Consider adding a Donate button on the free page

[Dalmore]

I seriously love and value your product reviews. I really want to support those efforts and your site. So I subscribed.

But I would have donated rather than subscribed. I really doubt I'll use the forums. I didn't the last time I joined. And while I might be surprised when I see the other included things, none of them really excited me that much.

Just throwing out the idea.

Thanks for the great info!

[Huskee]

Dalmore, I've passed this on to Meathead. Hang tight for his thoughts.

Side note- we're glad you're here!

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

If it helps, I know there are a lot of folks out there like Dalmore. Also seriously look into accepting BAT (crypto currency that folks use to tip blogs, news sites, and recipe sites). Not sure if it's worth the hassle of accepting or not, but lots of people "tip" the websites they use and the stuff is increasing in value.

[Meathead]

I am not big on asking for donations or tips. Makes me feel like a charity. I prefer an exchange. You give me money, I give you value. Members get a LOT more than the forum. There's interviews, videos, magazines, much more. Check out the full list of what you get here https://amazingribs.com/information-...itmaster-club/

[Dalmore]

Thank you for replying. I understand your point of view and I can respect that. Keep up the great work!

[willxfmr]

Just thinking out loud, but why not use a "donate button" and then actually donate a percentage of the donations to an outfit like Operation BBQ? I know when I joined, a portion of the membership was pledged to charity, and it was one of things that tipped the balance for me to pony up the money. Of course now that I got the first dose on the cheap, I can't kick this monkey off my back for love nor money, but that is a separate issue.

[Meathead]

willxfmr Good thoughts. But we want people to join. When they do, we hope they renew because of the benefits. Membership is a renewable resource. We have 17,000 members and 86% renew. That is a business model. Donations are a one-time shot. Not a business model. Trust me, I have given this a lot of thought. In fact waaaaay back in 2013 we had a donate option and you get a ballcap. I did not like begging for money, and it didn't generate much.

Besides, as I stated, we have great benefits for members. Our entire mission is to teach. There is a lot of learn ing available in this community.

And we already donate a portion of the memberships to OBR and Global Alliance For Clean Cookstoves. https://amazingribs.com/pitmaster

[willxfmr]

You make a good point. I joined because I felt you deserved a kickback for all the information I got. I stayed because the cost/value math is simple enough that even I can figure it out.

[Meathead]

willxfmr THANKS! Membership is a largest revenue stream and as a footnote, it is the future of the internet. Running a website (as opposed to a blog) is very expensive and you cannot survive and make payroll on advertising. Ad rates are trending down (supply and demand - billions of websites and blogs growing every day). Quality sites will have to charge. Our model is unique. 2110 free pages, community membership.

[ecowper]

Meathead said

In fact waaaaay back in 2013 we had a donate option and you get a ballcap. I did not like begging for money, and it didn't generate much.

I was one of those folks that tipped a donation to you a couple times and got a hat. I did it because I was getting an amazing learning experience and cookbook and was routinely paying $20 for a cookbook. How could I not pay you for the value that I got. But I'm also sure you are correct that it didn't generate much.

And I jumped on the Pitmaster Forum as soon as you created it because it was so obviously a better model.

Thank you!

[Meathead]

No. Thank YOU!

[ecowper]

Meathead I’m gonna go with we should thank each other :-)

[Mr. Bones]

So, got any them there hats left???? I'd gladly buy one!

[Mr. Bones]

RonB I wear ball caps at work...

ecowper Yup, Cavalry, Brother!

[ecowper]

Mr. Bones I wore a black Stetson with gold tassels for enough years to know what I’m looking at ;-)

[Mr. Bones]

Oh, I know dat's right, Eric!!! Hooaahh!!!

As Air Detachment, we were most often inserted into/extracted outta th FBA in Hueys, basically Navy Air Cav, if ya'll allow...

Regular Seabees walked, crawled or were trucked, but we were FAR more highly trained, an had to meet Much Greater standards than th rest of our battalion, physically, mentally, academically, combat skills, marksmanship, yada yada...

Totally apples an oranges difference, to minimize...