This site and the commentluv plugin has taken more of my time over the past few years than I care to disclose (for fear of my partner reading it!) and well, it’s starting to take it’s toll. I work pretty much full time with our offline business (A busy Chinese takeaway in Lancaster) and it’s not just the amount of time I put in to the code to keep the plugin up to date or to keep the content flowing on the blog, the tutorials and the support. It’s also the amount of money I have to shell out of my own pocket to pay for the server and bandwidth.
So far, it’s been a great hobby and the cost has been what any other of my would-be hobbies would cost, sort of. Maybe a huge tad bit more so I need to find a way to monetize this site enough so that it can at least pay it’s own hosting bill and leave me to worry about better things like new versions of the plugin and more features for the blog and sub blogs.
This is where I need your help, I need your opinions on some of the things I have thought of to bring in some money and any ideas of things I haven’t thought of yet..
Charging for more urls
Any user can receive 10x the luv when they register their url here, that’s going to stay free for each registered user but, I receive requests almost every day from people wanting to register more than one url per account so they can have all their blogs receive 10x the luv when they comment with their urls.
I propose to charge a small fee for the ability to register additional urls per account. I’m thinking on the lines of $5 per year per url.
A user could buy credits at $5 each or 3 for $12 and each credit allows them to register one more url to receive 10 posts returned when they comment using that url.
Charge for the featured site position
The featured site position has proven to be a good source of click-thrus for the site that occupies it, especially from links within the bi-monthly newsletter.
I propose to charge a user $25 for 2 weeks in the featured site box and one mention in the newsletter. Obviously this isn’t going to pay for even a weeks hosting but it’ll help a little bit.
Newsletter Advertising
The bi-monthly newsletter goes out to nearly 10,000 double opt in subscribers and has an open rate of around 30% (based on people who don’t block images in their emails). The click thrus always enter double digits for each link.
I propose a charge of $15 per link added to the newsletter with a maximum of 5 links per sending.
Or, a $40 charge for a sub heading, review and link with a maximum of 2 per sending.
Banner ad on the info panel
This would add a small banner to below the info panel that is shown when someone hovers over the little heart next to a last blog post.
There are about 20,000 views per month on info panels
$ charge????
Custom theme for a blog
There are a number of themes that can be chosen from within the dashboard for a ComLuv blog but how about a way for you to upload your own theme for a charge? The theme would have to be tested by me to make sure it doesn’t break anything on the main site but the option could be there.
Minor fix it service
A number of bloggers find it hard to edit the code necessary to make little things work with their theme like adding the code to the comments.php file for the comment form action or adding custom code to allow their own stylised twitter field.
I propose a small charge system where a user can pay a nominal fee like 5 or 10 dollars and get me to do the work for them
Sell the site, whole kit and caboodle
This is a last resort but it’s starting to become more appealing as I find myself with less and less time to spend with my loved ones.
The whole kit and caboodle would include,
13,000 + registered users
10,000~ double opt in subscribers
An enterprise edition of a professional mailing software with subscription facility for paid members (like aweber)
Access to 150,000+ blogs that have the plugin installed.
A professionally installed WPMu platform on a dedicated server running on a super fast pipe, over 1000 blogs that are active and a control of adsense on each of them along with supporter plugin and other supported custom code.
more ideas?
I’d be really interested in hearing your ideas about what extras you think would be worth paying for and would really love to hear any ideas you have about extra things that can be brought to Comluv and the plugin so please leave a comment even if it’s “no way I would pay!”.
I know a lot of bloggers moan about new charges on free tools, but I for one do not mind contributing if it means keeping a great plugin like CommentLuv around. This is one of the first plugins I recommend to any blogger I coach- it’s by far one of the most useful out there.
I would definitely integrate advertising asap. Even if you do decide to sell in the future (ya, contact me first!) your value is up’d.
BrilliantJeni´s last blog ..Page Rank is sooooo 2008
Twitter: commentluv
says:
I’ve been thinking about adding banners to the info panel but I wasn’t sure how users would react. The code to do it isn’t too hard but finding the people to pay to advertise on there is!
I might give it a trial run with some ads I have running for my own affiliate things to see how the reaction is.
thanks for the feedback!
Twitter: dannytv
says:
Hi Andy,
If you are finding yourself overwhelmed I would be more than happy to help out with some of the coding or support.
