META: Desired Perks for MGOBLOG Paid Subscribers

-Ability to edit an OP (why isn't this in yet?)

-Ability to direct embed without having to upload images which sucks btw

These are just shortcoming of the current site, not 'perks' that people should pay for.  

On the old forum, I used to go to Amazon through this site and make purchases there. MgoBlog would get a kick back from that. I don't see this as an option anymore.

This website’s functionality has a long way to go before it’s worthy of a paid subscription. 

honestly?  i support a few patreons, just because i appreciate the content they provide and because they deserve to get paid for their work.  a couple of them do (very intermittent) 'after the podcast' podcasts that are less formal but still entertaining, but i'd support them either way.

fact is, if there's ever a patreon for mgoblog, i will pay a few bucks a month whether or not there are additional perks.

hang on - i do want one thing - to never, never, never see that freaking hairy dude hoodie ad ever again.  please.  take my money.

Potentially tailgate and some gameday perks.

I enjoy the podcasts a lot, so an extra pod would be cool. Could be more history based in the offseason. "Brian's Ann Arbor Local Politics Corner." I just need more Brian coughing in my life and am willing to spend money to get it. 

I'd pay if it meant access to all the content Brian doesn't write when we lose and he's forlorn.

That's the only substantive thing this space is lacking for me. Shared catharsis in bad times. Seeing the author vent (long[!] form prose) through it and, with no shortage of nuance, dive into why it happened.

Not fixing this problem (or letting me subsidize a fix) is the only thing hurting my long term view of the blog. It's just one detractor, but it's a Heavyweight.

If this goes to a pay site then I'll stop coming. I took advantage of a 247 deal a while back and I dont think you could get more for your buck than them.

I never understood the big deal about embedding images. You can copy paste an image in the text box with the same result.

Same thing with embedding tweets. Just use the source icon and copy paste the embed tweets from twitter.

Some regularly scheduled "insider" Q & A sessions with Brian / Seth / etc. on any topic.

I think any common-sense usability features related to the site should be made available to all.  Restricting them to paying members would be technically challenging and bad for the community.  Content-wise, I'm just not sure how much more Brian et. al. can produce — not seeing a lot of opportunity for new stuff just for paying members.

I think these are the relatively low-hanging fruit opportunities:

- Bring back the app (1-time fee, or even a monthly subscription).  If the "problem" with the old app was that it was hogging resources or siphoning ad revenue, address it with transparent fees and make it supported.

- Access to UFRs and/or some other content early.  Don't love this idea but it wouldn't require more new content, just restricting access temporarily.

- Subscribers-only Q/As in podcast form (or some other more engaging content format)

- Subscribers-only live chat platform (Discord, etc.)

One successful thing I've seen is having a discord or slack channel or something where paid subscribers can interact with people from the organization on a weekly basis (a podcast I listen to does this). They also have a tier where you get to be a guest podcaster with them for an episode. I think both of those would be well received by potential MGoPatrons. Whether or not Brian could actually tolerate an in-person interaction with some of the... personalities... on here might be another story.

If paying meant I could get a functional website where I could see things like when someone replies to me or actually use it on mobile, that would be cool. Otherwise, no thanks.

May be good ideas IF they could deliver on the upgrades.  Haven't proven they can deliver however.

How about only paid subscribers start threads???

Fees won’t rid us of the idiots. Go look at 247.

Make political comments without fear of deletion AND only other paying subscribers can respond to them, so we can have VIP political disputes on the blog

Just listened to most of the podcast and provides some better context. It was a shorter blurb and sounds like more or less just sort of getting the conversation going. 

The challenge is message boards are free. Awesome working, fantastic, message boards are free. I don't know how you'd monetize that. Unless you are selling something illegal and providing sources I just don't know how you charge for a message board. 

You could also charge for access to some of the awesome articles on this site but people like me are accustomed to getting them free and those are the types of things that are free around the internet.  

The crux of the issue is premium content is now free online. Charging for it will just drive traffic down. I would charge a one time fee for a good working app (I'd pay $5) and put all my effort into increasing traffic. Instead of thinking "how can I charge" I'd be thinking "How can I provide better, free content to increase traffic". 

Also, could the site get into more apparel sales? You focus on increasing traffic, get more ad revenue, and give people more tangible things to purchase. Almost every message board has gone to that strategy. 

Personally, I'd also expand the message board. Bodybuilding.com drives a ton of revenue and one of the most popular parts of their forum is the "misc" section where people sit for hours arguing about politics, religion, and bullshit. In fact, that is the most popular section on many message boards. Those sections also help sports boards like this where after football season many people stop coming around. If there was a religion, politics, fitness, etc. section honestly I'd check in all year. Hate that kind of stuff? No problem, don't click on that section.  Drive traffic and how long people stay on the site and sell more shit like t shirts. 

More people, staying longer will drive up the analytics and increase ad revenue. 

Ability to neg trolls (or upvote quality content) at a multiple of one or ten.

Put all the local election and downtown parking lot bitching behind a paywall. 

If monetizing and usefulness to the community goes hand in hand, consider some sort of angies list/Craigslist service section for mgoblog. You could only access it with paid membership, and to post your services, would require advertising payment, perhaps pay for click or monthly.

Michigan is one of the greatest schools in the world, and produces alumni who are leaders and experts in many disciplines. 

Have more complex tax question as a first time day trader with a new inheritance? Good luck getting good advice from the local guy. Some mgoblog guy is probably all over it.

Going international with your startup and need a CFO who speaks several languages? I'd rather post an ad on mgoblog because it's going to be read by some person you would probably mesh well with, and they are probably good at what they do. (My Linkden network is pretty good, but has nowhere near the reach of this blog)

Want to rent your house out for the OSU/um game as you are out of town for Thanksgiving, but you don't trust it to a potential buckeye fan? I sure wouldnt) You'd get better luck listing to the verified Michigan fans only section, here on Mgoblog.

Honestly, the only real question about a potential premium support level is how much it will cost. A lot of site subscriptions are running in the $5 range, which I think is great. I hope the Athletic, for one, succeeds in finding a sustainable business model at that price point. It is cheap enough that I've considered springing for it even given my relatively low interest in paying for sites. Mgoblog at that price point is a no-brainer.

But it remains to be answered whether or not that price point will produce enough revenue for Mgoblog to be sustainable. It doesn't have the staff of the Athletic or of, say, the Washington Post. But the dedicated user base is smaller, too. 

Features I want? Probably HTTV or perhaps another publication and a t-shirt, as Brian mentioned. Ad-free would be necessary (I resisted using adblocker for a long time, but frankly the content of the ads prevented me from having the site open in public places otherwise and I had to turn it on). I wouldn't mind some small user-premium features, like a monthly Q & A with Brian or something, as long as the major stuff remained publicly available. I like the OP's suggestions for customizable taglines and titles. 

I think a lot of what people are asking for here regarding the structure of the site (editable OPs, etc) are things that would be available to anyone if they were available at all. It's not like the inability to edit OPs is just an arbitrary decision; it's a site build issue. 

I would for sure pay a subscription for no ads and a more "walled garden" approach. 

its a catch-22.

i understand wanting a subscriber base to ensure the that content stays high quality and constant... no problem with it to be honest... pro-rated on how often i check into the site over the year, and i spend more money on coffee every day...

the only issue of subscribers is where you lose the message board banter... i appreciate UMHoop for their content, but haven't yet posted on their boards as its pretty quiet there...

i think an ignore feature is a definite must if posters are paying though as you want a bit more control of your experience if you are paying for it.