FAOL ? What?s It Worth To You?

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
1

Running a business where you give away your product makes it difficult to determine if what you are doing is really valuable. Fly Anglers On Line is just such a business. Our product is information and we give it away free to anyone that wants to take it. We fund this endeavor by convincing advertisers; we call them sponsors, to pay us to advertise their products on our site. Over time we have been relatively successful at convincing enough sponsors that we were worthy of their advertising dollars to allow us to pay the bills each month, but the question is always raised about our readership. A person that pays a yearly subscription fee indicates the value of the service when they renew their subscription. Unlike hard copy magazines we don?t sell subscriptions and our only way of determining our ‘readership’ is by looking at how many ‘hits’ the web site gets, how long they stay, and where the hits are coming from.

My question to FAOL readers is what is this web site worth to you? You can do us a huge favor if you could post an answer to that question. You can do this by placing a dollar value on our services, an emotional value, or whatever but we would really like to know.

LadyFisher

2

Deanna,
I’ve been with the Birkholms on fbn and then on FAOL and now with the Travis contingent also on FAOL. The reason for my enduring “membership” is the personality of the hosts ( those mentioned). I still work half a day every day ( roughly 8 to 8) so I have not a lot of time to participate as much as I would like to. Whenever I can, I use sponsors of FAOL to make any purchases fishing related and sometimes in consideration of their sponsorship rather than price.
FAOL is a nice place to visit. Keep up the GREAT work.

Mark

3

My dear Deanna,

How does one put a price on what you have created? It’s “priceless”.

Not only does the site provide information to new and old fly fishers, fly tyers, and those just thinking about it, but it provides a group of like minded people, genuinely concerned for the well being of many other, and their advancement in a life choice. There’s not a community of learning and sharing similar to this one available anywhere else.

Fly fishing whether fresh water, salt water, or warm water is so much more than a physical endeavor. There’s a real Spirit in the waters; a healing that can take place, like none other on Earth. There’s Life tyed into each fly; built into each rod; turned around each thread. There’s hope placed every time a line is cast. There’s tremendous joy in each fish retrieved. There’s a marvel in every fish; their colors, their locations, the waters they live in.

This site … OUR FAOL … has provided a kinship, learning, and a sharing unlike any thing else. It has enabled me to go far beyond my once limited expectations of and to fly fishing. I have a pride in my abilities. I have the joy of friendships worldwide. I have an abiding love for and about something so beyond myself, which words just cannot describe.

So, to put a price on FAOL? It’s PRICELESS.
Betty

4

Deanna,

I’m not sure how long I’ve been associated with FAOL, as either a member or Admin. I do know that I visit the site at least twice a day, usually more than that, and did so long before I got the Admin spot. I have developed a nice circle of friends, many that I have never met in person, thanks to FAOL.

The information contained within this site is astounding. The welcoming attitude of the members and their willingness to steer newcomers to places around the site is wonderful.

The best thing about this site is the family friendly atmosphere that has been created. Having a place that I feel good about suggesting to people that have kids is worthy of a pat on the back to all concerned.

Whats FAOL worth? can’t put a number on it, but I’d be lost without it at.

REE

5

Deanna,

I had been lurking here long before I became a member. I don’t think I could state it better than the previous poster, Betty.

This is a resource that far out paces ALL the others in the ether. No dollar figure on FAOL’s inherent worthiness could be attached.

PT/TB

6

FOAL has helped me more than anything in the growth of my fly fishing. I started tying flies with the info here before I became a member. If it turned into a site or was a site that had annual fees would i still be here… YES! FOAL is "priceless’'. I do look to by from sponsors on here and have for more than 90% of my purchases. The people on here are always willing to help and are so very generous, it is hard to find that.

7

I owe FAOL most of what I know about fly fishing if not all, I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like without y’all. I will agree with everybody when they say that FAOL is priceless.
Thanks a lot Deanna.

8

I’m very new to this forum, so I haven’t developed a sense of it’s value to me yet. Possibly I’m too new to even comment,
but,
I have run a similar site ( not fishing related) in the past and I know how expensive bandwidth can be and how little real money online advertising produces. I also know of several " (specific interest) community minded" sites that have taken to posting those costs and asking for donations. It seems to be working for those sites. How much gets donated would also provide more specific, measurable, answers to your “What’s It Worth” question.