Twitter: commentluv
says:
that’s a generous offer thanks Danny!
I have thought about getting in some help with coding but the problem is that the code is quite complex and I can’t help but think I’m the only one that understands it! just adding a bit to allow advertising would have to integrate pretty tightly with the existing code and api which would take some doing if you weren’t familiar with how the flow goes.
Ron, the guy I got to do the first iteration of the API did a fantastic job but that took cool hard cash to get done and I think getting any help that I could use would take it beyond the person being able to ‘donate’ the time.
maybe I could look for a partner for the site but it’ll be hard without the site making a decent amount of money first.
thanks for your feedback!, (more) things for me to think about :0)
Twitter: psychicgeek
says:
I believe you should be compensated for all the work you do, and the first thing you need to do is charge for code support. That has to be a major time suck right there.
psychicgeek´s last blog ..Bust A Move
Twitter: commentluv
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lol, it’s true! supporting the squillions of users does take almost all of my spare computer time. It’s not so bad when it’s an error with the code but it’s frustrating to go and investigate a blog that’s having problems only to find that it could have been fixed if they’d only read the instructions!
I might be able to add a priority support option that requires a small payment I suppose. I’d have to do a lot of support to pay the bills though!
thanks for your support Witchypoo!
I think u should charge for custom codes and support. if u dont…then u r not doing justice with the amount of time & sincerity u devote to this project which is so wonderful..cool and helpful. I think u can and should start charging for coding helps…plz do …it would be pain full to see a creation, so wonderful going out of its creators hands..
Riju´s last blog ..Nellie’s Dryer Balls Review
Twitter: Bytefulcom
says:
Yeah, Andy, charging for support at this stage in the game is not unreasonable. It’s your time, after all.
Unless you find someone who is really passionate about the future of ComLuv, I’d highly recommend you retain ownership of the site for the foreseeable future, otherwise you could see your baby (comluv) go in a direction you might regret.
I think you should experiment with all of your sponsorship ideas though. Those look very promising, and I’m a little surprised you haven’t tried some of them earlier. You’ve made such a useful plugin that has the potential to change blogging forever. Don’t let it founder now, stick with it!
Byteful Traveller´s last blog ..Travel Writers Need Time to Reflect, too.
Twitter: commentluv
says:
Thanks for your feedback! I have made some good changes to the server code this week and I’ve got some code ready for adding into the site for payments for things like code modifcation and other things. I am working on a way to integrate it with the affiliate process so a user can refer someone here and if they go on to pay for anything on the site then the referrer gets a commission. I am pretty sure I’ll set it to permanent so once you refer someone, everything they purchase gets you a commission for the life of the user.
Thanks for the new images you sent! I haven’t gotten around to putting them in yet but I will!
Twitter: lemondroppie
says:
I was amazed when I discovered you don’t make anything for commentluv! I think it’s a great plugin, and I really miss having it as part of my blog comments. (I got rid of Echo since it was driving me crazy, and am looking forward to seeing how intense debate works out.) I think you have some good ideas on how to earn something for all the work you do. Good luck!
Ginny Marie´s last blog ..Random Tuesday Thoughts
Twitter: commentluv
says:
Thanks for your feedback! I have no end of ideas, it’s just time that is the biggest factor in all the things I have planned. My first goal is to finished off the code for intense debate commentluv, i could have had it done ages ago but I need a few hours of quiet time and that’s a rare thing around here lately!
I can do bits here and there that can be done for a short session at a time but coding something requires me to have a few hours uninterrupted and there’s a bunch of other stuff that needs code in the backend to be working first.
oh the fun! lol. I’ll get some time and it’ll all come together soon. it normally does.
Twitter: QueenKatherine
says:
Andy – The one time I had an issue, you replied (with a response even I could understand!) in no time flat…unheard of. You definitely should start charging for that – I was actually quite surprised you don’t. I can’t imagine the time/money/energy/effort this awesome plugin takes – and you have to be compensated, period. At the very least you must have your expenses covered. I think we all appreciate you doing this because it’s a hobby you enjoy – but I think we all also understand the concept of cost. If you don’t get some of these issues to ease up really soon, you’ll get burned out and either begin to resent the site/members, or not want to do it anymore. No one wants that.
