Just to throw in my $.02:<br /><br />I also run an automotive niche' site (for Toyota Tacoma enthusiasts). I began my "premium" membership program about 9 months ago and it was embraced by almost all users. When designing this new membership structure, I took many cues from Jeremy and ColoradoK5 (thanks, guys) This is what I discovered was the key: think of things that your users will find value in, but won't cost you any extra money. Letting users post images (PhotoPost), an email account, etc. are good examples of this.<br /><br />So, I created three levels of membership: Regular, Plus, and Premium (kinda like deciding which gas to get at the gas station). <br /><br />"Regular" users are just anyone who registers on the forum. They can read and post in any forum area and can view images in my PhotoPost system, but cannot post any images. This is the default group in 'Threads.<br /><br />"Plus" members can do the above, but get 3MB of storage in the photo gallery (PhotoPost)<br /><br />"Premium" members get the above, but get 5MB of storage in the gallery, their username in "Gold" in the forum (that's #B0B02B in hex, hehe), and an @CustomTacos.com email account (SquirrelMail).<br /><br />Both Plus and Premium members receive a membership pack with a site logo sticker (free advertising for the site), a membership card, and details on receiving discounts with online vendors whom I have created relationships with.<br /><br />I'll agree that banner advertising is definitely NOT where it's at right now. But, between the small amount that I DO get in ad revenue, membership upgrades, merchandise sales, and donations, I'm actually profitable this year..and it feels GREAT!!! <br /><br />I hope this has give some of you guys some ideas on how to at least break even with your sites. If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to give advice or clarify how I run my site.<br /><br />Jeff<br />CustomTacos.com<br />The Ultimate Resource for Tacoma Enthusiasts

Hey Jeff, great to hear it's working for you! And you just gave me an an awesome idea myself, and that is the membership pack idea. I love it! My users go through stickers like there is no tomorrow, so what a great way to encourage people to take the next step to get the "free" sticker <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /><br />

Glad to hear it's working for ya <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/peace.gif" alt="" />

At what point do you guys think it's reasonable to begin asking for donations? I am still under 500 users but steadily growing and getting 100 to 200 posts a day. I particularly like Jeremy's idea of offering a special donations tag and lettting them choose their own title but I don't want to seem money hungry or appear to obligate anyone.<br /><br />Also, since I am running an MP3 upload site I can commission a mod to set quota limits on uploads and maybe charge for anything above a certain amount, like some are doing with photos. Just tossing around ideas out loud here <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hi,<br /><br />We are currently in the process of making the necessary changes to start charging for access (and I think this could seriously increase our income <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif" alt="" /> ). The way we are doing it is by adding a lot of additional features (PhotoPost, ReviewPost, chatroom, email, etc) and offer people the chance to upgrade.<br /><br />Those that do not wish to pay will continue to be able to do everything they can do now (with the exception of search, which we will only make available to Premium Users). Those that pay get all the additional features.<br /><br />Our main reasoning for going this route is that people resent having things taken away. It is also easier to justify charging more if you in return give users much more features.<br /><br />Sanuk!<br />

I think our approach is the best, we took the old approach of having rotating Java script banners and killed that, and added our list of banners on the side... <br /><br />IMO if you have a niche you can contact companies in the space and have them advertise their products.<br /><br />I have seen some of your other sites, mostly to get an idea of how much traffic you have, and I'm sure we are in the top 3 from a revenue standpoint.<br /><br />I don't like the idea of charging members because that can create resistance for folks to join. In our auto niche, all the sites are free to users so we can't charge anything to folks.<br /><br />We have almost 15,000 registered users and have about 2000 posts per 24 hr period.<br /><br />PSJ<br />www.ls1tech.com

