Fireside chat

John, of course we should have advertisers on EN! This is a no brainer. You did like 100 posts from Rolex and ran around a XC course in jeans, you didn't eat at Jersey, and you post comments at 3am sometimes. I have no idea where you find the time to do it, but we are all so thankful you do.

I'd like to know what companies support Eventing Nation. Also, you should pay yourself something and certainly Visionaire and Leslie something because they work so hard and do an incredible job. Why did it take you so long to think about advertising?

John, I am kind of biased as I spent 30 years in ad agencies, so I'm fairly pro-advertising. But yes, you should take advertising. The right advertising is a service to your loyal followers. We all share a crazy passion for eventing and want the chance to read relevant stuff, whether it is paid advertising or your elegant prose.
The people who will want to advertise here will pay a premium to reach the horsey crowd. And you will be too small and too expensive (In Cost Per Thousand reached) to attract mass advertisers for dating services and the like, who might be more annoying.
Don't forget to create sponsorship packages to tie in the SmartPaks and John Nunn's of our world deeper.
Keep up the good work!

Back in the 90s I was part of a small group of girls who accidentally started a magazine (subject was snowboarding for women). We originally set out to get all the east-coast girls together to ride on the same mountain on the same day. We spent a few months collecting home addresses from every female rider we saw to make a mailing list. Then we made a flyer, attached it to some stuff we had written, and went to the post office to send it...only that part was expensive. We asked a shop to pay for stamps, they asked a manufacturer to pay for it...and before we knew it we were publishing 6 full-color issues of "Fresh and Tasty" at a break-even rate (less salaries). We all had full-time jobs and schools and plans, so we sold it to MTV when they approached us. They seem to have killed it, but it was still super fun. We didn't make any money to speak of, but we didn't lose any, and we got tons of cool free stuff. Best of all "womens snowboarding" became a category in industry. Surely this would have happened anyway, but it was great to be part of it. Take advertisers - grow the sport.

Go for it John. As a consumer...I can parse through advertising very easily. Actually...I like finding out about companies who are targeting and/or supporting my sport. To me it is a win win. It helps companies understand the buying power consumers in this sport have...it gives me easy access to some of the companies supporting or geared to our sport. I don't think it will lessen you work product at all! And if it helps you get prizes for us...even better!

I would rather see a few adverts than have to pay for access to the site. If it takes up more time and effort than a regular job then it should go someway to paying your expenses. I think no one begrudges you that with all the time and effort you put in.

I have come to really love this site, and I don't think you should have to bear the financial costs of it solo. I'd personally be willing to subscribe, but I think it's more egalitarian if you sell ads and keep the site free. I'd love some swag, too.

Take adds and pay yourself something in addition to expenses...you really created this wonderful fun site.
As the responsibility for the site grows, I want you to be thinking of fun things for the site...not how you have to choose between something essential your horse and getting another second partime job.
Take this business opportunity as a guard against burnout...which is a very challenging hazzard.

You had me at swag!

Does this mean John can go to Burghley and live blog? Just kidding! Based on all the time you, Visionaire, and Leslie spend on creating such a great site, you all should be compensated. I would hate for any of you to get burned out because you are burning the candle at both ends. Congrats to the whole EN crew!

Chelan here. Advertising vs. pay for sign up- personally, I take advertising.
I for one think that you should think less about this site as simply a fun site/ hobby and more about how to make it become a business for you and the regular contributors. Don’t apologize for making money doing what you enjoy! Kudos to anyone who can make money doing what he or she loves, particularly in the horse industry.
So just going out on a limb here on your political leanings, but based on the reluctance to embrace capitalism, I'm guessing you didn't have to worry about taking ur Mc Cain/Palin bumper sticker off the car last year, LOL! Go Capitalism.. Go John... Make some cash for yourself, and do not feel badly about it!
Take Sharon's comments regarding burn out very seriously. I love the site and would be sad to see it disappear if you ad yours get too damn tired.

So excited about what you've proposed! I know for sure that if there are ads on EN, I will go out of my way to "click" them, especially if I need to order something from the vendor, rather than navigating to the vendor on my own....and this would go double if the ads are horse-related.

Of course you should have advertisers! You need to be able to support this venture and to continue delivering great content to your fans. No apologies necessary!

(Does this mean that a gadget guru might happen? Please say yes.)

I love this site and think ads would be good but I'd like them to be horse related and not google ads. I would put an ad on the site if it wasn't too expensive. I know how much time and $ it costs to do what you're doing because of my own businesses.

I would not be opposed to a low cost membership site either and in fact the internet marketing gurus say that memberships sites are the way to go because of the continuity you as the site owner get from it. Also, the members don't have to deal with ads. However, some folks are against membership sites so go with the majority but get yourself some $ to at least pay your costs.

