Ads and Dollars

Personally I find targeted ads beyond annoying. It's like having someone attempt to read my mind. Because of it and having my computer do a repeated black out of the monitor while more ads are loaded, not just once but repeatedly, I finially turned on an ad blocker. Lost some access but gained a peaceful on line session. And once in awhile I hit on a site that still does the repeated reloading, I leave that site ASAP doesn't mater what it is. Face book is that way and I won't touch it now. Having lived without internet for 2/3rds of my life I can live without it again. For the record I have a 2 yr old dell and run windows 10.

Facebook and it election fun and games with aps that are there to promote one thing when in reality are really there for politicle gain are another big issue. Talk about low life mentality. Unfortunatly I suspect that this aspect of internet use is just going to get worse. Human nature has shown repeatedly that when something doesn't work find another way regardless of what it is being used for.

So for those whose buisness needs to depend on internet advertising I am mostly a lost costomer. I wouldn't be surprised if more don't join me in that attitude.

All that being said I do look at the ads in MRH mag and when something comes along that I want my 1st choice is to try my LHS and see if he can get it.

I do like your idea of a donate button. I'll take a look at the dollar outflow and see about throwing some in the pot.

Jack

I press

The donate button and it goes to the front page of June mag.

Tom

Donate page now public

Thank you

it works now.

TomO

Business model

" Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."

Blanche DuBois, "A Streetcar Named Desire", Tennessee Williams

targeted ads

I hate targets ads. I am already buying what I am buying and loyal to who I am loyal. Because if that I have set facebook and google to not track me as much as possible and I use an ad blocker. I am not a friend to advertising in that way. That's the bad news...

The good news is that I look forward to the advertising in MRH. Most of it I skim over because it doesn't apply to me...wrong scale typically being the biggest reason.. I look at every one though and I look for new vendors or at least new to me vendors. Many I have checked out by clicking on the ads were vendors I otherwise had no idea they existed so I feel that the blast type advertising on the pages of a magazine (especially a digital magazine) are great for informing what vendors are out there.

The better news... I love the magazine and will certainly donate, and I suspect you would find that good news. The better news though is that I find the quality to be substantial enough that I would happily pay a subscription for premium content on the one condition that should I need to stop the subscription I still have access to what I subscribed to. If that can be accomplished then I will happily part with cash for the magazine!

Thanks again for a very enjoyable magazine!!

Dan

Premium content

If we did premium content it would be downloadable once paid for. Once you download it, it’s yours, even if a paid premium subscription was to lapse. We’re not into copy protection, so we would be trusting you to not share it with all your friends — but then we do that now with the current MRH Store digital content you buy and download. So no real difference.

Then count me in

Then count me in and show me where to pay!

Joe

Would it be possible to set up a monthly donation option?

Money from 1-50 DVD Go to MRH mag?

Joe:

Does the net income from the (now two) " back issue" DVD(s) go to fund the magazine?

Railroad modelers for

Railroad modelers.

Maybe those who 'contribute' with articles & tips & photo's & etc. could do this also on a volunteer base as Railroad modelers without payment - or a small fee ?

Just an idea.

Would it make a difference on the budget of MRH ?

After all this is about a HOBBY WE SHARE, no ?

Greetings,

Sorry, maybe to many questions........

All donation options include recurring

All the donation amounts also include a checkbox to make it recurring. So it's there already -- just pick your monthly amount or if you don't see one you like, choose pick amount. Then check the recurring box -- and there you go.

Yes, they fund the magazine

Yes, they fund the magazine.

We get that now

We get that now ... occasionally a contributor will tell us they don't want paid and that the piece is gratis. We do get that, so it's an option -- all you have to do is say so when you contribute a piece.

Free Forever

You made some very good points in the article and I can well understand the constraints of varied income flow having been an entrepreneur in the padt, but no longer. There are too many good intentions, but "oh shiny..." moments! I applaud your magazine, it is well written, well balanced and has some of the best copy writing and editing i have seen. I am including paid and subscription magazines here. I hope you can continue producing your magazine as it is high quality and the only model railroading magazine i read now. I will try out your donate button next payday. Thank you.

excellent magazine, worth paying subscription

Dear Joe,

Many thanks for your effort. The level of MRH is absolutely excellent. Every issue has a lot of interesting topics. Since I think that, as a general principle, it's fair that an excellent work is rewarded, I would not be displeased to pay a reasonable subscription fee.

enrico (Parma, Italy)

Donation

I have enjoyed this magazine and have always gotten something out of it, even if the subject matter was not what I was working on at the present. Thanks for your hard work and to your staff as well.

Bill

Donations

HI, Joe, I also want to thank you for the excellent job of producing this free electronic magazine, and I donated some today and will donate next month after returning from vacation. I will also donate my next article once I have it written for MRH, to help out with expenses. Jim Moe 

Donation

I have really enjoyed the magazine therefore I just donated $100 and I will keep donating. 

My next goal is to submit an article as I feel I want to contribute that way as well. 

Lolke

Willing to pay

Joe,

MRH appears to be between a rock and a hard place and I have been there as well.  You offer a quality publication but generally few are willing to pay for it.  Fortunately in your case you have advertiser revenues that carry the publication.

I am sure that you and the staff have done feasibility studies as regards various subscriber scenarios.  I'm thinking along the lines of a test situation where you ask all of us readers to donate specifically for an upcoming issue (no minimum fee but everybody donates something otherwise they don't get access).  Unless that would jeopardize the good will of your readership something like that should give you a good idea about converting the idea of "forever free" to "forever free for a small fee".

Fundamental flaw

It would seem to me that this indicates there is a fundamental flaw in the free magazine that pays market rates for content and relies solely on advertising business model.  If you have to rely on donations and people submitting gratis content then there is a problem as a commercial venture.

Are donations and pro bono content a sustainable long term strategy?

We'll see

We'll see. By your way of thinking, open source software is also an approach that's fundamentally flawed.

Yet open source software runs on donations and pro bono, and it's taking the software market by storm. Why not something equivalent to open source for publishing? In fact open source software has become so popular that it's putting some for-profit software companies into a tailspin.

JMRI is one great model railroading example of a highly successful open source product that runs on donations and pro bono. Would you call that fundamentally flawed?

I'll never forget the private session I had with Steve Balmer of Microsoft back in the days I was managing software developers. "It's hard to compete with free," Steve lamented ... speaking of how Linux was eating Microsoft's lunch in the operating system space.

P.S. It's also true we have other options we're exploring if the donation / open source publishing model doesn't work out. We're here for the long term and we're not about to just rest on our laurels without having a plan B or even plan C up our sleeves ... we'd be dumb not to be looking at all contingencies. The bottom line is this however -- we will remain the best deal going, regardless.

Now Concerned

Joe;

Obviously, there is no promise that the magizine content will remain as full or rich as it has been in the past. With the door open for donations, it seems as though you have only the obligation of a promise for a free “version” of the magazine that may, or may not be as thorough as a paid version. No free junk but teasers are possible where only the subscriber would have complete access to the remainder of the issue.

As tempting as that may seem, I hope free will always be free and sources of revenue can support the magazine without reducing the volume or quality you have provided in the past. Print magazines have done this by simply producing less and the era of 100+ pages may be long gone if they cannot be supported by subscribers willing to pay. Digital magazines have equal work and without subscribers, I’m concerned we will see cuts. 

Sounds like it's time to

Sounds like it is time to'  "Show me the money'"