The future of Pattayatalk - An open discussion

[frostfire]

Hi Guys,

 

As many of you know by now, I have taken over the running of PattayaTalk after Martin's passing last week. What many of you do not know is the story leading up to that, which I will share part of with you now before talking about the future.

 

After FLB closed several years ago, the companies that advertised with PattayaTalk started to dry up, and no attempt by anyone was made to find new sponsors, which essentially meant that Martin began paying the ~$150 per month cost of the server himself. About 2 years ago he approached me asking for options, and I offered to host pattayatalk free of charge on my servers so he could save his money for upcoming medical bills (of which we knew there would be many). Several months ago, when things started the downward spiral that eventually led to his death, he asked me to keep the site running after he was gone, and gave me the access I needed to do that when the time came. As much as I would have wished that time to never have come, it has. Which leads us to a discussion on where to go from here.

 

Now first and foremost, I fully intend on keeping things running as Martin has done since the start - same policies, procedures, rules, etc. He had a much better grasp of these types of things than I do, and I am not going to second guess his well thought out decisions on any of those things unless a great need arises.

 

That said, we do need to do something about the cost of the server eventually. I could of course just keep paying its costs myself and that may well be how things turn out if I do not find an alternative, but I would like to have the discussion anyway.

 

I read over Martin's old post on this subject, and I saw several suggestions put forward by you guys ranging from making this a pay to post site (membership fee), which I can tell you right now is never going to happen, to asking for donations from members, which I do not think will work. I am certain that if I put up a donation request of some sort there will be some (and I may well do that), but I also have no doubt that those donations will spike on first request, but eventually winnow down to nothing and not cover the ongoing costs of the server.

 

That leaves advertisements. I will be the first to admit that I am totally new to this area of the internet - I make my money via tangible assets - and have never attempted to monetize a website's traffic. I do, however, have a great deal of knowledge about technology and its usages. For instance, I know that if I put google ads up on pattayatalk and if every visitor unblocked ads on their adblocker, that alone would likely be enough to cover the costs of the server... but I also know that over 85% of users use an adblocker of some type, which makes google ads pretty much un-effective on websites like this. I could request that people unblock this site in their adblocker (in exchange for a promise that I will make the ads as invisible as possible and non-invasive), though I am not certain how well that will work.

 

Local advertisers are a possibility, but I have no idea how to go about finding them, and not sure if it would be worth the effort.

 

So... I am looking for ideas. This is your community, and I would hope that between all of us we can find some sort of a balanced solution that works. As of right now I am leaning toward finding a way to implement the google ads... but will go with what most of the community want. All ideas are welcome!

 

Frosty

[yogi100]

I'm quite happy to turn off any ad blocker when I access the forum. You'll have to remind members with a notice when they click on or they will just forget. Lots of websites do it including Thai Visa, it's no big hardship.

Edited February 24, 2018 by yogi100

[rnine]

Thank you Frosty for your on going efforts in the upkeep and running of the web site. Martin's sad passing will leave a large void in so many ways to many people.

Although I am not a prolific poster, I still need my daily "fix" of PT. So whatever is decided and has your consent, I will go along with.

[atlas2]

I've only bothered with add-blockers fairly recently.....Adds are annoying on You tube. Easy enough to unblock for this site. Can't see much of a problem. I'm sure there's a mechanism that can be embedded when entering. I recall sites like 'Forbes' asking me to 'White-add' or something their site before continuing.

 

Thanks for your work on this.

[Bazle]

Thanks for your frankness, Frosty.

 

Before FLB closed, effectively, FLB paid for PT as it was a promotion for the business. (If I have that wrong, please correct me.)

 

Would an option be to link the board to another business? I suppose it would have to be a bar but the forum could entice people to the bar for, say, monthly get-togethers.

 

 

P.S.

PL is NOT a good example of how that would work!! But there are factors at play there which stop it happening.

[js007]

I've never tried to make money off the internet, but I've noticed that some of the bloggers on YouTube use a service called Patreon, which allows uses to make payments for using a site or vlog. For those watching on YouTube, the Patreon payments are voluntary and can be made in any amount. For example, a person could pay $1 a month. I think that's still possible. In any event, something like that could be set up so that people could support the website on a voluntary basis. If nothing else, that might help defray the monthly server cost. As for advertisers for the site? Looking for local advertisers would probably be best. Right now Google is having issues with advertisers complaining about being paired up with sites or blogs having "inappropriate" content. Why hassle with all that? Doesn't Pattayatalk already have a deal with Agoda? More deals like that, perhaps.

[pinoydave]

It would seem to me there are a few characters in Pattaya who seem to be generous with their sponsorship and advice:-

I'm thinking:-

Devils Den, Retox, Le Pub

[TheFiend]

If it means generating income to pay for the costs of keeping the forum alive I have no objections to google ads, I don't use an adblocker, I just choose to ignore all the google clickbait....

 

And thanks Frostfire for taking over the responsibility of forum Admin....

