What's happening next ?

Heres my contribution

If anyone would like to join the AA through me i will donate any commisions i recieve to the club funds.

If you are already an AA member and you wish to upgrade your membership, this also attracts commision, this i will also donate to the club fund.

AA membership starts from £45.00 a year dont be shy, give me a ring on 07769541556 or send me a pm and i'll phone you to save you the cost of the call. thanks paul.

next!
 
Get this web site locked down immediately. Get the "Subscribe Now" button on the home page. We are losing potential revenue with every week we prevaricate and delay. Once that is done then we can return to the magazine "problem"
Here is an interim suggestion for this year as a stop gap cost saving measure. Produce two full size glossy "expensive" issues and two laser photocopy, staple it to gether B&W "cheap" issues.
I believe we cannot alter mag frequency without a change to the club constitution, correct me if Im wrong. This way we can continue with 4 issues this year AND save several thousand pounds, paving the way for a new system in 2006.

Thanks must go to Steve for those up to the minute figures. Im sure you will be getting full figures out very soon, so we can all see the full extent of the problems we are facing.


Just to highlight the sheer folly of this "FREE FORUM" bit. Here we are debating the important future of The ZClub and its finances on a freely available PUBLIC FORUM, where anyone can join in without the merest hint of knowledge or interest in The Z Club, and POST their views!!!
HOW BLOODY STUPID IS THAT?????

FFS lets get that Subscribe now button on here tomorrow.
 
The subscribe system is coming, but its quite complicated, I'd say about 50-75% of the work has been done though.
 
SKiddell said:

The Magazine costs in excess of £3k per edition to publish.
Click to expand...
That's peanuts for the quality of mag we get (content and production).

The only way to get the cost per copy down is to increase the number of copies (more members, sell it to more clubs, launch it properly).

In the past, the ZClub had JAE and the mag. Now JAE is independent. Without the mag, and given the mushrooming number of Z/ZX-related forums, ask yourself "why the ZClub"?

We should also ask ourselves "if the ZClub is so good, how come the 300ZX forum started - and the 350Z - etc" what are they offering their members which we are not?
 
Didn't we agree at the last committee meeting to lock the site down ???


Re sending out for tender

Already done it, I work in the print industry and have done for 15 years - I eat, sleep and breath printing every day of my life -- You might save £300 by going elsewhere, but the pain you will go through just in transferring the work is unlikely to be worth it. A quality company like Blackwells makes my life as editor a little easier, as it is it takes many tens of man hours to put an edition together (last one took 100), I cant imagine going to some back street print shop and spending precious time doing their job for them as well as my own. In the print industry you definitely get what you pay for.

BTW the £3k mag costs are made up of things other than Blackwells bill, things like postage, envelopes etc make up several hundred pounds alone

Shouldn't we be dealing with the causes not the symptoms -- our problems are loss of membership and consequently revenue, if this trend continues, the club as it exists today will not survive -- the coffee is brewing, sooner or later folks will smell it.
 
"Shouldn't we be dealing with the causes not the symptoms -- our problems are loss of membership and consequently revenue" - Skiddell has it there !!!

All of this generates secondary questions about how a bit of money might be generated here, how we can save a bit there but the crunch is keeping the membership up and even better, encouraging it to grow ! Like any 'business', this means attracting clients whilst keeping existing ones and being at least one step ahead of your competition !

Who is our competition ?

And if you can't beat 'em, join 'em ! Or, more corectly, work with them !

The idea to have perhaps every other one mag as a laser copy and not printed as a 'get you through the year measure' is not bad, if it doesn't compromise our relationship with Blackwells !

Where are all the other committee members on this subject ? Except Steve Lack as he's looking over my shoulder sipping red wine as I type !!!
Cathy orgainised a surprise 40th birthday party for me (I was expecting a cosy weekend under the covers but that's another story !) !

Grolls - anymore marketing from you and you could end up branded a trader and be asked to pay anyway !
 
Where are all the other committee members on this subject ? Except Steve Lack as he's looking over my shoulder sipping red wine as I type !!!
Click to expand...

Perhaps a little input from Mr Lack in his own words would be good?
The rest of the committee, with a few well known exceptions, have never contributed to this forum.
Some are not even registered on it.
 
Please tell me, why should people pay the Z club if you have a free concurrent on the other side of the ocean??? What’s so refreshing on this site :confused: Don’t send all your comrades away!!:mad:



My motto is: for members by members! Expose yourself to the world…

Don’t kid yourself a full colour magazine, sure it’s nice but how many times do you read it. Once, twice and then? How many people ‘collect’ their magazine?

