[Theforum] 3 Alternative Funding Ideas

[Ken Kogler]

> However, if sponsorship is a route that everyone wants to take, I
> would suggest that we not:
>
> * have banner ads of any kind.
> * do not allow a bias to creep in.
> * do not post links from the front page.
> * do not add more than a few lines to the footer of the list.
> * do not favour members from sponsored sites.
> * do not allow sponsors to be placed in a position of more power than
>   ordinary members.
> * do not allow sponsors to dictate any terms outside of the initial
>   sponsorship agreement, e.g., content approval, list moderation,
>   backend or frontend choices.

+1 to that.

Here's 3 ideas (probably not incredibly original, but worth stating
IMO):

##############
##  IDEA 1  ##
##############

What about just having a "friends of evolt.org" page (linked to from the
sidebar, and the occasional footer on thelist) that's nothing more than
a collection of 88x31 graphics with captions? Something a bit like this,
perhaps:

  _____
 /     \
+------------------------------+
| () () ()                     |
+------------------------------+
| FRIENDS OF EVOLT.ORG |       |
|      APRIL 2002      |       |
|                      |       |
|   +---+      +---+   |       |
|   |   |      |   |   |       |
|   +---+      +---+   |       |
|                      |       |
|   +---+      +---+   |       |
|   |   |      |   |   |       |
|   +---+      +---+   |       |
|                      |       |
|              +---+   |       |
|  cnn.com     |   |   |       |
|              +---+   |       |
|                      |       |
+----------------------+-------+

This is *very* loosely based of the FARK classified ads program
(<http://www.fark.com/classifiedad.shtml>)... People give us $x.xx to
just display their 88x31 for X amount of days. Nothing crazy, NO FLASH
ADS, no pop-unders, just simple elegant 88x31 graphics with links to the
sponsor's site.

If they don't have an 88x31, they get a simple text link. (I'm sure CNN
has a graphic, but I needed a short URL for the example...)

It should be worth noting that this page is the only ad section of
evolt.org - no tags beneath the mailing lists, no banners, nothing
except one 88x31 GIF or JPG that is SUBJECT TO EVOLT ADMIN APPROVAL.

##############
##  IDEA 2  ##
##############

A weekly "recap" sent out to thelist. This would be "opt-in" with the
user's choice of HTML or plain text versions. This recap would almost be
of a more newsletter type nature. It could feature anything really, but
here's some suggestions:

 * weekly tip harvest
 * weekly headlines
 * member happenings
 * "new members" section
 * member of the month

The newsletter would then have a SMALL number of very specific, targeted
ads. Much like Chris does over at
<http://www.lockergnome.com/advertise/about.html>, we could sell
advertisers on the fact that thelist (and presumably everyone who opts
in to this thing) is a very tech-savvy user who is likely to become a
repeat customer if your products are good.

I'm not a big fan of Lockergnome anymore (unsubed about a year ago after
being there from the beginning), but I suppose the advertising model
still works (in small portions).

##############
##  IDEA 3  ##
##############

Seeing aardvark's .sig with the link to the Usability book about evolt
at Amazon (<http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1904151035/>) got me
thinking:

Why not create a referral account for evolt at every major online store,
and politely request that anyone in the evolt community who wants to buy
something online, from say Amazon or buy.com, would use the referral
links provided to give a few % of the purchase to evolt? I'd be more
than willing to use an evolt referral link to continue my DVD buying
addiction. It's the most non-intrusive way for me to fund evolt - I'm
buying those DVDs anyway. I've got no problem using evolt's "search
Amazon's site" box rather than using Amazon's search.

Hope these ideas help, or at least spark better ones. :-)

-Ken Kogler