DUH!
John, would you rather be sitting in a cube farm with a s***head boss walking around with a coffee mug looking busy while berating you because he told you the wrong thing?
Think about it.
You also might want to come up with a 5 year plan too. Like if you want to prime this site to be sold and stay on as a director. Or, do you want to keep it and maybe expand it to a few other disciplines if you have an 'in' with a like-minded person.

It's about time!!!
John this is what I got:
1 - Advertising yes, absolutely 100%. Subscription to the site, that would suck...HOWEVER...(see #2)
2 - You need to be able to cover YOUR costs for making this site run, ie gas, internet card etc, whatever. Period. See how the advertising goes, then reasses if you need additional income sources. I think several people have mentioned a business plan...that's Business 101 and think it would be a good idea for you too.
3 - Giveaways, prizes etc are great...
4 - If there is anything left AFTER you have covered your expenses, done the prizes, etc. then what about an EN scholarship to a lower level ammie rider? Sayyyy $XXX a year to help cover their costs. My Firm sponsors several local ammie athletes and let me tell you, the reception, gratitude and thanks is amazing, especially when there is a lack of funding at the lower levels.

Please please please cover your costs FIRST, then worry about everything else. Because after all...if you ain't at the events, then we ain't getting any more of the 'Worst Videos Ever'...which I think is about due for a name change, but, that's a different story.

PS - Lisab - "Cube Farm"...I've never heard that one, I LOVE it and plan on using it!

If advertising means keeping this site and the people that run and contribute to it going strong, then I say bring it on. With that said, though, I'd want the advertisers to be for things that you think we might be interested in. Also, I hated where the twitter feed was located (thank you for moving it to the side), so ad location is important to me (I'd want it to enhance my awesome EN experience, not detract). Depending on price, I'd be interested in advertising my little Virginia equine law business.

yes I think you are ready and for selfish reasons I dont want you to go anywhere. I am addicted to you people!!

that and I would love to have an eventing nation hat!!

You haven't heard of the cube farm? And when someone makes a racket (or goes off the deep end), we all pop our heads up from our chairs, that's called prairie dogging.
Also, a cube is a sensory deprivation chamber.
AH! Contest!
See who has the most horse stuff in their cube! Or office(cough cough, management, pointy-haired boss)
Keeps me motivated!

Lisab - NO!!! We call our cube farm the 'Bullpen'.
Humm - I have heard of prarie dogging before...but, I think how I know it and you know it are verrryyyyy different definitions and since this is a PG rated site (I think?!), I won't give you my definition of it...ha
That contest idea is a good one...although, I would lose Big Time...just one little pic of Chester and I in my office....

Take the money!

You need a five year business plan for sure. You have a great little snowball growing here, run with it. No one has succeeded in making a secondary eventing info source (outside the USEA, USEF and the Chron) and I think you have approached it correctly - small and building, not in it to make $$ and sheer joy of the sport.

Absolutely advertising. I follow many blogs about many topics and the amount of people that blog full time and have been able to quit their full time jobs is astounding, all from advertising. It also opens up other doors for them too. You HAVE to advertise, and then have weekly product give aways, free from those advertisers. I don't know what your unique visitor rate is, but I bet its high. I bet advertisers are beating down your door.

You have to at the very least cover your costs. This is one of the few sites that my company hasn't banned on our internet so its one of my few equine indulgences in the day at the CUBE FARM!! Live our dream, if you build it, they will come:-)

I agree with throwing some ads in. I really don't think you need to worry about a 5 year plan. Have fun with it, but the idea of doing this for the next 10 years is a little worrysome. Just ask useventhorse.com; eventingetc.com; and Phelps Media Group about their 10 year plans. The subscription idea will not work at all. It is what crashed useventhorse back in the day b/c everyone just shared the passwords.

By all means run ads and take $$$. But please don't allow yourself to slide into the pathetically cheezy world of 'advertorial' content. (The USEA, a 501c3 fergodsake, does this to an embarrassing degree.) Your brand is all about independence and opinion and insanity in the middle so whatever you decide to do, don't sully it with mentions of sponsors' products.

GO FOR IT! I check this site every single day. This is EXACTLY what advertisers are looking for to expand their brands using social media and viral marketing. You have a great thing going here - take it to the next level. Can't wait to see what comes next.

Absolutely you should use advertising to cover your costs. However, one thing I love about this site is that it's balls out. Please leave yourself in a position to be able to "lose" an ad if there is ever an attempt to censor what is put on this site.

I also hope that it remains just eventing with a hair of other stuff as it is now. I think it's pretty special to have a site devoted to eventing that the others can envy ;)

Fabulous job