How can we get more sponsors for this forum?

[GAZOOM]

I was searching for some new rims and somehow ended up on the nissan forum and notice they have heaps of sponsors. Just wondering why they have so many and how we can get the same support?

http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/index.p...r=all&st=45

Cheers,

Gazoom

Edited December 6, 2006 by GAZOOM

[SILVABULLIT]

We could get more sponsors but firstly we have to support the one we have. Not too many businesses I have spoken too were keen after they logged on and saw the type of flack that our only sponsor cops from some members on this forum.

Can't blame them really......

[Azza]

True - Another website I am a member on has a fleet of sponsors there, and they look after the forum members. And yes, thankfully, they don't get bagged by people that have never done business with them

[GAZOOM]

Azza and Silva I take your point but surely it's not just that reason alone we have 1 sponsor and nissan has a million of them.

What I'm trying to say is - Yes some members are anti C#S but there posts can't be the only reason why there is only 1 sponsor for this forum.

I guess what are these nissan blokes doing to get all these sponsors??? That we are not.

[Azza]

The other forum I am on, I understand that the dude that owns it activly seeks sponsers, they visit the site, see the feel then sponsor if they see fit. Thing is, he lives in Queensland and it is a Qld based club.

TOCAU is based from the UK and the owner is in England, therefore a little harder for him to actively look for sponsors, as a result, we have SILVER MEMBERS!!!!

[CAP]

It's a no brainer really.

The Silvia Forum has members which own everything from Silvia's to Supercharged Commodores. In short it has ALOT of members with all sorts of different cars in different states of tune. This is a great market for someone selling a producing after market products.

Now Compare that forum to this one.

Most members here have modern Corolla's, not exactly an after market tuners delight.

So given a choice between the two, where would you advertise, where the money is of course.

[selyaT]

Carlo is right.

The only sponsor we have offers products specific to our cars - and let's face it - not many people are hotting up Corolla's. In contrast, the Silvia/Skyline/WRX/Supra are popular performance cars with lots of aftermarket backing here and in JPN.

[Azza]

I ain't having a go at either of you, but it's that kinda negativity about our club that makes them not want to sponsor us...

[blue_rolla]

yeah but its simple economics...

obviously we feel that its important to have aftermarket parts for the corolla, and i for one am very grateful that CES has bothered to make design stuff for us and sponser the forum... but at the end of the day, there are far fewer businesses that are going to want to pay the fee to sponser our forum when we only have a handful of active members, and a smaller proportion are going to be likely to buy whatever products are on offer.

[69.NIX]

Azza is right, TOCAU is run and owned by people in the UK. it would be hard work to get other sponsors on-board.

I think if you find a deal which is good, go with it and tell your fellow TOCAU members! Sure it might be advertising the business, but that might just lead somewhere. If you do go after the same deal, make sure there is a "au.toyotaownersclub.com" sticker on ya car, the mechanics do take notice. Just today I got asked "wots the website all about". I told the guy, gimmie ya PC for sec, i showed him! he was like...." there is a forum for toyota owners.....never knew that". now he could have been making me feel better or actully half interested, that main thing is, he knows about us :D

oh btw, being a silver is more than just a fancy tag under your avitar, it contributes to this site!

peace out, dont smoke drugs, smoke tyres :D

[SILVABULLIT]

It's a no brainer really.

The Silvia Forum has members which own everything from Silvia's to Supercharged Commodores. In short it has ALOT of members with all sorts of different cars in different states of tune. This is a great market for someone selling a producing after market products.

Now Compare that forum to this one.

Most members here have modern Corolla's, not exactly an after market tuners delight.

So given a choice between the two, where would you advertise, where the money is of course.

Well we have one business that DOES make stuff for our cars and all he gets is abuse from a proportion of our members of who don't have their products or have never dealt with the company. He reads what goes on on this forum and hears feedback from Brisbane and some interstate customers on just how his company is treated on TOCAU. I for one have approached other businesses about advertising here (not specific products for Corolla's) but I am now hesitant to do so because we have members who have opinions about everything they really don't know a lot about. It really is not the sort of environment that businesses see as being profitable due to the fact that they don't get support from members but instead a lot of opinionated guesses.

[MR22ZZ]

I have also approached a couple of places local to the NSW people, but the volume of sales that would come from our site is not huge, there is not a great market for modified Corolla bits, just ask the guys at Ignition X, sure they get a few sales, but nothing compared to the Honda, Nissan, Subaru type places.

[eggbert_99]

I think we need to move down the path of association with actual stores ..

ie Autobarn ... ... a specific store for example ..

ask them for permission for a 5 or 10% discount for members with a card.. maybe silver members to encourage more members ..

it dosent cost the store to have an association as they would not be actively selling a specific product ..... and they get more potential business by offering a discount that they are comfortable with ..

so essentially they arent paying for advertising unless someone buys some thing and get the discount ...

and members save 5/10%

win win really ...

