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Retention and growth of Sawhorses

jar546

jar546

CBO
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
12,994
Location
Not where I really want to be
Well, it's that time of year again, except this year is a bit different. We enticed many a new Sawhorses to help keep our community by giving away a Code Check 7th Edition for anyone that signed up for 2 years. The Sawhorse membership contribution is set at $35 per year or $60 for 2 years which I believe is a great deal for what you get and the fact that it helps to keep this board alive. The Google AdSense helps but lately it has been on a downhill slide and not predictable. At the end of January I have to renew the server lease and we have had a pile of software updates that we had to do in order to keep current and correct fixes. There are maintenance costs involved with running the board, sort of like someone taking their anti-seizure medication which is why we rarely have problems on this board, unlike others.

Anyway, we overall recently lost about 18 Sawhorses that opted to not renew their membership in the past 2 months. We actually lost more than that but we did gain a few. Bottom line is that we are down. I have been personally funding the purchasing of all books that we give away and it seemed to have worked. The problem is that those people that paid for 2 years won't be paying for a while and we need to generate revenue for the upcoming year. We are now at 84 Sawhorses, down from a high of 102. I actually prefer when people sign up for 1 year because we make more money and I don't have to give them a free book but we need the numbers so I will take them any way that I can.

The economy in many areas is changing. Permits are up, construction companies are getting busy and code departments are hiring again. It may not be happening in your area but it is happening in many across the nation. A 1 year membership at $35 comes to just under $0.10 a day or $0.67 per week. For those that pay for 2 years at $60 it is even less at $0.08 per day or $0.58 per week. I believe that this is beyond more than reasonable for the extras you get, not to mention peace of mind knowing that it is because of your financial support, this site exists.

With that in mind, I am looking for input on how we can grow our contributing membership and entice people to join for mere pennies per day. The basic access to this site needs to be free so that we can continue to grown not only this forum but our knowledge level, professional relationships and help to share important information with the public. I know we all have different income levels and abilities to pay but we are not asking much here at all. So please give me some ideas to help bring more people to the Sawhorse level. Is it a reduction in cost? Is it taking away more from those that are not Sawhorses? What else can we give to people to entice them to become Sawhorses? What is reasonable?

Our expenses don't get any less each year, they increase. The amount of time I and others have to spend on this site just keeps increasing. We have to pay a lease for an appropriate sized server that is safe and reliable. We have to pay for software license renewals, upgrades and some updates. We have mobile device expenses to Apple for iPhone users. One of our biggest costs is upkeep of the site way over my head that must be done by an IT company. I found a cheaper one and ended up back with the original because you get what you pay for. My time has always been free and will be. This may be free for all to use but it only exists because of my initial financial investment of money, the contributions of the Sawhorses, the banners on the site and 1 Corporate sponsor. We need more so that we are not always running a super tight budget. I'll work for free but beyond the books I give away, I can't do this on my own.

I am posting this in the Sawhorse community first to get feedback from those that have already contributed from their pocketbook. After we get some ideas and discuss this I will post it in the public area next. Consider this the beginning of the 2014 Sawhorse membership drive. All input is welcome and encouraged.

Sincerely,

Jeff
 
I just like to contribute on a regular basis,

I do not have an idea on how to get new members to become sawhorses except to ask

I am thinking a quarterly reminder on just asking people to contribute to a great cause!!

Of course Jerry Lewis is looking for a gig lately??
 
Perhaps list what the costs to maintain the site are and how much the site is up or down for the month and or quarter. I assume your intention is not to make $ but to pay for expenses. See suggestions below to what you have listed. I added my comments in upper case so it stands out.

PLEASE Become a SAWHORSE or Corporate Sponsor by subscribing to this forum through a contribution to help keep this message board running. WITHOUT YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WE CAN NOT OPERATE THE SITE. WE NEED $XX PER QUARTER TO OPERATE THE SITE SO FAR WE ARE DOWN $ZZ AND NEED YOUR HELP TO KEEP THE SITE OPERATING. As a Sawhorse, you will have access to a private area not visible to the public and will have more privileges than guests and regular members. Click here to start your paid subscription! Sign up for 2 years ($60) before September 30, 2013 and receive for FREE a copy of Code Check 7th Edition!!
 
