Subscribers - competitions & giveaways

[J*B]

Hello everybody. 

There’s been a bit of talk recently about the ads on the site, so I wanted to clarify the position of the site. 

BRFCS is a not for profit (so far this year we’ve donated to Rovers Ladies, Tony Parkes, Rio Spurr amongst others) and as such is ran pretty close to the wire financially. We make revenue in three main ways: Adverts, BRFCS premium and sponsorship (thanks The Terrace, Rovers Trust). The ads are our biggest source of income, but income that is based on site visits. So during the season, especially around ‘big’ games the site does well and out of season the site doesn’t do well. 

We offer ‘premium’, which is an ad free experience so that anyone that either doesn’t like adverts or wants to help support the site has an option to do so. We don’t want to get into the world of asking for donations, so Premium is the offering for anyone wanting to support the site. 

As it’s off-season, this is a gentle reminder that if you enjoy BRFCS, or would like to say thanks to the team that work on it for free and give something back, premium is available here if you can afford to do so : https://brfcs.com/magazine/premium and you can read more here: 

 

[Miller11]

From a user point of view, premium is absolutely brilliant! I couldn’t go back to the ad version now, well worth the small fee for the convenience.

Trust me regulars, you won’t regret it!

[Mattyblue]

Obviously I wouldn’t expect it to be as busy in the summer as when we’d had a 95th minute equaliser at PNE 🤦‍♂️ , but is it substantially quieter than a normal week in the season? As the transfer thread is pretty ‘Hot’ every day, especially when a transfer is imminent.

[J*B]

2 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Obviously I wouldn’t expect it to be as busy in the summer as when we’d had a 95th minute equaliser at PNE 🤦‍♂️ , but is it substantially quieter than a normal week in the season? As the transfer thread is pretty ‘Hot’ every day, especially when a transfer is imminent.

It’s a little complicated because we get paid based on the amount the ad space is valued at by the company that runs them. At Christmas or during January sales or near Father’s Day, ads are expensive because more people are advertising, so even if we don’t get many people on the site the payment is enough.

The bigger issue is during the summer months there’s nothing on event wise that advertisers want to spend money on. So the value of the adverts is low and the number of site visitors drops as well. The two combined can be a touch concerning.

It’s very interesting looking at the data though. Ennis signing had very little effect. Tronstad saw a little boost, perhaps an early cup game against a lower league side. Sigurdsson brought more numbers than a match day would. 

[Mattyblue]

Same with ST sales, minimal spike for the first two signings, mega one (relatively speaking) for Sigurdsson. 

Obviously a very switched on fanbase when it comes to Icelandic Russian based (via Sweden) footballers.
 

 

 

[JohnD]

I love the ad free experience! Thanks 

[Ianrally]

I am very interested in signing up when you consider the cost versus the cost of a replica shirt these days. I would rather contribute to help keep this site going.

If like the idea of the one month trial and the cancelling after one month and taking up the annual subscription, but where do I go to do that?

[J*B]

1 hour ago, Ianrally said:

I am very interested in signing up when you consider the cost versus the cost of a replica shirt these days. I would rather contribute to help keep this site going.

If like the idea of the one month trial and the cancelling after one month and taking up the annual subscription, but where do I go to do that?

The subscription options are here: https://www.brfcs.com/subscriptions/

There isn’t a one month trial, there’s a reduced cost of £1.99 for one month on the monthly. That can be cancelled during month one, then you can buy the annual for £39.99/year giving you 13 months for £3.23 / month. 

[Ianrally]

Sorry my fault I wasn't very clear.

It is after I subscribe for the one month, where do I then go to cancel that, and then subscribe to the annual subscription?

[J*B]

56 minutes ago, Ianrally said:

Sorry my fault I wasn't very clear.

It is after I subscribe for the one month, where do I then go to cancel that, and then subscribe to the annual subscription?

It should explain in the emailing confirming you’ve signed up 🙂

[bazza]

I agree with Miller. I've signed up and it's such a pleasure to have no annoying ads.

