Also some workshops would be great, obviously they would all be pay-per-attendance, but things like Helen's (Barney2007) gundog taster day. Things like the gundog training days which Shadybug helps to advertise up in Northumberland. Maybe some photography workshops for those who would like to get better at taking action shots of their pooches - again, I'd be happy to help organise things like that. Maybe some doggy first aid courses. Agility tryout days. A tracking taster day. etc etc etc Spread them all about the country, so we can all take advantage. And make people pay (via the Furbabies site) before they are guaranteed a place. Have only 10 places available on the day, and when they're all gone, they're all gone. Not expensive activities, just cheap ones - £10/£15/£20 etc, days out and things to do and skills to learn. All optional of course, but things like that are great to attend, and if someone can join LF and get a photography course from a fab photographer for just £20 for course, then they are more likely to join - it is perceived as good value.
Anyway, just a few rambling thoughts from Oxfordshire on a grey Thursday afternoon...
Ness
Blinking wonderful idea
I think paying 20p a week is fine. I am not aware of many other things available, that occupy my time so cheaply. Well done.
Hayley
Quote:
Just one suggestion - what about being able to convert LabPounds into vouchers for Furbabies? Obviously not "pound for pound" but maybe say 10,000 Labpounds would give you £5 to spend at Furbabies? May encourage people to post more, and would reward regular posters (who "make" the website) for their input.
I wonder how many people thought there were all these thousands of members (I'm obviously a bit simple) I assumed this - came as a bit of a suprise to find out many less - I must admit I lurk alot -and don't post over much -
I feel that some people may be put off by bits of ary-bargy that have gone on recently, I'm suprised that the chat rooms are not used more/maybe one should be specific to dog related things /one to more general chat + support for people.
I have looked at other forums but they don't match up to this one - so it would be a pity to lose it.
I will be renewing.
I wonder how many people thought there were all these thousands of members (I'm obviously a bit simple) I assumed this - came as a bit of a suprise to find out many less
Rach.
umm when i did advertise on here about 2-3 years ago I was told there was 7000 members was I told a porky or have 6200 left?
there are 14744 members but only 760 that pay the £10 fee
one of the biggest users of bandwdith will be the photos we all love seeing but as fiona says these can be stored off site on the likes of photobucket for free for £500 a year you can have a fair old amount of web space and usage
forums depend on how they are set up ie is it a hobby to provide info or is it classed as a businees that the owner wants ( understanadblly ) profit
for £7600 a year you could run a small countries i.t needs
Just one suggestion - what about being able to convert LabPounds into vouchers for Furbabies? Obviously not "pound for pound" but maybe say 10,000 Labpounds would give you £5 to spend at Furbabies? May encourage people to post more, and would reward regular posters (who "make" the website) for their input.
hmmm this may be possible but i will have to research it more
djm you are obviously well versed in running a website community with 1000s of users who all clamour vociferously for what they would like
As I have always stated and I don't intend to do so again (Search the forums for older posts on the subject if you are interested in break downs of costs) the site has costs associated with it such as a dedicated server, I also have a backup server (which isn't solely used for LF purposes), I am VAT registered so not all of that £10 is profit, take tax into consideration also and the cost of the stickers and that profit amount you mention drops considerably.
The reality is the site generates sufficient money to fund it well and to give a few 1000 profit per annum
Yes I could remove all the aspects of LF that make it individual, strip out old posts, remove photo galleries etc etc but then it simply becomes just a forum and not the information portal it is nowadays
I have got some good feedback from advertisers from my mailout and a few discount schemes are now being added. I am also starting on a process of getting a few pet insurance companies onboard to offer discounts to our subscribers as well as this would be a good benefit.
This problem won't be cured overnight, but careful tweaking and additional benefits added will turn around the increased churn rate
I didn't post these threads to threaten the demise of LF btw, those who have been here since the inception of the site know it was a hobby site initially and for its first few years of life and slowly became busier and busier and hardware requirements increased as more members joined and more facilities got added. I don't want it to get close to a point where hard decisions have to be made hence sorting it out now
____________ I�m not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!
Compare Pet Insurance Quotes in our [url=http://www.labradorforums.co.uk/modules.php?name=Pet_Insurance] >> Pet Insurance Directory
What about charging monthy as well as yearly, say £1 a month, most newbies would pay that to give the forum a try and most will be addicted after a month. Also this give regular lfers who are short when there subs are due another month, as most could afford £1, this way you keep members. If you buy a year subs you then yet 2 months free
sorry if this has already been suggested i have been lazy and not read the entire thread
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
the bandwidth costs cant be more than £2000 a year surely 