I don’t have any super suggestions for you – this isn’t my area. However, I do think that immediately instituting a fee for the extra work you do is a no-brainer. You do a lot of work – and it’s past time to be compensated for it. Just a thought…but I’m not the only one who would be bummed if you got burned out. I can deal with ad banners and fees better than no CommentLuv!
QueenKatherine´s last blog ..How to import your blogger blog
Twitter: commentluv
says:
thanks for letting me know! it’s no emergency yet, I was just putting some ideas out there for what could keep me doing this side of the site so it doesn’t become a chore. I do have a few ideas that I’d like to try that would tell me if it’s worth expanding further. Once I get some time to dedicate to the site and only the site then I will have much magic to show! I’ve gotta work hard with my partner and her brother on the Chinese takeaway we run in Lancaster first and then I’ll be able to put some cycles in to the code again.
thanks for your support!
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
says:
Hi Andy,
Please don’t leave us! Your plug-in really does spread love. It feels like what you’re asking is how do you structure things so you have buckets for the luv to flow back to you – big buckets for receiving lots of love!
Something that works for http://www.blogsbywomen.org – that I currently pay for – is asking people to pay for being a featured blog. They have a bar on all of their pages that shows a rotating gallery of featured blogs. I think I paid $30 for 3 months. I’m only new so I’m delighted with any traffic coming my way. I get a consistent flow of new readers. I don’t expect to see my blog on the gallery straight away – I always hit refresh to see how many flips before I see myself.
I’m also at spot number 7 on their list of 67 blogs in the Pop Culture section. When I get one more point, I’ll be in the #3 position (don’t even know how I get points). It would be great to see which bloggers comment MOST on comluv blogs. Do you already have that info handy? Maybe you could even run it as a contest with the winner being Featured Blog. I would most def comment on that person’s blog.
Maybe you could do two galleries – one we have to work for and one we have to pay for. I’ll keep thinking. You can’t catch a tsunami of luv with your hands, son. We’ll help you figure this out.
Cheryl
Cheryl from thatgirlisfunny´s last blog ..51 Must Know Habits for Staying Young – from the Inside Out
Twitter: commentluv
says:
thanks for the suggestions. I do keep the data for comments made so making a list of who comments the most wouldn’t be too hard. Having a popular links page could also be done.
I’ll have to work on some code for displaying it but I’m pretty sure that could work. As always, it’s finding the time. I could get it done externally but if I could find the time to outline what was needed then I’d have enough to actually do it! it’s kind of a catch22 system.
thanks for your support
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
says:
Hello again,
One more thing. I don’t find it easy to locate bloggers using comluv. I’ve sat down this morning to do a comluv journey of happily reading blog posts and commenting on comluv enabled blogs. I tried the search engine and (unless I’m being slightly stupid), the first few links I connected to had interesting content, but no friendly little comluv notice.
So here’s my other suggestion. Someone offered partnership for coding, etc. What if you took on a partner (or several) who specifically contributed brilliant blog posts on the topic of blog commenting strategies. You could feature 5 blogs as examples on each post – would people pay to be featured here? Or maybe provide interesting freebies?
Blog commenting is a well-regarded marketing tool for bloggers. Once I figure out an effective tactic for findng comluv enabled blogs, I’m incorporating this into my daily routine. If you combine that with the two featured galleries previously mentioned, money will flow in beautifully. You’ll need both hands to hold the bucket!
Cheryl
Cheryl from thatgirlisfunny´s last blog ..Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Saying Yes or Saying No
Twitter: commentluv
says:
The search engine brings back pages from the entire domain that has commentluv so you may have to hunt for the blog section of the site.
I have some wicked good plans for an organised commenting strategy, I have autoresponders ready to be filled capture pages and all sorts! they’ll all have to wait while I get my offline stuff sorted
Hi Andy,
I’ve had comment luv on my blogger blog for a long time. You’ve helped me with code in the past. The luv doesn’t seem to work on blogger anymore – I don’t want to port to your site at the moment – and I don’t like js-kit very much without the luv. I tried to remove js-kit but no luck. Can you help me. Helen + ilana = Hi of http://www.DeeplyFelt.com You can reach me at Deeplyfelt @ DeeplyFelt.com
Twitter: commentluv
says:
Hi again,
sorry but I’m removing jskit/echo commentluv from service. There’ll be a new intensedebate commentluv coming soon!