 

[norwichblue]

Just signed up. It’s so much faster and more enjoyable without ads. Thanks!

[Ianrally]

I have just signed up too. Well worth it!

[JohnD]

Perhaps if it was cheaper they'd sell more? 🤠

[J*B]

6 hours ago, JohnD said:

Perhaps if it was cheaper they'd sell more? 🤠

We’ve done all we can. 

[Mattyblue]

Need more signings, Nixon was months ago.

[Eddie]

I don't have a problem with the ads, but I do have a problem with the number of ads and the number of popups. I think it massively impacts the experience on the website and at times makes it almost unvisitable.

Now, you might say that I could just sign up and get rid of them, but I actually feel less inclined to subscribe when the user experience is being placed after revenue.

This feels like stepping back into a website from the early 2000s and it's a real shame. 

 

[J*B]

59 minutes ago, Eddie said:

I don't have a problem with the ads, but I do have a problem with the number of ads and the number of popups. I think it massively impacts the experience on the website and at times makes it almost unvisitable.

Now, you might say that I could just sign up and get rid of them, but I actually feel less inclined to subscribe when the user experience is being placed after revenue.

This feels like stepping back into a website from the early 2000s and it's a real shame. 

 

If you screenshot any that are overly intrusive we can block them for you (if we agree), this shouldn’t be the case.

We already block a lot of ads, including the ‘big’ money which is in gambling, crypto and vaping ads. So if anyone sees any of these especially please send them in either on PM to myself or email to [email protected].

The company that hosts the ads are always on at us to have more - full screen ones, ones that move. We tell them we don’t want them either. We are actively trying to not be dickheads with the advertising. The reality is the site I took over in 2017 would have gone under in 2020 if we hadn’t been proactive and put proper advertising in. The IT costs have spiralled and need to be paid for somehow. 

[Mike E]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

I don't have a problem with the ads, but I do have a problem with the number of ads and the number of popups. I think it massively impacts the experience on the website and at times makes it almost unvisitable.

Now, you might say that I could just sign up and get rid of them, but I actually feel less inclined to subscribe when the user experience is being placed after revenue.

This feels like stepping back into a website from the early 2000s and it's a real shame. 

 

Without that revenue there wouldn’t BE any user experience because there’d be no BRFCS.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Mike E

[Herbie6590]

12 hours ago, JohnD said:

Perhaps if it was cheaper they'd sell more? 🤠

“We believe that there are cheaper options at Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers & Wigan Athletic…” etc & so on 😆

[Eddie]

32 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Without that revenue there wouldn’t BE any user experience because there’d be no BRFCS.

I don't doubt @J*B's assessment and I know that this is a world that he's very familiar.

But, as someone who works on helping tech companies optimize their online experience (admittedly not through messageboards), I find it hard to believe that such an unappealing ad experience is the best course of action.

Every visit and new page comes with a new pop-up. I don't believe in adblockers, but this website gets me closer to changing my mind than anything else ever has. 

[J*B]

If you — or perhaps someone you know — can recommend any other options I’d be happy to look into them @Eddie .

[JohnD]

1 hour ago, Herbie6590 said:

“We believe that there are cheaper options at Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers & Wigan Athletic…” etc & so on 😆

Yes indeed 🤠

[Mike E]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

I don't doubt @J*B's assessment and I know that this is a world that he's very familiar.

But, as someone who works on helping tech companies optimize their online experience (admittedly not through messageboards), I find it hard to believe that such an unappealing ad experience is the best course of action.

Every visit and new page comes with a new pop-up. I don't believe in adblockers, but this website gets me closer to changing my mind than anything else ever has. 

Have you considered doing something helpful and reaching out to the site with a better solution?

[Eddie]

42 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Have you considered doing something helpful and reaching out to the site with a better solution?

I've contributed to the site in the past as an admin and through content and, as I acknowledged in my original post, I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to a messageboard.

If we were talking about a standard CMS, reducing hosting costs, dealing with normal website issues then I could be of some use, but I'm sure that everyone involved knows far more than I do when it comes to the platform that they currently use and other options that might be available.