would you preffer NO BANNERS/BUTTONS on Oprano at all,
and sposnors message just pinned on top of the board like this thread?

Doesn't matter to me. Betcha sponsor messages would be more effective though. Why not do both?

Serge,
I find the banners entertaining; and, now and again, I click on one when I'm looking for something.

Rotation of a few sponsor messages would probably be pretty effective.

You didn't put BOTH as an option.



Last edited by Colin at Jan 17 2003, 09:52 AM

this si an option we are contemplating as well

I would vote for a single rotating banner + leaving the text links up and having 1 or 2 pinned sponsor threads.

My only complaint about this current board format is that it has all that flash and so many images. While it's fantastic when i'm at the office, if i'm on the road or using an alternative browser things are sllllooowwww and painful.

thats my 2cents.

I didn't get the Big Cash mailing, nor the invitation from Aga, even though I'm registered there. Wonder if they're hitting my spam filters. If so, the spam filters are for sale :P

Seriously, I'm wondering why I didn't see either of those.

and you can thank me later for this one.. but how bout a "board bot" that inserts sponsor ads into discussions? Maybe every 8th-10th message.. create 100 board bot names and even I will actually read the automated posts.

Hooper,
all I can say is:
time to change the board ad model and give sponsors more bang for the buck
I don't know what exactly we implement, but one thing for sure,
status quo is no longer the viable alternative, it's to stagnant,
and thasnks everybody for the input!

It's good to see you want more return for sponsors!

It's good to see you want more return for sponsors![/b][/quote]
Sharky, fuck with the hypocracy
;-)

Fuck the sponsors, it's ME I am worried about,
because it's their dollars put bread on MY table and if we don't do BETTER for them,
they won't have money to pay US.

I'll leave politically correct statements to Dig
;-))

My thoughts would be to do both, in moderation. All things in moderation :)

My only other thought, would be, why not make banners or text ads appear in between posts in threads. For example, in every thread, maybe between every three or four messages, there would be an ad spot. I'm sure that would take some re-programming of the scripts for the site though.

Sword, if I knew ANYTHING about programming, I'd be dangerous
;-)))

Hooper, good idea...

I think mixing things up is always a good option. Serge, thanks for returning my email...I'll hit you up today and we'll talk business ;))

Trav,
I fucked up my e-mail return addy
;-(
replce OPRANO with COTAC when reply
;-))

Both !

:nyanya:

Ditto. Helps me keep track of who's doing what and what's going on.

I like the banners. Text is good too though. Maybe both? I'm sure whatever you guys come up with - it will be cool for all involved. :wnw:

yeah...
if banners are so popular,
I have an idea...
I'll sponsor sponsors and pay them to put them on as content!

hahahahahahaha,
I think I need another vacation
;-)))

Serge, how about having the each sponsor "sponsor" a topic in rotation? They get their banner / link / whatever it is every 5 posts or something like that.

I think the ineffectiveness of most current banner advertising is the sheer volume of stuff on the page. 10 - 20 items per "top of page" is just too many items for anyone to really focus on and understand. With each one of them scrolling / flashing / trying to tell a story, and each one needing even 5 seconds to digest, you are looking at over a minute of "look time" before people can digest all of the messages.

I don't know about anyone else, but it is a rare day in hell when I spend a minute and a half looking at the top of a page not scrolling...

I would say get the sponsors inline with the discussions, more into the flow, and more "unique" and the value of their promotions will go up.

Alex

Alex, those are my exact thoughts on the subject.
If it ain't broken don't fix it, but I do see the current model broken
;-((

Interestingly, thought, I think the model is broken because it now fails twice - it fails to get the click (banner clicks are low getting lower all the time on all sites), and the density means that the "message" part also doesn't get out there for people to see.

It may also be that this board is very graphic intensive, (animated oprano logo, etc) which may in the end take away from what eye time is available. The design is good in that everything looks integrated, but sometimes having things stick out is better.