Hey
I’ve realized you are not using any know ad network such as chitika or adsense, maybe just the adsense search service, but what about banners, 336 format works really good, some affiliate programs such as amazon, work great too.
Just my 5 cents.
Twitter: commentluv
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I didn’t want to have ads on the main blog but I might just have to. I’ll investigate what looks good here and see how it goes. thanks for your comment!
Twitter: overseashomes
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Sell Andy. Nothing is that precious that it should take you from spending time with your family. I can’t believe that you have been running this and a chinese. You must be superman or that overdosed on Caffeine!
Twitter: commentluv
says:
I think I had better keep hold of the site until it can produce some revenue, it’s not crippling me to pay for the server so it’d be a shame to not see what it’s capable of producing. And yes, I am overdosed on caffeine!
Andy,
Commentluv is incredible and you have provided a wonderful service that has helped out many people. I would be a shame to see you sell commentluv to some random company that slowly (or quickly) destroys it. Your ideas to make money through commentluv are great and I encourage you to use them. Although I only recently registered a few of my friends have been touting its benefits for a quite a while. Thank you
mwglassmarketing´s last blog ..Some updates on the way
Twitter: commentluv
says:
thanks for your kind words! I will keep it and make it happy. I was after feedback and I certainly got it!
I am testing out some scripts in the background so I can add payment buttons for certain things which can be paid for with credits, some given free when you join and some can be bought at $1 each.
I’m tying it in to the affiliate plugin so we can all share when the site starts to make money!
I have been too busy to follow what is happening with Comment Luv, and I agree with everyone who says that they really enjoy this plugin. I, too, recommend it in my blogging classes, and I hope that you can find a way to keep it going.
Comment Luv creates a sense of community among bloggers, and it allows us to thank our readers and those who participate with a link.
Please keep it going, and do charge some for support above and beyond the norm.
Rocque
Rocque´s last blog ..Blastoff is Here!
Hi Andy – Be encouraged man, you have done an amazing service for the blog world, I know how much lovely traffic CL has generated for me.
I’m really disappointed that the donation Button hasn’t kept you compensated. I was an early customer, and I totally appreciated the personal touch you gave from day 1. I remember having to e-mail you to find where it was hidden, so maybe some more buttons, a bit more prominently displayed??
Everybody understands the need for income to pay the server and other costs, so ramp up the ads where-ever you can. They work for lots of people, and the key factor is exposure/traffic. You have some really good traffic figures, so set them to work. If somebody gets offended by a banner ad, so what? Anybody that silly doesn’t deserve to use CL!.
My own take on all this is that I don’t really want any more bells and whistles with CL, life is complicated enough, and the core functionality is already BRILLIANT!! So back off development [more costs] for a while and concentrate on monetizing your existing structure.
It seems it needs to be said, so please let me post it here right now; “CommentLuv [and its magic inventor Andy Bailey] ROCKS!!!!!”
Rhys´s last blog ..CommentLuv Guarantees Premium Keyword Backlinks
Twitter: commentluv
says:
thanks for your kind words! I have put into process a whole package of upgrades and improvements due to be installed this weekend and added to over the next month that will help the site bring in some money and if it all works, we can all share in the proceeds. I’m ready to start putting in affiliate integration into everything that will be used to earn the site money so everyone who talks about comluv and links to it will be able to earn a comission payment every single time one someone they referred pays for something.
ID commentluv is now out and I have a few minor adjustments to the wordpress plugin to tidy it’s code up a bit and then I can add the things that most people want and that’s more urls per account. I’ll do it via a credits system, 2 credits per url with each new member getting 5 credits when they join. Along with the main url, that means each member will have up to 3 free url registrations.
Thanks so much for your feedback.
Twitter: psitutor
says:
Where is your Donation button …?
I will take the option for a review in next or so newsletter
Am able to refer people to you for tweaking blog bits, as well as myself when my tech is busy; are you familiar with aMember at all…?
Twitter: commentluv
says:
when things are ready, you’ll be able to buy credits to get extra features on a blog or use them to buy advertising on comluv blogs. That’s as good as a donation as any
Nice work Andy. I’m sure it’s only been about a year since you set up comluv (I’ve even got a blog hosted there) so hats off to you.
I’ll be emailing you about a paid placement soon
James´s last blog ..Google Fined For Infringing French Copyright Law