Considering a paid vendor membership

[precisionshooter]

Hello,

I have been around for a little while, but havent posted much. I have recently got my FFL and have been considering a paid business membership. I would love to know from other businesses about what type of ROI you get strictly in terms of sale due to referrals from this website.

Thanks!

 

[Darryle]

Have you reached out to @Len Backus for that data? I am sure he's done an analysis and has feedback from supporting vendors.

I don't think it's necessarily about ROI metrics, I think it's more about exposure, opportunity to hawk your goods or advertise your work/abilities to the members, your target audience, without having to jump thru hoops at the other social media sites.

 

[KSB209]

I am not a vendor so I'm not going to vote but I will tell you I have supported a few vendors on this site in the past. For me it was knowing I was supporting a company with the same values and passion as me and I also found out about companies / vendors I did not know about before that I found in this site. I think it would be good exposure for you but I have no idea the cost involved with a paid sponsorship on this site.

 

[RockyMtnUT]

Have you reached out to @Len Backus for that data? I am sure he's done an analysis and has feedback from supporting vendors.

I don't think it's necessarily about ROI metrics, I think it's more about exposure, opportunity to hawk your goods or advertise your work/abilities to the members, your target audience, without having to jump thru hoops at the other social media sites.

Exposure creates sales, selling goods creates $. Advertisement to a target audience creates $. I think it might be about ROI.
I think it's great to ask actually members if they will speak up. But doubt if they really will?
I'm under the belief you don't ask the car salesman how good the car is? You ask the people that have driven it/previous owners etc.
Good luck OP, great question.

 

[Muddyboots]

You have to include non members/guests into the equation. See attached for current folks actually on site at this moment. Really good question, not sure how to answer with the size of variables on the site.

 

[LRNut]

Good luck whatever you decide. I turned in my FFL last month - I used it when I wrote for shooting mags, but I no longer do. Won't miss the unannounced inspections by ATF or even worse, my home address being out there as a guy who owns guns.

 

[Darryle]

Exposure creates sales, selling goods creates $. Advertisement to a target audience creates $. I think it might be about ROI.
I think it's great to ask actually members if they will speak up. But doubt if the really will.
I'm under the belief you don't ask the car salesman how good the car is? You ask the people that have driven it/previous owners etc.
Good luck OP, great question.

300, I agree with you somewhat. There are vendors here whom I have purchased their goods, but not necessarily from them. I did it in good faith knowing their reputation among the members and how they conducted themselves while on here. There are other vendors mentioned here that don't have an account here, but I have dealt with them knowing that they were honest and above board.

I don't look at as ROI, I view it as a launch pad for conversation about the vendor or their products and services. Their are supporting vendors that freely offer advice or suggestions, but I rarely see or read a post in the classifieds from them. That advice translates into sales from trust.

There are literally 1000s of vendors, gunsmiths and manufacturers that the majority of our members have never heard about, but they survive and in many cases thrive with no external advertising.

A supporting vendor subscription allows you to openly get the word out, your attitude and attention to details will keep you relevant with or without this place.

Word of mouth is and will always be the best and/or worst form of advertising.

You can have the latest greatest unique products, but the worst attitude will kill sales.

@precisionshooter In the end, I'd love to see you as a supporting vendor and look forward to seeing what you are offering.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

ROI is difficult to evaluate when it comes to advertising. I can say our advertising dollars here are by far the best money we have spent. Our ad budget has always been small. We tried print ads and I'm not sure they did anything. In the end it is a matter of getting your name in front of potential customers. I think the rule is, people need to have seen you 3 times before they start to have recognition of your business. I personally believe that organic word of mouth is the best advertising you can get. Here is where you can start that kind of recognition. It is slower than having a million dollar ad budget, but more sustainable.

Good luck in your business.

 

[FEENIX]

Hello,

I have been around for a little while, but havent posted much. I have recently got my FFL and have been considering a paid business membership. I would love to know from other businesses about what type of ROI you get strictly in terms of sale due to referrals from this website.

Thanks!

Your ROI depends on your products and services you offer and the interest of the members here. For instance, jaoutdoors.com (site sponsor) has a multitude of products. BTW, owner is a very nice guy with excellent customer service, and would make an excellent source of your query.

There are many that started as site Sponsors that no longer have that status. Hopefully, they will chime in via PM. Good luck!

 

[precisionshooter]

Your ROI depends on your products and services you offer and the interest of the members here.

With your comment, I feel I did not word my question correctly. I was mostly trying to find out from members if they would buy from someone advertising on the forum rather than asking Dr. Google. Also, I was trying to understand if members "search" in this and similar forums rather than going in more traditional directions.

I really appreciate the pointer.

 

[FEENIX]

With your comment, I feel I did not word my question correctly. I was mostly trying to find out from members if they would buy from someone advertising on the forum rather than asking Dr. Google. Also, I was trying to understand if members "search" in this and similar forums rather than going in more traditional directions.

I really appreciate the pointer.

I try to support site sponsors when I can.

 

[Darryle]

I try to support site sponsors when I can.

Feenix is right on the money, most try to support those that support us, I sure do.

 

[yorke-1]

My businesses are not related to the hunting/firearms industry, so I don't have a business sponsorship on LRH. I could probably make a case that one of them would benefit from advertising here, but I'm not sure that's necessary. I do have a paid sponsorship on other forums though.

For the forums that I do advertise on, the ROI for the sponsorship was substantial when I used a banner add, in the range of 800%. This is mostly because it was just a passive advertisement, and didn't require me to be actively involved or commit a certain amount of time to keep my name out there.

In the case of a forum where I'd be actively engaging anyways, a lower level sponsorship that just allows me to promote my business in a signature line or in a relevant post, makes the most sense. I'm already spending the time on the forum, so there's no real value to the time I'm investing in promoting my brand/product/services. The ROI is significantly lower at around 250%, but I consider that pretty fair since I really don't need to change any behaviors, I just continue participating in the forum as I was prior to the sponsorship.

I'm confident that both of those ROI numbers could be improved significantly with very little effort. I try to balance my advertising to match my workload though so I don't get in over my head. I think if you have a business that's relevant to the audience on LRH, it would be a reasonable investment to become a sponsor for a year. I always get nervous though about allowing my personal activities or interests on the internet to overlap with my business. It's very difficult to make that work.

 

[338 dude]

With your comment, I feel I did not word my question correctly. I was mostly trying to find out from members if they would buy from someone advertising on the forum rather than asking Dr. Google. Also, I was trying to understand if members "search" in this and similar forums rather than going in more traditional directions.

I really appreciate the pointer.

On this site we are very close almost like a giant family,so of course I would check here first for what I was intending to purchase!