Edited February 24, 2018 by TheFiend

[LordFlash]

There must be quite a few bar or business owners you know who would pay for a spot ad? 2k a month from 4 or 5 and you have covered your costs? They could sponsor a section so have exclusive ads in that area?

You would need to prove membership and daily views but that should be easy.

Done properly they would not be too invasive and with the right management the forum could grow.

I'd be happy to come over and be your sales exec. 120k baht a month salary and company car and I can be there tomorrow! ??

Edited February 24, 2018 by LordFlash

[Odense]

I'm quite happy to turn off any ad blocker when I access the forum. You'll have to remind members with a notice when they click on or they will just forget. Lots of websites do it including Thai Visa, it's no big hardship.

First off - thank you for running the site free for a period for us and for being willing to keep it running.

I agree with Yogi. Implement Google Adds and make using the site depending on the add blocker being turned off (common practice for many sites).

 

 

Sendt fra min WAS-LX1 med Tapatalk

Edited February 24, 2018 by Odense

[lanzalad]

Google will NOT place ads on a forum with a title of "Pattaya Talk" regardless of the content, then if you get past the first check with google the forum will not make it past the second manual content check.

 

Lets say the forum passes. Great...!

 

Then you would get pay per click on the ads at 0.01p per click.

 

I know the cost of having such a forum can be 650 pounds per year running the latest software, so that works out at 65000 clicks per year 5416 clicks per month 180 clicks per day from members at "unique clicks"

 

I know this just cannot be done...

 

I would look at forum sponsorship....

 

You can use a VPS @ 120 GB storage for around 20 pounds per month paid up for 2 years at £479.76 and the software you are running is NULLED which is free and carries no licence fee.

 

- - -

 

On another note:-

 

What is the size of the database and the uploads folder..?

 

There's many options but i cant say until i know the above..

Edited February 25, 2018 by lanzalad

[monkeyman]

Get involved with something like Google Ads and the next thing you know there'll be problems with "inappropriate content" upsetting their advertisers and they'll effectively end up dictating what we can and can't post (remind anyone of another board?)

 

That would be the end of this board as we know it.

 

LordFlash's suggestion is certainly worthy of further consideration.

[ajsp9]

Google will NOT place ads on a forum with a title of "Pattaya Talk" regardless of the content, then if you get past the first check with google the forum will not make it past the second manual content check.

 

Lets say the forum passes. Great...!

 

Then you would get pay per click on the ads at 0.01p per click.

 

I know the cost of having such a forum can be 650 pounds per year, so that works out at 65000 clicks per year 5416 clicks per month 180 clicks per day from members at "unique clicks"

 

I know this just cannot be done...

 

I would look at forum sponsorship....

 

- - -

 

On another note:-

 

What is the size of the database and the uploads folder..?

 

There's many options but i cant say until i know the above..

Im involved in a small media company and you are correct - several business sponsors per month is deffo the way to generate a bit of revenue just , really, to cover cost.

 

Monitorizing the forum is a different kettle of fish and more difficult but I dont believe this is the aim of Frostfire, as he just appears to want to cover cost.

 

With the right approach $150 a month is covetrable. I believe, through several advertisers.

 

I can ask my friend who owns Apple Honey Cider to see if shed be interested.

[ajsp9]

Google will NOT place ads on a forum with a title of "Pattaya Talk" regardless of the content, then if you get past the first check with google the forum will not make it past the second manual content check.

 

Lets say the forum passes. Great...!

 

Then you would get pay per click on the ads at 0.01p per click.

 

I know the cost of having such a forum can be 650 pounds per year, so that works out at 65000 clicks per year 5416 clicks per month 180 clicks per day from members at "unique clicks"

 

I know this just cannot be done...

 

I would look at forum sponsorship....

 

- - -

 

On another note:-

 

What is the size of the database and the uploads folder..?

 

There's many options but i cant say until i know the above..

Im involved in a small media company and you are correct - several business sponsors per month is deffo the way to generate a bit of revenue just , really, to cover cost.

 

Monitorizing the forum is a different kettle of fish and more difficult but I dont believe this is the aim of Frostfire, as just appears to want to cover cost.

 

With the right approach $150 a month is covetable, I believe, through several advertisers.

 

I can ask q

[biggles]

I have no problem with unblocking ads, just need to know how to do it !!

As an aside tho, the software in my local library in oz will not let me access pattaya talk, pattaya secrets etc. may discourage some advertisers.

[short]

When I was in town in December I suggested to Larry (Soi7) that his bar buy Pattayatalk and use it to promote his bar the same way that Pete and Martin used it to promote FLB. At that point in time I knew that Martin was ill but I didn't know that he was terminally ill. Larry dismissed the idea at the time because he was not comfortable with Martin's style.

 

Larry is currently working part time at the bar and that would give him time to moderate the board from his condo. With frosty continuing to be the #1 admin for the board, I think this would help keep Pattayatalk running for a long time.

