Comments for Business To Investment http://www.businesstoinvestment.com My Journey to a Million in Two Years or Less Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:51:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Comment on Heard This Challenge and I’m Doing It by Pittsburgh Mike http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/heard-this-challenge-and-im-doing-it/#comment-296 Pittsburgh Mike Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:38:09 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=121#comment-296 Diane, Been following this blog for a while, but never posted (I suppose that makes me a 'lurker' here). Anyway, I'm on board. Very interested in hearing how your first month progresses. Pittsburgh Mike Diane,
Been following this blog for a while, but never posted (I suppose that makes me a ‘lurker’ here). Anyway, I’m on board. Very interested in hearing how your first month progresses.

Pittsburgh Mike

]]> Comment on Making Money on the Internet by Mark Nelson http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/making-money-on-the-internet/#comment-295 Mark Nelson Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:34:36 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=124#comment-295 As always I am excited to hear more. As always I am excited to hear more.

]]> Comment on The Return of Respect to the Internet by Diane Kennedy http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/the-return-of-respect-to-the-internet/#comment-294 Diane Kennedy Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:12:04 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=123#comment-294 We have a couple of people every day signing up. If there is a hot topic going on - it can go to about 10. And if I send out an email highlighting items, we'll have a spike of 20-30 sign ups per day for a few days. But those tend to not hang around past the 30 day mark. Without the spike, we probably have about 75-80% retention. We have a couple of people every day signing up. If there is a hot topic going on - it can go to about 10. And if I send out an email highlighting items, we’ll have a spike of 20-30 sign ups per day for a few days. But those tend to not hang around past the 30 day mark.

Without the spike, we probably have about 75-80% retention.

]]> Comment on The Return of Respect to the Internet by mary100 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/the-return-of-respect-to-the-internet/#comment-293 mary100 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:20:34 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=123#comment-293 I think it's a great model - I can understand the spyder issue, but I think that could be gotten around by putting comments referring to the most active, interesting, informational, etc. Forum posts in your Blogs, which to some degree you have already done. Was that on purpose? With that many visits it would be interesting to know the percentage increase in subscriptions over a 3-6 month timeframe - especially if you could also relate it to how many free 30-day trials you've gotten. And if it's not a high enough conversion rate, then start figuring out how to get it higher. The next question would be how many active participants do you get relative to the subscribers? I don't think that's an issue...you actually want lots of readership but too many posters could swamp the ability for anyone to keep up and certainly your ability to keep an active presence. If it went to 100 new posts a day I know I wouldn't have time to read it all. So, can a Forum become too big - I think so, but I'd be very interested in everyone else's opinions. I think it’s a great model - I can understand the spyder issue, but I think that could be gotten around by putting comments referring to the most active, interesting, informational, etc. Forum posts in your Blogs, which to some degree you have already done. Was that on purpose?

With that many visits it would be interesting to know the percentage increase in subscriptions over a 3-6 month timeframe - especially if you could also relate it to how many free 30-day trials you’ve gotten. And if it’s not a high enough conversion rate, then start figuring out how to get it higher.

The next question would be how many active participants do you get relative to the subscribers? I don’t think that’s an issue…you actually want lots of readership but too many posters could swamp the ability for anyone to keep up and certainly your ability to keep an active presence. If it went to 100 new posts a day I know I wouldn’t have time to read it all.

So, can a Forum become too big - I think so, but I’d be very interested in everyone else’s opinions.

]]> Comment on The Return of Respect to the Internet by Diane Kennedy http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/the-return-of-respect-to-the-internet/#comment-292 Diane Kennedy Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:10:11 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=123#comment-292 Oh, and my answer to the free versus fee was to highlight on the front page of the website. It allows people to see what's going on, but not actually read or comment. So, they know it's an active forum and see my name so that they know I'm on every day. Plus the 30 day free trial takes a lot of the uncertainty out. We have very few cancellations and now that we've offered the annual and lifetime plan we're seeing a trend of people coming for free, staying for a few months (to make sure the quality stays) and then just going to annual or lifetime. Oh, and my answer to the free versus fee was to highlight on the front page of the website. It allows people to see what’s going on, but not actually read or comment. So, they know it’s an active forum and see my name so that they know I’m on every day. Plus the 30 day free trial takes a lot of the uncertainty out.

We have very few cancellations and now that we’ve offered the annual and lifetime plan we’re seeing a trend of people coming for free, staying for a few months (to make sure the quality stays) and then just going to annual or lifetime.

]]> Comment on The Return of Respect to the Internet by Diane Kennedy http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/the-return-of-respect-to-the-internet/#comment-291 Diane Kennedy Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:08:25 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=123#comment-291 Mary100, It's so funny that you bring that point of the fee-based versus open up. I am always being told by IM guys that I need to open it up to get the great content available for the spiders. The other side of the argument is that I believe it is because we make it fee-based, that it tends to keep people out. I see the stats behind the forum, so I see how many people are coming to the forum and not comment. On any one day, we'll get 2,000 - 4,000 visits. Even though it might feel that we're smaller because there are a limited number of posters, it is actually quite big. Some forum administrators get upset with the "lurkers" who come to read and not post. I'm actually quite happy with them. I get the sense that they are nervous and want to make sure that they will be welcome. I'm sure there are people that are new and intimidated by the amazing posters we have. (We have some real rock stars on the forum - start a business, sure, now what? I mean, the things our group does without even giving it a second thought are beyond the wildest dreams of many others.) Mary100,

It’s so funny that you bring that point of the fee-based versus open up. I am always being told by IM guys that I need to open it up to get the great content available for the spiders. The other side of the argument is that I believe it is because we make it fee-based, that it tends to keep people out.