I don't understand how someone can start being a sawhorse, then decide that it isn't worth it. But I don't have any answers or ideas at this time.
 
Might try adding a book exchange or yard sale catagory to the sawhorse section.

Also, we all need to make it public that we are talking behind everyone's back and the only way you'll know if we are talking about you is to join. :)

Also, can I buy, like, 10 dirty words for a dollar so I can get some proper language out there? I'm willing to pay.

Brent
 
I became a member of this site strictly to assist me in my job. I am fairly new to the field and don't have anyone in my immediate area to learn from. When a problem or question arises, I have to be able to ask someone. That is why I am here.

Because of this, I include sawhorse membership in my annual budget request. Nobody in the city questions $35 membership when the other city departments submit 2 million dollar budget requests. I just submit the PayPal receipt and they cut me a reimbursement check.

Anyone who uses this site for work and considers the information here to be invaluable should consider adding sawhorse membership to their job related expenses.
 
If you are loosing $ on giving away the book for 2 year membership , perhaps give the person the option to get the book, if they are not interested then why spend the $$ for something they will not use? Also perhaps set up a fund for 2 year membership so you do not use it all at the same time and save the $$ for next year so you have a steady stream of income. Do not know if paypal can help with that where the account maintains a balance and you can withdraw from the account as needed.
 
Offer Municipalites memberships (anyone in the muni (building officials/inspectors office) can use their office computer to sign on. You might want to consider/assume our value to municipalities. It's a big step; but, we could make the claim that on this website any and all code questions (, code interpretations, code sections provided, explaination of code requirements, etc.) can be answered. Regardless of which ICC codes the jurisdiction has adpoted; 2000 through 2012 I-Codes; we have "the most" qualified and knowledgeable people in the US, who can answer your code questions. I know this is a big step; and some will contend that the above is not true; but, I ask you, are there any code questions from the above codes that cannot be answered by at least a few members of this forum? You could even give municipalities a special add-on to their handle (like we have that says "sawhorse"; so we can identify them and give priority to providing code sections they seek as opposed to "our opinions" when they ask specific code questions. Many municipalities, like Mike C's situation can really use the help and expertise that we have aquired over the years. The Building Official, Code Official, Inspector of a small community would not have to provide the community name within the forum (use a pseudonym); but having the special designation like our sawhorse designation would let us know they want "the facts and only the facts Jack" (code sections; and if asked code quotes and explainations). I know this is a big step, but, we do have the expertise. For crying out loud; we have MCPs, Code Officials, Engineers, Architects, Trades Professionals, Inspectors, Plans Examiners and Building Professionals from across the country. We have more ICC certifications on this site than all the other sites put together; and that includes the ICC's own forum. Use this to bring them in; and don't give them access to this area; so we can still work behinds the scene to work on the growth of this site. I tried to find out how many small municipalities are in this country; but, I'm sure it's in the tens of thousands. They really do need the help. It's just convincing them that it's at their keyboard; and immediate. A $40 per year subscription is a puny some. I spend more of the cities money on printing ink for my computer printer per month. Uncle Bob :)
 
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Since this has become largely an ADA forum how about seeking funding from Advanced Medical Technologies? They spent billions promoting the ADA and are currently under siege with the ACA wanting to tax them $30 billion a year, they could use a site like this advocating laws that promote the sales of their goods¹. Let's face it, the more wheelchair accessable facilities there are the more wheelchairs they sell, ought to be good for a few million a year funding to keep this site going.

Wikipedia said:
AdvaMed The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) is a medical device trade association. AdvaMed members consist of medical technology companies. Stephen J. Ubl is AdvaMed’s current President and Chief Executive Officer.AdvaMed’s current Board Chairman is James V. Mazzo, President, Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., and Senior Vice President, Abbott Laboratories.AdvaMed advocates for a legal, regulatory and economic climate that advances global health care by assuring patients can have access to the benefits of medical technology ²
Click to expand...
¹ Medical Device Tax - AdvaMed

² AdvaMed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
As a nonpaying member, this site does all that one needs. They can see everything that they are interested in. All of the threads are available as well as pictures and links. A new person could spend plenty of time here and never get bored.

Hoping that people will realize the value of the forum and decide to contribute is not working well enough.

