I've got a question for the community, and I'm asking it before I go any further: would you pay a few bucks a month for a completely ad-free ComicBookMovie.com?
The idea I'm kicking around is pretty simple. An optional subscription that strips every ad off of the site for a small monthly fee, with a discounted rate if you sign up for a full year… Something like 12 months for the price of 10. And as far as pricing goes, I'm thinking somewhere in the $4 - $8 range. Nothing outrageous.
I started coding the bare bones a few years back, but then didn't end up launching it because I got distracted with the sister sites, so nothing has been set in stone.
The free version of CBM you're reading right now wouldn't change. Random visitors see the normal site with ads. Registered users, who are logged into their account, see fewer ads. The new subscription user would have all 3rd party ads removed. Before I jump back into development, I want to hear from the people who would actually use it!
My honest thoughts on ads? I HATE them. I know, I know... they keep the lights on around here, so they're a necessary evil. But I spend a LOT of time on the internet, and reading a site without them is so much nicer.
At the same time, running a site this size isn't cheap. The domain names cost money. The servers cost money. Monitoring costs money. Defending against bots and online attacks costs money. And the members of our Contributor Partner Program earn money through the content they share, so they both make money for the site and cost money. It all adds up.
Ads are what cover all of that today, which brings me to ad-blockers. According to the stats I have available, ad-blocking users make up a very small percentage of users, so they aren't a big problem for CBM. But I've always looked at it this way, and I think I've shared this before: if I owned a restaurant, someone using an ad-blocker is like a customer coming in, eating whatever they want off the menu, and then leaving without paying or tipping the waitress. A subscription would give anyone who hates ads a way to ditch them completely while supporting the site instead. They also wouldn't have to rely on 3rd party software or browser extensions to hide the ads.
Now for the fun part. I've spent the last few years stocking up on limited edition pieces from Sideshow Collectibles with this moment in mind. Take a look at a few of the things that I've put aside:
And this is just the tip of the iceberg to whet your appetite. There's a lot more and MUCH bigger items that may very well bankrupt me when it comes time to ship them. Yes, they're ginormous!
How would the giveaways work? That's one of the first things I would like your input on. One option is monthly giveaways, where every active subscriber is automatically entered. No entry forms, no hoops, unless you want to enter for free (that's a legal hoop that has to be jumped through so that the giveaway isn't viewed as "gambling").
My other thought is milestone giveaways: a piece goes out when we hit 100 subscribers, another at 500, another at 1,000, and so on. I can see the appeal of both, and I'm all ears. Maybe both?
Either way, the giveaways would be tied to subscribers. The fewer the subscribers, the better the odds of having your username selected, at least early on while the subscriber base is growing.
So, what would make a subscription worth it for YOU?
Is ad-free enough on its own? Do giveaways move the needle? What feels like a fair monthly price? What other perks would you want to see included? And if you'd NEVER pay for a subscription, no matter what was offered, that's an answer I would like to hear as well. Just make sure and share your "why"!
CBM has been created by fans, for fans since day one, and that's why I want your feedback before moving forward with something like this. Sound off in the comments below!