Does your forum offer a paid VIP option?

[Shortie]

Something I tend to see on forums is a paid VIP option as part of the user upgrades option. This is something that is there for members to be able to use if they wish to help the forum financially for a small amount per month.

Does your forum offer a paid VIP option or something similar?

 

[JoelR]

I think subscriptions are a much better way of monetizing as long as you clearly define and align the value of the VIP program.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

We have VIP but members don't have to pay for it.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

I don't personally, but I am a Staff member on a community that is subscription only. The site and service is centered around courses/lessons, and the community is just a side perk.

One day I would like to be able to offer something of value to paid subscribers.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

I don't personally, but I am a Staff member on a community that is subscription only. The site and service is centered around courses/lessons, and the community is just a side perk.

One day I would like to be able to offer something of value to paid subscribers.

You can offer them the standard things, which are:

- Special username color
- Special rank banner
- Access to a hidden forum just for VIP's and staff

 

[Sinistra]

I do, I just haven't gotten around to setting them up yet? Well the perks that is.. but I think this would be a good way to make money for things for the community as a whole. Like modifications skins or contest prizes

 

[Cory]

My forum doesn't offer anything paid whatsoever and unless the benefits were awesome I doubt anyone would pay considering I'm on free software.

 

[Uncrowned]

It is something on my radar for the future, but currently my communities are far too small to implement any kind of paid premium membership. I also have a lot of personal rules pertaining to this, such as I will not hide sections of my site behind a paywsll and I want to ensure that paid membership offers enough features and benefits to make it worthwhile. Currently I do not have those features or benefits to offer and I'm not entirely sure what they would even be. I have thought about doing just a supporter style membership, but again I don't believe my communities are large enough to get away with this.

So for me they're basically sitting on the back burner until further notice. That's a much more worried about the downfalls they can have towards the free side of my sites than I am towards the benefits I would get from a premium membership.

 

[Sinistra]

If you provide a paid member group it should be a supportive group. Yet give them some reason to join. For Anime-Insight I have thought about making a forum where you have to be a part of the 2 top groups to access. Take my community members and Elite Members. for example. The elite will be the paid members. They will get access to a few forums and have their own Member group badge. Community member on the other hand has to make at least 500 posts before they get access to the same forums that the elite paid to get into. So I am not really hiding anything. it's just those that who support the site get into a forum faster than the rest of them. along with other features, I don't see a problem with having your members help you out if they want to. but I agree don't hide anything just make it more beneficial to the community and have them make more content for your site.

 

[nomad]

I have not enabled VIP option on my forums. I have nothing special to offer for the VIP members therefore I have not tried this feature. However, I do want to monetize my forum through VIP subscriptions. However, before that I need organic activities on my forums.

 

[Senkusha]

I thought about enabling the Paid Subscriptions mod in my forum, and as nice as it would be to have some of the server administration costs covered, I don't really see anything that I could offer that would be worthy.

 

[Bailess]

Nope, no ads, no donations, nothing paid. Purely academic in nature. Learn, share and improve!