Sponsor listings

Sounds like a great idea... I'm sure Rich will chime in whether it can be done or not...

Great idea!

Since I originally posted this late at night, I assume that it didn't get many hits.  Thought I would bring it back in "Prime Time". 

What do you think?  Would a sponsor directory help?

Tom

I think its a great idea.  RICH ,, what do you think ? ...........

This subject was brought up and discussed months ago, and the OGR Ad Man, provided an EXCELLENT explanation of why it will NOT be done.

Maybe a "Search" for that previous topic would be in order?

HW,

I did do a search for this topic.  What I am suggesting is a Directory , not a forum.  This would allow us to find a sponsor who's banner is not up, quickly.  There would be no posting by anyone, only an alphabetical listing of the forum sponsors with links to their websites.

Tom

Just did a search myself. I originally commented on that thread, and I can't seem to find in my activity stream or in ogr admans either. If someone could provide a link, it would be appreciated.  

I still think it's a good idea. Even if it's just a page with all the banner links displayed horizontally.  Just something that's a quick and easy reference. 

I have to admit, with how well "The Adman" is doing, it has taken me 6 or 7 refreshes to get to the sponsor I want.  I went to find Charles Ro the other day and it was definitely 6 refreshes.

I suppose that's a good thing that we have such a great bunch of sponsors.

I think what was discussed was a list of sponsor websites that you could go directly to.    Alan stated that is not practical as one service they offer is "hit counts" for the banner ads.

I think a link to a page that contains ONLY the banner ads would be useful.  You could see them all at once and click on the ad to get to the sponsor's site (thus preserving the hit counts.)   They way it is now with the number of sponsors being MUCH greater that the available banner ad space it's nigh on impossible to tell who's a sponsor unless you already know.  Kind of a chicken and the egg thing.

OK Guys....Briefly, the reason why we do it the way we do is because the only way to sell the forum at this point in time is through the banners.  The banners being at the top and on EVERY page is a big plus for our advertisers/sponsors.  I like Chris' idea about a separate page of banners.  As a matter of fact Rich and I have discussed this.  To provide a separate page with all of the banners listed linked to their websites could be an option BUT this brings up a whole set of new problems.  Do we list them in alphabetical order, how much they spend with us, top dealers, by brand, location in the country, etc.  Folks have a tendency to start at the top of a list and those at the bottom would have a good reason to be concerned....  How do we achieve fairness.  Next thing you know, we would be automating them so that their positioned changed so everyone would get their chance at the top of the page....back to square one!  This is one reason why we rotate and move most of the banners as they appear currently.  Now...I don't have a problem with having a list of sponsors somewhere on the forum so that members can quickly find out who is a sponsor but for now, the membership will have to refresh the page, or go to other pages, to see the many sponsors we are honored with having on the forum. 

Not to seem self serving here guys, but I have worked as hard and quickly as I can to provide the membership with as many options for point of purchase as possible with more to come.  I'll admit, we are rapidly approaching a time that we are going to have to present the banners in a different way as the design and layout could use improvement but as an advertiser, there is no where else on the forum that gets the traffic that this forum gets.  With 7 million pages views, 70 thousand plus unique visits, click through rates several times the national average, and ads being served 100K times...all of these stats per month, most of our advertisers/sponsors realize the value. 

And....Pappy....I have given this topic much more than just lip service.  Seems we have plenty of folks that are quick to criticize but slow to analyze...

Alan

I think the random display of banners works well, and is fair to all the sponsors.  Perhaps a separate page with all the sponsors would be useful.  I'd suggest it be categorized by the product line or similar and then in alphabetical order within categories.  Just a thought...

I'm sure you guys spend a lot of time behind the curtain discussing the best ways to present the information, but I think we forum members just like to toss in our two-cents.  That may be all it's worth, but there it is.

Alan, it's OK to be a little self-serving.  After all, you're in advertising!

Alan,

Not to seem self serving here guys, but I have worked as hard and quickly as I can to provide the membership with as many options for point of purchase as possible with more to come.  I'll admit, we are rapidly approaching a time that we are going to have to present the banners in a different way as the design and layout could use improvement but as an advertiser, there is no where else on the forum that gets the traffic that this forum gets. 

It's your great work that has made it necessary to discuss a better way to present them.  I personally have gone to sponsors sites that I would have never visited if it wasn't for the banner ads.  I just think it would be great if in addition to the rotating ads we have a central place to see them all.  How many are there now?

You keep up the good work and I'll keep visiting new sponsors!  

BTW.  Will you be at York?  If so, see you then.  I'll have more MA3R badge stickers!

Regardless, too many Forum Sponsors for banner space is a good problem to have.

It doesn't go unappreciated.

Thanks guys....I do appreciate your encouragement...cause it "ain't easy" to make everyone smile!!

Please note that we do listen to your suggestions and appreciate you posting them here instead of on the other sub-forums.

Chris...I most certainly will be at York...Good Lord willing!!  And please pass those MA3R badges out to anyone that will wear them!!  You are THE official PR guy for our group.  I have been so busy with OGR and until recently my real estate sales, I have not had time to even update our group or do anything to promote them.  Sure wish we could have a quick separate meeting with any MA3R's that are coming to York....got any ideas how we could make that happen??  Perhaps during the OGR dinner at Tuesdays??