You are talking about; "raise contribution"… perhaps it is one of the reasons people run away. Can people still afford it????

just my 2cts
 
Ok, you asked for it.

Can the magazine and go internet only; restricited to members with a small section open to tempt new members in. Drop the subscription to say £20 (or whatever is sufficient to keep us online) and bank the remainder. Therefore the Club stays afloat (gets rich over time) and we can spend all that money doing all the shows etc etc and keeping the Club in the public eye promoting ourselves. Hell, one day we might even manage an annual Z Club track day !!!
Any articles that get written can be read online and archived. So instead of having a magazine editor we have an online articles editor - same job, different media.

In the short term we lose a load of members that complain about not having a magazine or not having internet. It doesn't matter, there is no mag' to fund anymore. As long as income is sufficient to keep the site alive, that's all that matters.

In the long term The Club becomes more attractive because of this fantastic website with an abundance of information. We gain members, more income equalls more funds, more funds equalls a more exciting club. We might even end up attracting Z32 and Z33 owners away from their model specific clubs.

Look at it this way; we spend £12k/ annum on a magazine for 500 members. Probably 400 of those members will never do anything for The Club, never write an article for the mag' and never attend (let alone organise) a meeting - why do we care about them ?
 
maybe an online vote due? after all its for the benefit of the club. (obviously member only vote)


for what its worth i think the membership is far too cheap!

lets be realistic where else can you put your for sale bits online for free and im not just talking private sellers, E bay charge so why dont the club? A small fee would help as would just producing a summer and winter mag only and the other two online as the mag. does instill the thoughts of the club again when it drops on the mat so to speak.

oh and sean, i will try very hard not to promote any selling of the AA again to promote club funds ok?
 
I apologise for not responding to this thread earlier but tend not to use the computer at weekends

From the committee point of view, here are a few things that were discussed/agreed at the last meeting

A list of benefits (apart from the magazine) is being worked on.

A concerted drive to improve membership
E mailing lapsed members, magazine give-away, January sale, working with other forums (300 and 350)

Certain traders have agreed to send out a Z Club promotion leaflet to customers when then send out their own stock. This leaflet is being worked on and costed.

Regards to Web Site Committee has agreed
Start Traders Sections (which will bring in some revenue)
Develop Local Group web pages

Committee agreed eventually non-paid members can view home page and Gallery (not up load) will not be able to post/search/PM/e-mail.
Unfortunately this can not happen immediately and will take time. The committee is reliant on the generosity of peoples’ personal time and expertise. The committee admits this is something we should have addressed a while back. Time to look forward not back.

Z Club shop, advertising in the magazine and forum are being revised to increase sales.

The next AGM is at “Z Club back to Billing” show, Saturday 2nd July
Issues of this nature will probably have to be addressed at an AGM and not by a poll on the forum. There will obvious be some important changes discussed at the next AGM and I hope you can all attend.
 
put fees up.keep the mag,zhead is right about tjose that dont bother goung to meets,so who cares about them,no mag and you will lose those too,less funds,think we will have to join the register,ps,r they still about
 
zedhead260 said:
Look at it this way; we spend £12k/ annum on a magazine for 500 members. Probably 400 of those members will never do anything for The Club, never write an article for the mag' and never attend (let alone organise) a meeting - why do we care about them ?
Click to expand...
IMO If you did'nt care about the other 400members then those 400 members would leave and you would end up with only 100 members which wont even cover the cost of 1 mag a year!. As in all clubs the majority of the members do bugger all, there are only a few dedicated members that are passionate about there clubs these people become commitee members and then do all the work for those other 400 that do bugger all. At the moment im one of those 400 that does bugger all,
a) i haven't been a member for a year so i know nothing about the way the club runs yet
b) I have very little tech knowledge so im not able to contibute much on tech questions, im not a computer whizz, i dont feel confindent enough to organize an event
c) Not all of us has the time to dedicate 1 or 2 hours a day or what ever to help run the club
D) I DO CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CLUB i enjoy every minute of the time i spend on the web site, and i go to as many meetings as my time, wife,kids and money will allow
So if i was to take your quote to heart (which i have'nt) then maybe i would cancel my membership
PS Zeadhead 260 not having a pop at you just my opinion :)

Kind Regards
 
PS Zeadhead 260 not having a pop at you just my opinion
Click to expand...

And all opinions are welcomed Neill.
We do need to hear from a wide as possible range of people.
And dont undersell yourself either. You are a fully active member.
 
Neil - you're not doing "bugger all" - you are contributing to this forum actively which is a lot more than about 400 others! At least move yourself up into the top 25% of Club activity!

