box added to the WinCustomize sidebar. It's not a typical ad. It doesn't bounce, flash, play sounds or in any way impact your browsing. It's merely a logo placement, perhaps with a brief text message that would be a part of the site.

There's a catch though (there's always a catch). If we were to secure these sponsorships, they would have to be displayed to ALL users, even subscribers.

That's where today's poll comes in. For all of you who are subscribers, or who are thinking of subscribing. Would a sponsorship placement like what I've described be acceptable to you?

Of course, you'd get something in return for such a placement. Sponsorships like this one, run over the course of the year, would directly fund projects like new Subscriber Suites. We could actually afford to hire skinners from Stardock Design to draw up and build several Subscriber Suites in the course of the year.

So, if you were to get additional subscriber suites, would that make the sponsorship placement more acceptable?

Go ahead and vote. We'll tally it up next Monday. And please use the comments here to discuss the proposal, and what would make the addition acceptable to you if it were to happen.

Comments (Page 5)

NightTrainthedark

on Dec 04, 2007

I wonder how people feel when the Republican or Democratic Parties sponsor the site.

Zoomba

on Dec 04, 2007

I get to approve/reject prospective sponsors

ZubaZ

on Dec 04, 2007

The question should be how many are we talking about?

Will there be a agreed upon limit to the amount per page?

The fact is that we really don't have a choice if Zoomba goes this route. We will take whatever he decides the site needs or we will leave the site.

You have to figure that he wants to find the balance to keep the site running and updated with some extra stuff to keep us user happy.

Can he make a promise to maintain one ad (or whatever limit he sets)? Sure, but he could break it too; it's "his" site.
Don't get me wrong, I trust that he has the best interest of the community in mind and doesn't want ads . . but we aren't owed a guarantee of anything.

CarGuy1

on Dec 04, 2007

From what was presented they won't be ads, more in the style of logo placement.

Call it what you want, it's an ad.

Zoomba..comment 38

Missed that one, thanks for pointing it out.

As long as Zoomba keeps his word, and I am sure he will, I have no problems with it.

I've seen this done before and it turned out badly, hince my concern.

Lantec

on Dec 04, 2007

In context it makes more sense.

Wow Zu! I'm jealous.........I've been coaching for 8 seasons and never got my own web page........think I'll have to complain next March

ZubaZ

on Dec 04, 2007

Wow Zu! I'm jealous.........I've been coaching for 8 seasons and never got my own web page........think I'll have to complain next March

I've found that the web page makes communicating with the parents much easier. I create one for each team I coach each season. The parents love being able to get all the info and share with their extended families.
Check out the scrapbook I got this year.

Now back to topic: NEVER Trust a guy that hides behind a nom de plume!

kenwas

on Dec 04, 2007

As long as Zoomba keeps his word, and I am sure he will, I have no problems with it.

This really should have nothing to do with Zoomba keeping his word. Some one gave him the authority and someone can take it away. He could leave tomorrow for another job. The only thing that is certain is that everything will change. It seems there is a financial need for "non call to action ads" (called logos here). The earnings from the master's program, the subscription drives, etc. apparently aren't enough, so what else is there to do? Raise the rates? or as Zubaz noted, find someone else to foot the bill through advertising (oopps, sponsorships!)

WOM

on Dec 04, 2007

!. If WC starts accepting sponsors, is it 1 sponser a month or are we going to hve a handfull of sponsers each month?

2. If the sponsers start paying for WC, does that mean there wouldn't be a need for subscribers?

3. Will this turn into something else down the road?

These are some of the questions I've been asked and couldn't answer but I see no one has asked them.

ZubaZ

on Dec 04, 2007

!. If WC starts accepting sponsors, is it 1 sponser a month or are we going to hve a handfull of sponsers each month?

I'd be interested in knowing why this is critical and if it makes a difference. For me, as long as it stikes that balance between being obtrusive enough that folks click on it and make it worthwhile for the sponsor and unobtrusive enough to stay out of the users way.

2. If the sponsers start paying for WC, does that mean there wouldn't be a need for subscribers?

I'd hope that there was always a place for subscribers who want a little something extra.

3. Will this turn into something else down the road?

See reply #38 . . but who knows what the future holds.

LightStar

on Dec 04, 2007

No problem here, great idea, and I am sure the sponsors would all appreciate it too!

Zoomba

on Dec 04, 2007

1. Sponsorships as they've been explained to me work one at a time.

2. There will always be a place for subscribers.

3. Hard to say for certain what the future holds. The intention is to never let it get bad, to keep it to one sponsor logo/block.

How ads are done on the site in general is going to undergo some changes when we do the next site update next year. They're not done particularly well now and I think they hurt the user experience in places. My overarching goal is to do three things:

Increase revenue
Improve the user experience
Offer more features and goodies to subscribers

I specifically mentioned more subscriber suites as something this sponsorship ad would make possible. There are other things I want to do, more goodies I want to add to the site. And again, the balance here is user experience. It has to make the site better for us to do it.

wulfn1

on Dec 04, 2007

When I think of sponsors Zoomba, I imediately think of the nascar drivers plastered with logos. While it's easy to focus on the driver him/herself, you can't help but notice the graphics. does this mean I have to purchase their item to enjoy watching their sponsored driver? nope. does this mean I have to go to their website to view the race? noope. does it make me curious to know what some of those logos represent? yep.
do I sometimes surf to the websites of those logos or google the name? yep.
does this give them revenue? well only if I feel confident enough to purchase their product. but it's always my choice. my browser usually doesn't get hijacked,I don't end up with stuff I don't want on my computer(with exception of cookies I choose to accept) and I can still see the driver anytime he/she's racing or in the public.

this is what you're referring to when you mention sponsors right?

Jafo

on Dec 04, 2007

this is what you're referring to when you mention sponsors right?

Yep...

Alternate Setting

on Dec 05, 2007

it seemed reasonable to generate a different point of view

Somethign of an "alternate setting" as it were.
Good feedback AS.

Hehe, I'm just grateful we had notice. If we hadn't been told what it was, then within 2 days we'd have rated it, submitted 2 walls based on the theme and tried to sell the artist a subscription of their very own.

Seriously though, aligned with the visual impact, the question I had to answer for myself was, does this level of promotion keep faith with the idea of 'ad free' subscriptions? I've double checked and while this phrase has been used around the site, when you look at the actual wording on the Wincustomize Subscriptiion Information page, it says here (Edit additional: and has done since at least March 2006) Click Me:-

No Banner Ads. By becoming a wincustomize subscriber, you help support our website in many ways. We recognize this by removing banners and other ads from the website that may hinder your surfing experience. We want all of our loyal patrons to have the most enjoyable surfing experience possible.

It's a little unfortunate that the distinction didn't filter through to all the posts that it would have been appropriate for. That said, when faced with the actual wording, I see no reason why a reasonable person would suggest that the proposed level of sponsorship, even if you prefer to describe it as an ad, should be felt to be in violation of those terms.

I think that's important because it speaks in part to integrity, which to my mind is an important subtext of this thread.

Nimbin

on Dec 05, 2007

as long as the sponsorship images are discreet and don't interfere with the site then i say yes. hopefully it won't end up being a free for all with images in every corner.

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