Best marketing is captive audience... find out there they are captive, and get to them (hint, the space under "enable your signature for this post" is on my screen for a long time when I am posting... )

Alex

Currently there is too much flashing, spinning stuff at the header. My instinct is to get away from that madness as it's making me dizzy.

You would do well to simplify that header area.

I think banners/buttons are still the best way to catch attention....but, I do not think the click-thru rate would ever justify the current pricing schedule on most boards. (I do not know the pricing here, am speaking of other boards I have inquired of). I realize that part of the ROI is "branding" and if people see your banners enough everywhere they will remember you, but those sponsors that have very limited advertising dollars just do not get enough "bang for thier buck" as Serge put it, on boards.

I think 2 rows maximum at the top and keep the text links for the other area's of the board work's best, but then I have never run a board so my opinion does not mean much. :P

I think no banners up top but have some kind of targetted button/text advertisements between posts depending on the subject matter or text of the post.

OOO thats targetting...

WEG guy is scaring my MS computer...

haha check out this banner

http://www.porngata.com/advertising/adimag...contenttype=gif

Okay, that looks a little better - certainly is many times faster to load.... :-)

Way to make them text links stand out.... now just make the colors rotate so it never looks exactly the same :-)

Alex

Leave the banners, but use the pinning to maybe feature a sponsor every week/month or whatever.

If you have multiple sponsors pinned up top, that quickly becomes ineffective in the same way a stale banner does. If nothing changes, the eye skips right past it. Same reason fresh banners will almost always pull better than whatever they replace regardless of design.

However, if you basically feature a sponsor each week and let them plug whatever they've got going on that's new heavily, then people will read, learn and hopefully sign up. It becomes more like news than just an ad. The more things you can do to make it that way the better.

Maybe a little Q&A to make things interesting. I'm not talking newbie stuff, that's not needed here. How about a Serge interview of the week and post the transcript as part of the pinned thread for a sponsor? Serge interviewing one of the principles behind any of the Oprano sponsors just about the biz in general and where they think it's going is the type of stuff we'll all read.

Leaving all the banners plus the text links, plus having 4 or 5 pinned threads would just make people scroll past them faster. The pinned thread idea is a good one, but not if everything else is left up as well.

But as Serge likes to say, he's not running a charity. I just don't think that anyone would pay attention to a ton of pinned threads.

fuck banners & branding and threads that die with no responses ...

my ideal resource advertising package teaches the webmasters how to fill in my signup form! show me the webmasters!!!!

the single best idea for generating webmasters to an advertiser is beta brigade ..... meat, aga .... wtf happened to it??!?!?



serge, the things that have always set oprano aside as a place to advertise

* exclusivity ... on the old board, you couldn't include a signature that didn't have a link back or spambot (or sergebot) would change the link or ask for a return link ... this board is just full of giant banners (heather!!! :P ) of programs that don't pay oprano any money.

now before anyone gets too excited and starts pissing about how much they do for oprano so why should they have to pay money .... *yawn* freebies don't help the advertisers who spend thousands of dollars to buy a measly 468x60 piece of real estate

* the support of oprano owners ... when a sponsor advertises at oprano, they are recommended and pushed privately by serge and mike. this part will never change, and is worth more than the branding of the banner spot

* quality & mentality of webmasters ... every announcement here has brought me more business than all other resources added together.

* oh yeah, and the banner on the top of the board is cool too i suppose ...

Think it's too small, CJ? I can make it bigger if you like :P

FUCK NO!!!!

i don't want to look at his head any bigger than necessary!!!


and spare kk the sex memories!!!!

LMAO

CJ what is "beta brigade"


When I came on this AM I noticed the color background text links, right away. I noticed it because it was different.