[selyaT]

Why do we need sponsors anyway?

Steve gets all the money, right? That's fair, he created the forum.

Azza you mentioned on another forum the sponsors "look after" the members. Does this imply discounted rates for members?

Are the prices advertised by our sponsor discounted?

On another note, why should they discount anyway? It's clearly just a business deal with Steve. Companies who advertise on TV don't give discounts to TV watchers. What else do sponsors bring to the club? I notice that many of those with our sponsor's equipment fitted to their cars have personal relationships with the owners of the company. It seems like a mates rates deal for QLD members rather than a national offer for our national club....

Why do we need sponsors anyway?

[xoom]

Why do we need sponsors anyway?

Steve gets all the money, right? That's fair, he created the forum.

Azza you mentioned on another forum the sponsors "look after" the members. Does this imply discounted rates for members?

Are the prices advertised by our sponsor discounted?

On another note, why should they discount anyway? It's clearly just a business deal with Steve. Companies who advertise on TV don't give discounts to TV watchers. What else do sponsors bring to the club? I notice that many of those with our sponsor's equipment fitted to their cars have personal relationships with the owners of the company. It seems like a mates rates deal for QLD members rather than a national offer for our national club....

Why do we need sponsors anyway?

In all fairness tayles there have been sales made by our forum sponser to several members outside of the sunshine state .....

When looking on other forums the guys who own the companies actually contribute to threads ..... recommend things for people and ofcourse provide better than RRP for people on the website .... Part of this stems from what i can tell that they are heavily involved in the scene in which they are advertising for .... I mean i picked up my turbo from a silvia forum sponsor at a discounted price over what RRP was and also less than what it was for sale on their online store .....

I think guys this is simple economics ..... There are only approx 3000 stivo's on the road in Aus. Then its a % of that which will be on here and another further % of that which will modify them ... all this = to small customer base. From my perspective not enough to bother doing R&D for.

Now to the 1zz fellas no offence but even though the 1zz rolla is the highest selling car or 2nd to the commowhore or whatever it maybe in all honesty how many 1zz's have u seen which have gone above and beyond to make it an all out performer ??????

Its simple .... WRX's, Skylines, 200's etc etc are almost as common as excels thus large potential customer base = $$$ for a business ..... Hey im a technology guy .... maybe i should be in sales or marketing ;) ;)

My 2 cents worth

[Azza]

I agree with Bill, but to elaborate for Tayles...

Lets say a sponsor pays $1000 a year to sponsor the sight. He pays that money to Steve, yes Steve gets it, then uses it towards the development of the site.

The sponsor is $1000 out the can befor anything happens...agreed?

He needs to recoup this money in some fashion, so he gets a little advertising for it. Threads in the Sponsors area, signs when we do shows etc....

Why give discounts then to the members? To encouge business. Eg, As Bill mentioned, he went to the Silvia Forum and purchased his Turbo at a discounted rate available to users of that forum. Hypothetically, if they offerered no discounts to the members of the forum that they sponser, then the users (like Bill) will go to the next turbo retailer who may have the item for a tad cheaper.

I understand fully what you mean about TV advertisers not giving discounts to viewers, but this in itself is not always the case. Ever watched GMA or Kerry-Anne.....???? :P

I also fully understand the arguments about that Corolla's are not exactly their target market. Maybe associative support is the best. Maybe our local Autobarn should have some discount arrangement (yeah - 5% users/10% Silvers) in return, they provide a small donation to the running costs of the site. The discount they provide will help generate business.

Corolla's may not be a target market, but they are still potential clients.

Those of you in any form of sales will understand that the dude not buying a lot, is still a customer....

A very contentious issue, and nothing that will be solved overnight, but maybe what we need to do is have a chat to the businesses that we know and see what, if anything, they would like to provide to help.

At the end of the day, word of mouth is the best promotion for a business....

[GAZOOM]

I mean i picked up my turbo from a silvia forum sponsor at a discounted price over what RRP was and also less than what it was for sale on their online store .....

This is why the equivalent to a silver membership on the nissan forum is worth so much more to a member.

I guess the catch is:

1.We want more sponsors hence discounts

2.Sponsors want more audience( members )

3.In order for us to attract more members the discounts from sponsors would play a big part.

Bit of a vicous circle

Anyway just curious to why nissan has so many sponsors and I think you guys have covered the main reasons.

Thanks

Gazoom

[CAP]

All I'm saying is that the vehicles we own and drive (Although we are proud of them) aren't the most appealing to the after market. Lets be realistic.

