What's happening next ?

[JEZ 280ZX]

Hi,
Good point!...although I tend just to hit the "new posts" button , see what's new.
Perhaps we could do with a "latest Hot topic" forum and lose one of the other forums, as there's already a "General Discussion" and "views and chit chat" forum plus "anything and everything" too!
Cheerz,
JEZ

 

[STEVE BURNS]

Just an update I have been leaving pms on the 350z forum for thier main guy to contact me as for the last week his mobile has only been taking voice messages

 

[grolls]

Iv'e said it before but for those that missed it,

"you have to have some thing that people want and not just idle chit chat"

Build up a tecnical data base that is only accessible by members and then advertise that fact when you enter the site. This should start from 240 to 350

I think the people that would be affected most if the site was to ever close would be the ones that sell cars and spares within the site. The real shame is these people have an absolute mountain of information stored in their heads and choose not to share it! A big task i know and lots of time taken up.

you only have to look at the basic electrical posts i started to see their is over 600 views and no reply postings so that would tell me there is an interest in this sort of data.

 

[STEVE BURNS]

does anyone know the content of Albrecht's missing post I know the whole post was up for only 40 minutes before it was deleted by mistake but surly some one rememers the basic content

 

[DJZ 60]

Evenin all.
All paid up member's,be they Active or inactive are the life & blood of the Zclub. This is the main revenue & income which is used toward's the Club
magazine. To broaden the income the Club would have to diversify the income
& this is my suggestion & an idea thats been perculating in my head since last
summer.
Whilst the current magazine is still in print,set a team allocated to
filming Z event's,restoration features,track & other Z related content.
This can be collected,inclusive of 'trade' advertising(revenue) & edited
into a Z CLUB DVD.
This 'dvd' can be duplicated(Cheaper)as & when required,Downloaded
off the website(saving on postage) & can have 'world' Z footage E-mailed to the club. On a 'Trial' basis ,& to begin with,a simple camcorder will suffice,in
gathering all the footage. If this work's & I don't see why not,than a Club DVD
would be cheaper than the 12 grand spent on the magazine.
I have spoken to the right honourable 'EDITOR' Steve Skiddell, last summer about this idea & He could edit the DVD as he edit's the Magazine.

Genious at work.................... DJZ 60.
Most people own Camcorder's,& footage can be sent by eveyone,anywhere.

 

[Zbirdy]

Im posting this quick reply, having read steve burns post enlighting us all about the costs of the magazine, and the revenue coming into the club. Im sure my comments are mirrored by some other members replies, (Cant see any other replies as they wont load at present) so im posting my thoughts anyway.
Look, it strikes me that the club is heading for trouble, and I agree with Sean, we should be right to be bloody worried. I love the mag, but to be honest there's not really shed loads of anything in it! Its interesting etc etc, but its read cover to cover in an hour, so 4 mags pa, @ £14.500, this club is heading for broke, unless we make a decision. I think we should consider either Seans idea of a download mag, or if members dont like this, then surely they would be happy to pay more, I would be happy if the club doubled the membership fee. I know what many will say, Other clubs this, other clubs that, who gives a monkeys, if you enjoy something, what the heck, if you pay 40 quid a year, its peanuts. Its either pay or lose the club in my opinion.

 

[zbloke]

Increase memberships fees

Keep the Z Club magazine as it is

Have a paid up Z Club members only area on the website

Tim

 

[Zbirdy]

Yes I agree Tim, but how many will grumble at an increase, the sort im proposing, sounds a lot because its a large jump, but if you work it out???

200 cigarettes p/a = £40.00 not even one a day.
I Spend 6 times this amount each year on classic car mags for gods sake.
Your right we can keep the mag, and have an even better website, and money in the pot to spare, if the club could take the drastic step on these lines.
I propose that the club consider this, by writing to every member and gauging a reaction.

 

[Russ]

Maybe put some sort of referendum in the next magazine?

 

[grolls]

to be rather frank i was a member of a bike cub a few years ago(6 ish) the fee for the club was about the £60.00 mark, they produced a quartally black and white paper mag and had one meet a year. they had alot of money in the bank so to speak and bought quality trophies to give away at the meet.

regarding the issue of our subs= far too cheap.

as for the mag= we cant afford a big glossy one 4 times a year.

no im not suggesting a 1/4 black and white mag, but maybe every other or just a summer colour one.

 

[JEZ 280ZX]

Hi,
I think that if you put up the membership fee by that amount, then you would lose a percentage of the current inactive membership and be no better off!
The active members would simply be paying more for what they already have!
Increasing fees isn't going to encourage new members...which is what's needed over the long term!