I see the stats behind the forum, so I see how many people are coming to the forum and not comment. On any one day, we’ll get 2,000 - 4,000 visits. Even though it might feel that we’re smaller because there are a limited number of posters, it is actually quite big.

Some forum administrators get upset with the “lurkers” who come to read and not post. I’m actually quite happy with them. I get the sense that they are nervous and want to make sure that they will be welcome. I’m sure there are people that are new and intimidated by the amazing posters we have. (We have some real rock stars on the forum - start a business, sure, now what? I mean, the things our group does without even giving it a second thought are beyond the wildest dreams of many others.)

]]> Comment on The Return of Respect to the Internet by mary100 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/the-return-of-respect-to-the-internet/#comment-290 mary100 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:58:54 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=123#comment-290 Diane, do you think the uncontrolled nature of most forums allows for the degeneration? If anyone can post than you're bound to get X amount of people who are bullies or just plain nasty. And the bigger the forum the harder it is to police comments. The Taxloopholes Forum, being fee-based, makes it so that just trollers aren't there...just people who truly have made an investment that says "I want to be part of this." In thinking about starting a blog and forum for myself I'm wondering about this...I may have to offer it for free to build it, but I think making it a subscription Forum would allow for much more control and sense of community. I know I get the feeling that all of us who participate in it have the "right attitude" and want to not only get help, but give it as well. More to think about... Diane, do you think the uncontrolled nature of most forums allows for the degeneration? If anyone can post than you’re bound to get X amount of people who are bullies or just plain nasty. And the bigger the forum the harder it is to police comments. The Taxloopholes Forum, being fee-based, makes it so that just trollers aren’t there…just people who truly have made an investment that says “I want to be part of this.”

In thinking about starting a blog and forum for myself I’m wondering about this…I may have to offer it for free to build it, but I think making it a subscription Forum would allow for much more control and sense of community. I know I get the feeling that all of us who participate in it have the “right attitude” and want to not only get help, but give it as well.

More to think about…

]]> Comment on The Return of Respect to the Internet by Diane Kennedy http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/the-return-of-respect-to-the-internet/#comment-289 Diane Kennedy Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:28:06 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=123#comment-289 BTW Beta J, I'd love to get any ideas from the psychological point of view, on how to build community! One of my favorite books of all time is Robert Cialdini's "Influence" Maybe we need Beta J's "Continuity" as the next how-to best-seller. BTW Beta J, I’d love to get any ideas from the psychological point of view, on how to build community!

One of my favorite books of all time is Robert Cialdini’s “Influence” Maybe we need Beta J’s “Continuity” as the next how-to best-seller.

]]> Comment on The Return of Respect to the Internet by Diane Kennedy http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/the-return-of-respect-to-the-internet/#comment-288 Diane Kennedy Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:26:18 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=123#comment-288 Great case in point on the forum at TaxLoopholes right now. One of our members posted a video of his wife singing a song she wrote herself. It is so beautiful and she sings and play the guitar well. But the raw emotion you saw and felt from her as she sang about a painful time brought tears to my eyes. I don't think her husband would have posted that to a forum that was known for making fun of others. Her emotion was too raw. It was a leap of faith for her to show that and for her husband to post it. I am honored to be part of the forum that made it okay for him to do that. I think this is part of why I was put on this earth. And yes, Beta J, I think that when you do that life's purpose combined with some economic sense behind it, that's when you can become truly rich. Great case in point on the forum at TaxLoopholes right now. One of our members posted a video of his wife singing a song she wrote herself. It is so beautiful and she sings and play the guitar well. But the raw emotion you saw and felt from her as she sang about a painful time brought tears to my eyes.

I don’t think her husband would have posted that to a forum that was known for making fun of others. Her emotion was too raw. It was a leap of faith for her to show that and for her husband to post it.

I am honored to be part of the forum that made it okay for him to do that. I think this is part of why I was put on this earth. And yes, Beta J, I think that when you do that life’s purpose combined with some economic sense behind it, that’s when you can become truly rich.

]]> Comment on The Return of Respect to the Internet by Beta J http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/blog/featured/the-return-of-respect-to-the-internet/#comment-285 Beta J Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:29:32 +0000 http://www.businesstoinvestment.com/?p=123#comment-285 I just got some debut software, so the forum there is new. Funny- I was looking at it and thinking what if it were my forum. I'm firmly grounded in psychology, so I was considering questions like how would I build community, etc. . Everyone is talking about continuity programs as a way to generate revenue, and that's all well and good. If they're going to do that, though, it would seem logical to ponder how to get people invested in the site by building a community identity, and community values (like not bullying, helping others, etc). Building "community" is the easiest way to get people to stick around, even if the content is marginal. It harks back to the issue we both believe-- that people will be craving more contact and connection. I just got some debut software, so the forum there is new. Funny- I was looking at it and thinking what if it were my forum. I’m firmly grounded in psychology, so I was considering questions like how would I build community, etc. .

Everyone is talking about continuity programs as a way to generate revenue, and that’s all well and good. If they’re going to do that, though, it would seem logical to ponder how to get people invested in the site by building a community identity, and community values (like not bullying, helping others, etc). Building “community” is the easiest way to get people to stick around, even if the content is marginal.

It harks back to the issue we both believe– that people will be craving more contact and connection.

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