 

 

 

 

 

(Respects to Martin)

[CalEden]

Could forum member(s) sponsor Pattaya Talk for a month by donating $150. That member then could be acknowledged by a page banner "Pattaya Talk brought to you by fill-in-member-handle(s)". This would only require 12 sponsors a year. I would be willing to sponsor a month, through PayPal.

 

Thanks Frostie for your hard work keeping Pattaya Talk online. I just think allowing another Bar to become Pattay Talk would be an affront to MM's philosophy and memory.

[keyman]

Frosty

I mod on here as well as another much larger UK site. I am also a member on many different sites, some are free, some are by voluntary donations and some by subscription. All work in their own way and it will depend on how much revenue per member you need to generate. From my point of view I would steer away from ads as they can be bloody annoying when they appear. Sponsorship by a bar? Well, it would be the personality of the bar that draws people into the bar and conversely onto the site. But if the bar owner changes (it's been known to happen in Pattaya!) then what happens?

If you have a voluntary donation, then you can have a specific 'paid member's area or some other enhancement to their access. However, if you have a subscription only you lean towards pushing people to other (less worthy!) free sites.

Are you only looking for $150 per month? Is it that difficult to raise that per month?

 

happy to chat further about it.

 

KM

[teelack]

Frosty. Firstly,thanks for taking on the extra workload and keeping the forum running. For as number of us this is a life line to Pattaya when we are stuck somewhere else.

 

I would suggest that the issue here is that you need a solution that will not burden you with work or take you into unfamiliar territory. Also the funding has to be on-going rather than a monthly fight for revenue. Lets also break down the cost.

 

The cost of running the service equates to 150 baht per day approx.

 

The question is who would benefit in Pattaya from a 150 baht a day investment in advertising? Any talk of members funding the forum a little bit at a time is a pipe dream and will soon die so it isn't the answer. If there is a wealthy punter out there then that would be great but I haven't seen anyone put their hand up since the FLB bar closed so I don't anticipate it now,

 

There is a lot of combined knowledge and contacts out there. Look at people like Patna, Mr. Egg, Pattaya Pete etc. There must be people who know people prepared to spend 150 baht a day to advertise their business. As far as I can see you only need one sponsor as the administration would be bugger all. Surely there is one a'gogo, night club, hotel, tourist business etc who wants a solo outlet on a site like this?

 

Bottom line is that if you are dealing with multiple donors or advertisers that admin will possibly drive you nuts. It has to be easy or it wont work.

 

Besides reaching out to those people that we know could be interested, perhaps the other way to attract an advertiser would be for you to "Set the dogs on" the town. By this I mean let the boardies send out a prepared script by email to as many businesses as they can and see what happens. As you can see Frosty I am suggesting that the boardies do this rather than yourself. You do enough as it is and if you have to do tasks outside of your interests and expertise you will soon become disenchanted with the business.

[PattayaPete]

Frosty, I can and will definitely help through either sponsorship, advertising or donation. I am back in town after 1 March, lets get together and talk about it then.

[Lantern]

That sounds great Pete. I, personally, would think it could be very good for the Pattaya Beer Garden.

[KOJO]

Count me in on whatever you decide. It wouldn't hurt to set up a "donation" banner now, I agree it will spike in the beginning then dwindle down to not, but that would put some money in the coffer's, who know's maybe enough to run the site for a year or two, I would also be willing to sponsor it for a month, as long as I can have every March as my month,(my birthday), HA!

 

I'm not a big fan of banner's and usually leave a site if the first thing I see are banners everywhere, especially those FREAKING FLASHING ONE'S !!

 

There are lots of bars, clubs, etc., etc., that do "event's" in Pattaya, say once a year, open to members only, a bar b que dinner, or a pig roast like the "girl's" do at beer bars on they're birthdays.

 

I would be willing to donate a couple of my drawings to be auctioned off, and the proceed's go to the cause (providing anybody would even want any of my artwork !!) HA! HA! HA!

 

Just let me know.

[yorta2]

I have no real suggestions, but I have really gained a lot of great insights from PT and will support any ideas that come to fruition. I am a member of a few sites that have a coloured "Contributor" notice under the name of the poster, when they DO contribute, and that gives them greater access to such fora as (perhaps) 'Members Only'. It also encourages members to have such a recognition. to become a 'Contributor', and it only requires a donation of around 10 bucks per year, and the title disappears if it is not paid at the designated time each year.

 

As I said, I do not have the requisite knowledge to offer much....

[losgrad]

Thanks for your frankness, Frosty.

 

Before FLB closed, effectively, FLB paid for PT as it was a promotion for the business. (If I have that wrong, please correct me.)

 

Would an option be to link the board to another business? I suppose it would have to be a bar but the forum could entice people to the bar for, say, monthly get-togethers.

 

 

P.S.

PL is NOT a good example of how that would work!! But there are factors at play there which stop it happening.

 

 

Yes, places like Beergarden or Le Pub would be great.

[forcebwithu]

I like the idea of linking PT to a business. A positive for the business as the forum would be a good promotional tool, and a positive for the BM's as the business could serve as a gathering spot for BM's.

 

And thank you frostfire for helping to keep the forum going.