Cheerz,
JEZ

 

[grolls]

Hi,
I think that if you put up the membership fee by that amount, then you would lose a percentage of the current inactive membership and be no better off!

The active members would simply be paying more for what they already have!
Increasing fees isn't going to encourage new members...which is what's needed over the long term!

Cheerz,
JEZ

I wasn't suggesting the club puts the membership up that much but i was however trying to show how little the club charges for membership.

As for attracting new members the price really isn't that important( would be if it was £100 lets say) because it's silly cheap now and we can't attract them.

What is important is offering a member something he needs for example; cheaper insurance, top quality help and advice and the sence of pride to belong to a quality club. i know we have most of this now but it's very hit and miss, im sure most of you would aggree.

The club has but one tool ; THIS SITE. lets be realistic here, why should any one in their right mind join the club when we give all our information away for free?

set a date to lock the site, email and write to everyone to invite them to join would be my answer.

 

[DJZ 60]

'Praise thee Club......

Independent opinion.
Keep prices,reasonable i.e,not too high.More 'head's per
seat,or 'through the door' is better than three people on a plane,or ten people
in a large venue:Point: Raise price's & you find difficulty in attracting both new
member's & keeping existing one's.
Make the site 'Attractive',giving the web surfer a taste of what is
available,but only make available the Galleries, post's & event's.(not forgetting) Membership detail's on the banner.
' Lock' & prohibit access to Part's,sale's,Tech Info,Z world contact's, &
anything that allow's Non-paid & non Z Club Member's Free 'Gain's' from the
club. Put the word out .......

' BECOME A MEMBER,& REAP THE BENIFIT'S............
The Z club Magazine Is ExZellent,& Skiddell is doing a fine job,considering the
situation,which in itself is not as bad as some make out. This Z club has been
around for year's & has overcome much,much more than this current issue,
which by those in the Commitee,Admin,Club are tackling daily.
DJZ 60.

 

[status]

if you do away with the mag you will lose members,i for one and i know of quite a few more feel the same.put the bloody subs up 35 quid and see wot happens,aint a lot of dosh,

 

[grolls]

well there have certainly been alot of viewings and replies, can i ask "where do we go from here"?

 

[Zed2k]

Just an idea but would it be worth while concidering charging a subscription fee for the magazine on top of the membership fee. On average if you go into a newsagent and but a classic car mag it costs £3.50 so even if you say charge £2.50 or even £1.75 per mag that the members could subscribe to at the time of re-newing their membership then pehaps that would be able to help cover some of the costs of the mag.
As it appears to me, it is only a small amount of the actual members that use the website I feel that it would not work having a web only magazine, Nick and I being local group organizers we get alot of praise from our local group members from putting group reports into the mag and alot of them don't use the website, so they wouldn't then get to see their local group reports, and that to me would spoil all of the enjoyment of seeing our cars and our write-ups in print........
Just an idea...........
Michelle

 

[zbloke]

The Z Club magazine was the main source of information/articles/meetings/parts needed & for sale long before the website, and to some members it could still be the main point of contact with the Club, getting rid of it would be a big mistake

Tim

 

[SeanDezart]

Haven't been able to get on the site - no tech problem just geography and lack of weekend time - sorry !

Bearing in mind that this thread has been replied to by a minority of paid up club members (and even a minority of site users) the consensus is to keep the magazine !

In it's present form or reduced to 2x colour, 2 x black and white, 4x part colour/part black and white - needs to be discussed ! But the amount of money put out on the mag needs to be reduced, I believe.
This has been done before and was rectified later and has grown into the thicker full colour mag we appreciate today !

Obviously more money must be brought in !!!

The consensus is that the m/ship fee should go up !

The consensus is that the site should be locked down and available only to fully paid up members, with a free period (period to be discussed but keep it short !) to allow potential members to see what can be gained by joining !
There still needs to be a small part accessible - even just the front page or perhaps a second - listing the forum topics being discussed ?

Traders sections and banners are great developments !

All the other smaller ideas need to be discussed in epth and perhaps adopted where relevant BUT they must all be discussed and acted upon by our committee, a proactive committee led by pro-active leaders !!!

It takes a long time to create a successful club and it doesn't take long to see it slide down - like a flower garden or similar simily (sorry for the spelling) it needs constant attention and watching.

I implore those who have the power here to exercise it judiciously !

 

[status]

quite right flower

 

[grolls]

Am i right assuming only one trader has decided to purchase a banner?

If thats correct im shocked! Have all the z shops been offered a banner?