If this site had much much more members which were owners of more appealing (To a broad market) vehicles such as Celica/Celica GT4, Supra, MR2 etc, then it would be a different. But people willing to sponsor a dime a dozen Corolla/Camry/Aurion site, don't think so.

But thankyou to CES for taking the plunge and supporting us. Thumbs up to you.

This is not being negative, it's just fact. I still luv all you guys :D

Anyway just curious to why nissan has so many sponsors and I think you guys have covered the main reasons.

Gazoom

The name of that forum is a little misleading, Although it's a Nissan Silvia forum, Its members own anything from Commodores to WRX's to Honda's. That site works very well as a Cruise/Event Registry. If you look in the events section, they organise Alot of events - which attract very big numbers (And quite a few idiots too), but also (Because of the diverse cars) attract alot of professionals who run events such as skid pan days (I did one recently - not worth the $120 in a FWD car just frustrating in the end).

So it has a very BIG Audience and that's what attracts those sponsors. If we want sponsors, we did a alot members and alot of hits to this site everyday. Sponsors want to know that their advert is viewed.

Whilst on this topic, I think you should really look into my suggestion early on, remove the comments on the CES threads and have the first posts only (The ads themselves) and lock the threads. That way the advert stays clean. ;)

[Dead]

Sponser etc? Far out lol. I just like my car and want to spend a bit on it. That's all.

There is mass support for Corolla's performance wise (note: for the Street) but it comes from the mother country, Japan. If you want to do your Corolla up big time it comes from there. I can live with that. The Corolla is envisioned as the classic buzzy little get around car here in Aus.

At the end of the day I don't really care what anyone else thinks in terms of image. It's a corolla, but it's a fast one and I like it. It makes me smile when I look at and makes me want to drive it. I shouln't have to strive for image and gain support from sponsors etc. We have each other, that's all that counts.

I just live life between 6,000 to 8,200rpm, day by day.

[MR22ZZ]

I'll just point out, the business Bill bought the turbo from (as well as some other bits and pieces) is also one of the places I approached as I too have purchased several items from them and I rate their service very highly. However they are a Nissan specialist, even though they also offer a few Toyota bits too, and their argument is very similar to what Bill said. The market just isn't there... though they do like what I have done to my car :D

[MT]

Azza i think you missed the point of Tayles post, what i gathered is that he meant that why have sponsers if they dont bother to give discounts.

i know the support on here isnt exactly huge from some members... but u give a little u get a little... it works both ways.

[SILVABULLIT]

CES does offer discounts to members from this forum. All you have to do is say you are from here and expect a discount or reduced rate of sorts. If you don't open your mouth you'll never know. CES have told me how many calls they get but prolly only one in a handfull ever say they saw it on our forum. Makes sense really.

Also I have approached shops like Autobarn etc but they were reluctant(the people I spoke to anyway) when they saw the treatment our only sponsor gets on this forum.

Carlo agree with you on the threads in traders area 100% And I have warned many about keeping on topic but it seems that locking them is my only choice.

[MT]

Not bagging them or anything cos u know i like there products, even though i dont own any, but i when i was emailing leslie for a while (cos trevor doesnt use the computer or something) i mentioned everytime i was a silver member of this forum and not once was i offered a discount.

Just putting it out there.

[MT]

And I have warned many about keeping on topic but it seems that locking them is my only choice.

oh and also, may be a good idea to keep at least one thread open in the CES section, but place strict rules on it ie:

- Question thread only

- No bagging of products (the insert product is so much better)

- No praising of products (i just bought this and its the greatest thing ever etc) as it just leads to more arguments

If u cant ask questions on here bout it then there's no point in having it... just gotta make sure we keep the sh!t outta there.

[Azza]

And I have warned many about keeping on topic but it seems that locking them is my only choice.

oh and also, may be a good idea to keep at least one thread open in the CES section, but place strict rules on it ie:

- Question thread only

- No bagging of products (the insert product is so much better)

- No praising of products (i just bought this and its the greatest thing ever etc) as it just leads to more arguments

If u cant ask questions on here bout it then there's no point in having it... just gotta make sure we keep the sh!t outta there.

I think if you are going to leave the thread open Mick, you need to allow people a forum option for being able to say that they have purchased one of the particular products that have a thread and say that you either like it or not, then control the thread from the likes that want to bag it.

eg, in the 2ZZ Cat back thread, anyone who has bought one should be able to post in that thread and state their thoughts, albeit positive or negative.

Probably the best way to limit it so that thhey don't get out of hand is maybe if you have an experience with one of them, positive or negative, then PM your honest genuine thoughts to a mod who could add the post to the thread as a quote, leaving the thread closed so snipers can't hijack it with anti comments....

Just a thought.

This may then provide avenues for future endorsements or sponsorships.