There are forums that will not let you in at all unless you pay.

Perhaps holding out certain categories would make a difference. The forum category should be visible just as it is now so that they can see something interesting is there, but if a nonpaying member clicks on it they get a window telling them that this is just for sawhorses.

You could call it something besides sawhorses.

Make it worth the piddling amount.

Start with blocking residential building, el., pl. and mech.
 
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At the risk of being a nerd ( I float back and forth between nerd and redneck) I will actively market the site to all the buttho...I mean inspectigators I deal with. A couple have been pretty open and interested so far. Some guys are just on the welfare so they don't care, but not everyone.

Really a great resource.

Brent
 
When I wrote the check for a 2 year subscription, I looked at the cost as an investment in my business, no different than the code books I buy. I have received more value than the check I wrote. I have noticed that too many B/O are afraid to spend money on training. The ability to post here and ask specific questions is a lot less than the cost of 2 or3 days in a class. Plus, you get an immediate feedback here.

Just what does it cost to run this board? How many people are we providing a free benefit for?
 
conarb said:
Since this has become largely an ADA forum
Click to expand...
Of the 121,215 postings on this board, 7,825 are in the accessibility forum 6.4 percent, ya that makes it "largely an ADA forum"...

More B***
 
I just had to go through 36 people that did not renew their Sawhorse and manually set them back to Registered User. There must be a glitch because they were off the paid subscription as a sawhorse but were able to keep their sawhorse benefits. Let's see what happens with that when they can't get here. I think I will finally get around to the October Newsletter and make it all about being a Sawhorse. Keep the ideas coming and lets keep this on topic.
 
conarb said:
Since this has become largely an ADA forum how about seeking funding from Advanced Medical Technologies? They spent billions promoting the ADA and are currently under siege with the ACA wanting to tax them $30 billion a year, they could use a site like this advocating laws that promote the sales of their goods¹. Let's face it, the more wheelchair accessable facilities there are the more wheelchairs they sell, ought to be good for a few million a year funding to keep this site going.¹ Medical Device Tax - AdvaMed

² AdvaMed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...
Not sure how to take that post. :otopic
 
I still think a quarterly reminder to provide support is one way to go

I sent Jerry Lewis an email to see what he is up to
 
I offer my marketing skills.

This first one is free, as I stole it from the U S Army 1st Cav:

"If you ain't a Sawhorse, you ain't sh1t. "

Brent.

P.s See. Coulda earned a buck right there in the curse jar.
 
For retention, is it possible to have a countdown clock somewhere on the page? "You have *** days of sawhorse membership remaining" I think I signed up in January 2013, but I am not sure. I can't find anything here. I would have to dig through receipts and budget reports to find out when I am going to run out.
 
Jeff said:
Not sure how to take that post
Click to expand...
Jeff:

Why not contact Advanced Medical Technologies and see if they would be interested in sponsoring the ADA forum, they spend lots of money promoting ADA and it would seem that they would be interested in sponsoring a forum that supports their cause, especially in light of their current problem with the ACA. There is no better way to promote the sales of your products than to mandate them by code, look at what the Fire Sprinkler industry did with their code mandate, in this case it isn't mandating the use of the products, but mandating the increased utility of their products.
 
MikeC said:
For retention, is it possible to have a countdown clock somewhere on the page? "You have *** days of sawhorse membership remaining" I think I signed up in January 2013, but I am not sure. I can't find anything here. I would have to dig through receipts and budget reports to find out when I am going to run out.
Click to expand...
I will look into that for sure. Thanks for the idea.
 
conarb said:
Jeff:Why not contact Advanced Medical Technologies and see if they would be interested in sponsoring the ADA forum, they spend lots of money promoting ADA and it would seem that they would be interested in sponsoring a forum that supports their cause, especially in light of their current problem with the ACA. There is no better way to promote the sales of your products than to mandate them by code, look at what the Fire Sprinkler industry did with their code mandate, in this case it isn't mandating the use of the products, but mandating the increased utility of their products.
Click to expand...
I will contact them and some others. I have tried to contact Simpson but never get a returned phone call.
 
I know it is a lot more work but maybe send out a yearly giving statement like churches do and can include sawhorse renewal date
 
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