As "old school" Z Club, I still love our magazine and all that it stands for. It is a great promotion tool. You can hand it out to prospective members, traders, journalists and it very quickly shows what the Club is and where we stand. The quality is way better than virtually every other Club magazine I have seen. There is no substitute for a member seeing "their" car and "their" article in print (assuming that they have been bothered to contribute something) - virtually anyone can have their pride and joy somewhere on the web, from Z Club gallery to personal web page, but the Z Club Magazine is only a small step away from the pleasure of being featured in a National car mag. And, to be fair, the Z Club Magazine is not far short of many National publications in the quality of its production.

The web site has got to be locked down as a supplementary member's resource with only limited access for those not prepared to contribute finacially to its continuation which in turn is a contribution to the continuation of the magazine. The site probably has a place as part of a "web ring" with the other U.K. Z / ZX sites and there is a need for some sort of co-ordination in the efforts of their organisers and ours. The magazine could even continue as a joint publication available to members of 300zx.co.uk and 350zuk.com with each site having its own section and contributors. Meetings could be joint or individual according to the requirements of each group at the time. Local Group activities could easily be expanded on this basis and all groups would thrive. A bigger community would be even more attractive to advertisers and the commerce aspect of the web sites would grow and contribute more to each Club's funds.
 
Hi - I was a member in the old days of the 80's (when I were just a wee lad).
I felt a sense of pride in belonging to the club and enjoyed the old card-covered magazine (still got most of them - though a couple disintegrated when dropped in bath water!! - but that's another story). I went to quite a few meetings and found them friendly and informative.
I then let my membership lapse due to other interests taking precedence.
On getting back the 'Z bug' a few years later, this web site was the main reason for returning. It is excellent in the main and I spend at least 4 nights a week hooking up to see what's going on.
The magazine is now vastly superior in style and can hold itself up to be amongst the best of its type. I continue to enjoy reading about members cars, problems and technical tips. Having a copy around the house means I can pick it up when I want. I don't enjoy sitting on the loo with a laptop! (ah! too much information?).
I believe that two a year of a quality magazine and two of a photo-copy style would be acceptable to the majority of members.
On the subject of the website - I, probably like a lot of other browsers, use this as my 'quiet time' - to see if there is anything of interest, to feel I belong to the club- but also not to have to join in when I don't feel like it.
(In time, I hope to become more involved when I've been to a few meetings).
Reducing the amount of content available to non members might bring a few more into the club (but what parts should be made unavailable?). Some of the queries raised by non-members have resulted in some good threads developing.
More encouragement to join - let's not talk about others 'inactivity' but more about the fantastic way in which those that are active keep this site alive- Mr F, pmac, Grolls, Albrecht and Suzy to name but a few of the regulars.

Good luck in whichever way this evolves.

Zedache
2 x 240Z '73
Member 179
 
I joined the club a couple of years ago when I got my 240Z, I think the magazine is excellent and look forward to reading it, I've been to Billing 2 years running and a show at Kimbolton. That is the Z club to me, I wish there was a local group close to me but there isn't (I did try and drum up some interest but with no luck, and I have travelled down to Brentwood for Mr F's meeting).
The web is a great communication tool but would not be enough on it's own. I only look at the site when I get a quiet minute at work (which isn't very often) and then I only look at the forum and very rarely get time to read half the threads let alone respond to many.
I think the idea of linking up the 300 & 350 sites into your mag is a great idea. I've had my 350Z a year now and do think the club is more 240/260/280 orinated (this is not a critism) so an input into the mag from them will increase the appeal.
I have looked at other z sites but for myself this is the best.
Thanks to all you people who obviously put far more time into organising and running the club and site than I and many people do.
 
If we put bits in about Tts and 350Zs does that mean the mag will be bigger so as to get a bit of everything in
 
Just an opinion....

Here is an opinion…..like any club, the Z Club needs loads of inactive members to provide the funds for the active members to have a nice magazine and club activities!

I do not think the Z Club wants to be just a bunch of people interested in Z’s chatting on a web forum and maybe meeting up once a year.

The website can be a fantastic tool to attract the unwary to Z cars and the Club. Therefore it needs to have at least one brightly coloured page describing the attributes of each car and an open car classifieds section so that people can buy Z’s then join the Club, as I did.

I bought my original 260Z off the Z Club website classified list, before joining the Club, then got hooked on rallying, then bought a 240Z ……etc etc

OK, you can then make much of the forum and some other sections of the site "members only". But there would be nothing more annoying than to be vaguely interested in Z’s only to discover that, when you go to the Z Club website, you cannot find out any details about them or whether there are any for sale!

Also, not much use advertising your car in the classifieds if only Z owners will see the ad!

Anyway, do not listen to me. I am into rallying and just happen to do it in a Z!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top