[]IMO if you have a niche you can contact companies in the space and have them advertise their products.[/]<br />That really depends on the niche, if it's in a "Hot" market niche then yes, if not maybe no really depends on the market.<br /> []I have seen some of your other sites, mostly to get an idea of how much traffic you have, and I'm sure we are in the top 3 from a revenue standpoint. [/]<br />Who's the number 3 guy? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /><br /> []I don't like the idea of charging members because that can create resistance for folks to join. In our auto niche, all the sites are free to users so we can't charge anything to folks.<br /> [/] <br />Yes, in your niche I agree, there are way to many free performance car sites out there, I don't think you could get away with it.<br />It just boils down to "Your" nich and knowing your viewers and potential advertisers, what works great for one site may not work at all for another.<br />For "Me" I found the best to be a hybrid approach, sell advertising viewable by non-members with limited access but access to the most popular parts of the site, and offer full access and more benefits with an "ad free" experience to supporting Members.<br />By doing this I can gain revenue from non-members, members and advertisers <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> the benefits to the viewer are the site stays free to them but they also have the option of not having to view tons of advertisments, so I think everyone wins. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif" alt="" /><br /><br />But the important thing if you want to make money with a website is offer a great source of info your readers need/want, content is king, and know your viewers. No two sites are the same even in the same niche so webmasters have to do a lot of market research.

Hi,<br /><br />I agree with Colorado and our plan is a similar approach.<br />We do have several sponsors on the board (and they pay for our running costs), but finding more advertisers is very difficult.<br /><br />When we started the banner rotation system, I send out 20 emails to barowners with websites offering them 10,000 free impressions on the board. All they needed to do was send me a banner. Two replied.<br /><br />While my site does with a niche, many potential advertisers do not wish to be associated with a site which also deals with nightlife / prostitution. And those in the business themselves don't bother advertising since they either don't see the point, can't afford it, or don't need to.<br /><br />However, since we are a niche site (and arguable our site / board is the best in this niche) we have a strong following - a following that raised $4000 last year for us to buy a faster server! - and we feel strongly that by offering them a host of new features, at a fee, that many will take the offer.<br /><br />By doing this revenue will come from both advertisers / sponsors and members, allowing for a (hopefully <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) greatly increased amount, which in turn means that we can spend more money to improve the experience for all members (better hardware, really nice prices for competitions, etc).<br /><br />We are also looking into offering discount cards to our members, to be used in bars, restaurants, hotels, etc. This however is still in a very early stage, but could also generate some additional income as well as provide an additional incentive to sign up.<br /><br />Sanuk!<br /><br />PS Were you refering to my site when mentioning 'top 3 from a revenue standpoint'? If so, we might be, I have not really looked at many other sites.<br />

I raised funds by selling custom titles for folks below there name... thanks jeremy. and I also held a spring cleaning auction where members donated stuff to auction and proceeds went to support the site. This was huge for us raising 2200 bucks in a month. We also have paid advertisers with small banners at the top of the site.<br /><br />Its keeping us afloat but would like to move to a subscription base too. Looking forward to justdave and josh addon for subscriptions with paypal.<br /><br />I will be moving to the subscription system after the release of 6.4 <br /><br />Thanks for all the great work everybody does here. I also really appreciate the sharing of helpful ideas and hacks.

Hi,<br /><br />"Its keeping us afloat but would like to move to a subscription base too. Looking forward to justdave and josh addon for subscriptions with paypal."<br />You might also want to have a look at aMember. My partner is installing this now, and initial reports look very good.<br /><br />Sanuk!<br />

I'd just like to chime in on this.<br />I actually make money from my website. Ammitadely it's not a great deal, but it's enough to pay for the hosting and have some extra building up for future use.<br />I've done this through a variety of way, specific advertising (example, I run a car website, and one of the banners is to an on-line car insurance quote. I got paid everytime someone gets an online quote.) I also sell stickers, t=shirts etc etc.<br />With the advertising i've found you've got to advertise exactly what they want to use. I've tried other adverts, such as computer ones, in the past to no avail. <br />Now i've got more time to spend on my site I'm planning to develop this further.

Wow, great idea regarding the insurance advertisement! We always have people asking about specific insurance providers, rates, etc, since I also run an automotive site. That is a very targeted method of advertising.. I need to go browse through CJ's site and see what they have <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Just to give you some more ideas.<br />My site has been going for a few years now, and in the UK at least, is building up quite a reputation with businesses/magazines and the Ford community. This in turn has enabled me to sell advertisement space to companies which specialise in parts for cars.<br />This is still in it's infancy but I have been approached by a few companies wishing to advertise.