Alan

Alan,

i very much appreciate your efforts at bringing in new sponsors.  I guess this is a good problem to have with this many sponsors.

My only suggestion is that it would be nice to have a separate page that lists each sponsor and possibly a short description of what their business is about.  Obviously some sponsor's are clearly known to all.  But some are not.  The reason is and I will use the latest sponsor "Eric's Trains".  While he is well know to a good number of people I think there are more than a few who have no idea what he has to offer which in my opinion is quite valuable.

In my particular case I had a memory of a sponsor that I was now interested in looking for the other day.  I could not remember the sponsor's name and I tried watching the banners but it was tough with my aging eyes.

But I also know that implementing any suggestion is way easier to talk about then it is to   actually get implemented.  Your example of what would a fair way  would be to list the sponsors.

Thanks,

Ed

Thanks Ed...I appreciate your comment.  Many times the implementation of suggestions is not as easy as it sounds....  Most advertisers/sponsors have a website and on their websites there is usually an "about us" page that they maintain which explains what they do.  Using your example of Eric's Trains.  When you click on his banner ad, it takes you directly to his YouTube review channel.  On that page you will see a tab that is labeled "about".  Clicking on that takes you directly to his website which gives his complete explanation of what he is doing.  This is the reason for the banners....we want folks to take the time to visit our sponsors.  If we produce pages and pages of information about the sponsors and their services, we would have to maintain updates on those pages which would cost both the membership and sponsors more money in the long term.  Hope this helps...

Thanks!

Alan

Alan and I have been emailing back and forth about this and some other subjects.  While we don't always agree, we do have some good dialog.

Bottom line is they are doing an incredible job keeping this forum free for all of us.  It's a lot of work to keep everyone happy, sponsors and members alike, and for that I am appreciative.

I hope Alan and the OGR staff see this discussion as helpful in some respects.  It could be that a solution for some of concerns or the compromises might present itself in a post by a well meaning forum member.

Until then thanks to Alan and all the hard work over the last year for keeping the forum what it is.  I look forward to meeting him at York.

Alan, I understand what you are up against being fair to all the sponsors, but as others have pointed out I also have had to wait some time until a banner has come up so I am able to look for an item of interest.  I believe a sponsor listing tab on the blue bar would be an appreciated addition and time saver for all members.

Jack     

As a non premium member at this point I do not feel very entitled to complain about how things are done here. Some days I think I must be the only one!  HA!

I do plan to become a premium member once I actually start on my layout but until then I sure enjoy the free wisdom and experience courtesy of our sponsors as well as the premium members.

Thanks Marty and I look forward to meeting you too!

Jack...as we progress in the development of this site, I am sure we will improve.  We have tried to make sure that the number of impressions a banner ad gets is such that it doesn't take a member long before he sees the banner again.  We are however considering a value added listing of sponsors...

Ed...we would be very thankful for your premium membership.  My "leavingtracks" ID is linked to my "adman" ID here on the forum of which I am a premium member...

Alan

Good suggestions here.  As the forum becomes more complex, IMO.   Some times you just have to look back a bit.  Several years ago we did a Scenery Source List on the Scenery and Structures Forum.  It has always been quite helpful and is extensive.  It also appears to be current.

Dale , that  pinball machine reference is a good one.

I have 6 or 7 that I like to use and finally just booked marked them in my favorites from their web site. It keeps me from the hunting adventure. But like stated it's nice to have all the supporting sponsors.

Larry

Guys....  We are considering the format and the links and what order to put them in.  I think the concern I get from private emails I am getting from some of our advertisers/sponsors is the order of the listing especially if they are live listings with links.  The argument is that folks have a tendency to start at the top of a list and may likely make their purchase before they get to the bottom putting those at the bottom of the list at a disadvantage. 

Dale...what sponsor were you looking for?  I am confused since it doesn't take much time to see all of the sponsors if one is willing to spend a few minutes reviewing the banners.  Point is:  I don't disagree that it would be nice to have an index so to speak but an alphabetical arrangement may not be fair especially if each listing has a live link....this is what the banners are for.  They way the banners move gives a more random chance to be clicked unless one is looking for a specific sponsor.  Give us time as we will be improving the layout of the banners and developing some sort of index list.

Thanks!

Alan

Larry....the whole idea and reason why we have sponsors that keep this place free is to click on their banners.  Forgive me guys but I think part of the problem here is human nature....we all want the easiest way to get what we want.  If it takes a little time to find the banner of the sponsor whom you want to visit, then we get frustrated...I understand that.  But, there is another point here....how many sponsors do you think we will have if you don't use the banners?  Come on guys....help us out here....we are trying to bring you a great and free forum with sponsors that want to help pay for it and then you complain that you have to work a little to find and click on their banner....and then make negative comments about the layout.  To be honest, the easy way for OGR would be to charge a membership fee but we already know how that would go over....

Alan

Allen

I did not that's how it worked. I'll go back and start finding them through the banners. I certainly want to support the sponsors the best I can. Due to the forum sponsors I have purchased a considerable amount of STUFF. I just been doing it through the web and not the banners. I'll just overcome and improvise.

Larry