I like my pin ball game thingy. lol- or some type of game everyone wins at. It builds traffic and generates awareness for sponsors. If it was done right it would be great. Hell maybe I'll do it! lol

More java

serge, the things that have always set oprano aside as a place to advertise

* exclusivity ... on the old board, you couldn't include a signature that didn't have a link back or spambot (or sergebot) would change the link or ask for a return link ... this board is just full of giant banners (heather!!! ) of programs that don't pay oprano any money.
************************************************** ************

cj,
I was thinking about that and....
1) we still kill blatant spammers
2) we let free promoters live, as long as
A) they stimulate intersting conversations,
because for the watering hole to strive,
it needs a key ingredient:
WATER
B) as long as they provide something webmasters/sponsors might be interested in
C) they compete with Brad Shaw,
because I love Brad Shaw and want him be always on his toes and his toes being stepped upon.

;-)))

* the support of oprano owners ... when a sponsor advertises at oprano, they are recommended and pushed privately by serge and mike. this part will never change, and is worth more than the branding of the banner spot
************************************************** *************

cj, true, but due to my age and increasing grumpiness,
I sometimes go extra mile and inform former sponsors about the deal which we sent towards their competitors who stay with us.
;-))

In Las Vegas, in Ken's suite at the party, I ran into Jettis-Kjell and told him about the paysite we sent to Epoch (they were with Ibill and PSW) and get 400+ joins a day
;-)))

I lost Kjell $50 bet that evening on unrelated matter,
he has my check on the wall saying "I was wrong"
(The only check like that in existence today ;-)
so, we both had our fun after all
;-))

YES, we do a lot of things behind the curtain, and this one thing will never change.

* quality & mentality of webmasters ... every announcement here has brought me more business than all other resources added together.
************************************************** ******

well, as much as I like taking credit,
Oprano can't take credit here fully,
because,
this is NOTY just Oprano,
it's YOU who:
1) knows the game and play it well
2) you and your personal charm, wit, relations are the big part of it

I wish EVERY sponsor was like that, would make their utilization of the ad space much more efficient

I'll spare everyone...no more banner. Like the new signature?

no!!!!!!!!

the other one was funnier!!!!

Just goes to show, you can't please any of the people any of the time.

yeah your right, you should throw a tantrum and sit in the corner and pout instead ...




oh, you already did

ladies, if you wanna do mud wrestling right,
first you need to get nekkid
;-))

I will only mud wrestle with you, Serge..and then only if I have a notarized permission slip from LL :P





Last edited by originalheather at Jan 19 2003, 09:35 PM

Heahtrer, she'll draw one in the morning...
no bitten off nuts, please!
'
;-)))

damn..I always knew you just want me for my body
;-)))

Same here.... :matey:

ok, ok,ok we'll leave the banners in...but still, it was a good thought
;-))

Sergem you may find that more bang for the buck is obtained by not keeping the design stagnent... move things around. The next bright colored text boxes are nice, but in a few weeks they will fade in my eye, because I will be use to them. At that point, replacing them with pure white boxes, or once with bright red borders might be enough to get my jaded eye to look back there for a minute.

Keep it fresh, and people will be entertained enough to keep looking, and most sponsor I am sure are as interested in making an impression as getting a click.

Alex

Alex,
if we add 4 new TEXT link sponsors every month,
will that be new to your eyes?
;-)))

I agree with this.

I still like my pin ball idea tho!

Gotta keep things interesting.

I still click sigs all the time to check things out. It's all about effective copy for me.

Serge, you have mail regarding this exact subject. This is a perfect time for me to put my two cents in. The new project I am working on will definitely be doing some advertising with Oprano. So, I am curious as to what everyone's suggestions are.

I also believe that staying involved with the board and the threads as a sponsor probably has a lot to do with how much exposure you get, and the return on your investment. I would be willing to bet that has more to do with it than banner design, placement, or anything else. Plus, you can always spam...and nobody's is going to hassle you about it ;))

Since I started this post...I have already spoken to you Serge...thanks for your time ;))

Actually, if you add 4 and re-arrange them, change the colors, move them, whatever, then yes, it will be fresh... just making that table bigger and bigger will get you the same results too many qinky blonky things gets you... people not seeing any more.

Alex