Portrait Artist Forum - View Single Post

02-08-2004, 12:45 PM

Well, Cynthia, it sounds like you've made up your mind already, and are kind of ticked off about it to boot, so I don't know what else I can say.

Yet, that's never stopped me before, so here I go again:

Instead of paying for whole access, you might consider creating a 2-tier model. Part would be free, and value-added services would be for pay. You could probably get a lot more than $30/year for some of the best parts of this site, and you would have a larger stream of people interested because they weren't turned away at the front door. Critiques I think are incredibly valuable. Steven does them for free, I'm guessing (bless his heart), but a $40 fee for a critique by a panel of "experts" sounds fair to me. Of course, you'd have to pay the experts too.

Online, there aren't nearly as many demos as I wish there were. I think lots of us wish there were more demos. A live demo or workshop would be a for-fee event that could either be in a forum topic, or in a live webcast. A topic of ample, well-done demos is something I would be happy to pay for as subscription.

There are some things I can never seem to get my hands on - Richard Schmid's book, Daniel Greene's videos, Peggy's videos. A kind of lending library would be something I would pay for.

You could add more portal-type services, links to more books, supplies, etc. Try CommissionJunction.com. You'll get commissions on those sales.

Also, I think you might just ask for contributions. It seems like lots of people would be inclined to give it to you.

I'm not sure what part of your business model this Forum would be... I can see it as a marketing expense, and then you'd have to assess its effectiveness for you. But as a private paid-for service, I don't think it would add anything to your brand identity, and would continue to be expensive and time-consuming to run. It might make sense to sell it off to someone and have them host and manage it with a revenue strategy. Or it might (heavens no) make sense to shut it down, and have a group of artists restart one as a co-op.

Thanks
Lisa

02-08-2004, 12:45 PM	#9
Lisa Gloria Guest Posts: n/a	Well, Cynthia, it sounds like you've made up your mind already, and are kind of ticked off about it to boot, so I don't know what else I can say. Yet, that's never stopped me before, so here I go again: Instead of paying for whole access, you might consider creating a 2-tier model. Part would be free, and value-added services would be for pay. You could probably get a lot more than $30/year for some of the best parts of this site, and you would have a larger stream of people interested because they weren't turned away at the front door. Critiques I think are incredibly valuable. Steven does them for free, I'm guessing (bless his heart), but a $40 fee for a critique by a panel of "experts" sounds fair to me. Of course, you'd have to pay the experts too. Online, there aren't nearly as many demos as I wish there were. I think lots of us wish there were more demos. A live demo or workshop would be a for-fee event that could either be in a forum topic, or in a live webcast. A topic of ample, well-done demos is something I would be happy to pay for as subscription. There are some things I can never seem to get my hands on - Richard Schmid's book, Daniel Greene's videos, Peggy's videos. A kind of lending library would be something I would pay for. You could add more portal-type services, links to more books, supplies, etc. Try CommissionJunction.com. You'll get commissions on those sales. Also, I think you might just ask for contributions. It seems like lots of people would be inclined to give it to you. I'm not sure what part of your business model this Forum would be... I can see it as a marketing expense, and then you'd have to assess its effectiveness for you. But as a private paid-for service, I don't think it would add anything to your brand identity, and would continue to be expensive and time-consuming to run. It might make sense to sell it off to someone and have them host and manage it with a revenue strategy. Or it might (heavens no) make sense to shut it down, and have a group of artists restart one as a co-op. Thanks Lisa