Just a thought.

9

To be honest with you, I don’t know what I’d do without FAOL. I’ve been here 10 or 11 years now, and to ask me “What’s It Worth” is like asking me to put a dollar amount on my family. FAOL is family to me. I’d probably still post even if I had to give up fly fishing. (heaven forbid) When I talk to people about FAOL I tell them that it isn’t the best fly fishing website, it’s the best website on the net.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE! NEVER GO AWAY.
I should also mention that every time I need some supplies for tying or rod building or whatever, I always look to our sponsors first. And, yes, I’ve bought from several of them.
Also, some of my best friends were met here at FAOL. They started out as fishing partners and now they are friends forever.

10

i have fun here. what more needs said?

11

Come here everyday, unless I’m out in the boonies fishing. The site is a wealth of information and opportunities, and have met some very good friends because of this site. I certainly would hate to be without it.

12

I can’t think of a single source that has the info FAOL has…Gotta be worth as much as the annual subsciption price of any of the mags that feature scruffy young guides, rods in teeth, holding monster fish from places most of us never go.

Convert the content into books and lord knows the value.

13

I took up fly fishing about 10 years ago. I did a lot of research at the start, reading tons of “how to” books, etc. But FAOL was by far my greatest source of learning. When I didn’t understand things in a book or faced problems that didn’t have solutions in the books, I came here and asked. I always got many great responses. It was like being able to tap into hundreds or thousands of years of fly fishing experience. How can you place a price on something like that?

Adding to that, I was amazed to get phone calls from LF and JC on occasion as they tried to help me with a fly fishing question or problem. I’ve never had a book author or magazine editor do that!

14

I have to say that FAOL is the cleanest and most decent secular flyfishing site that I have found. I value that. It says alot for those who run it. I am a Christian before being a fly fisherman. The last thing I want to encounter on a fly fishing board is foul langauge and ill will. I have found none of that here, but it abounds elsewhere.

aa

15

Is the real question:

How much would you be willing to pay to access the content on a monthly membership basis?

16

This reminds me of one of those times where someone attempts to add up the wages a stay at home mother would be making to put a worth on her day. They always come up with a figure in the millions and miss the mark. I truly don’t know how you would put a price on what this site gives. I agree with others when they say priceless.

Eric

17

$193,463,130,593,882,917.22

Maybe a tad more.

18

Ladyfisher,
It’s hard to place a dollar value on it. I’ve fished with folks I’ve met on this board and one of the gentlemen (and in this case, I use the term lightly :wink:) has become a life-long friend. How can one put a price tag on friendship?

As AppAngler said, I too am a Christian who happens to fish and do his best to get along in the world. This and one or two other boards are really all I frequent because the ship is run tight with no foul language and the arguments that do erupt from time to time are handled in an adult way. The moderators let the conversation happen but keep it from getting out of line.

I have a `4 year old son and I never have to worry about him reading something on FAOL.

One of the many reasons I started my own blog is because there are so few truly family friendly websites out there where I would have no problems with my son visiting. Unlike FAOL, my blog is purely a hobby and not a business.

I can’t say how much value any of this would be to the sponsors, but I can say that it has to be worth something.

The media an advertiser uses to communicate about his / her business says a lot about that business. If he / she chooses to advertise on some website where foul language, flame wars, dirty jokes, racial slurs, etc. are the norm, it says something about his business.

An advertiser who chooses to advertise on a site like FAOL is also saying something about his business.

I have purchased things from various sponsors on FAOL and one reason is they sponsor this site but another reason is I don’t think the folks who run FAOL are in it for the money or to get rich and in that, you’re not going to be taking advertising dollars from just anyone. The businesses with whom I’ve dealt that sponsor FAOL have all been honest, quick to deliver and have treated me right as a customer. That’s all one can really ask for.

So in the end, I can’t put a dollar figure on it other than the few hundred dollars I’ve spent through the sponsors here. On any accounting spreadsheet, customer good will is worth something.

Hope this helps.
Jeff

19

LadyFisher,

Like many others, the emotional value is very difficult to place a dollar value on. I consider many of the folks here on FAOL to be friends that I have never met. I visit the site daily and always try to contribute if I feel I have something positive to add as a way of thanking everyone for their friendship and knowledge. As far as a dollar amount for a monthly/annual subscription, it might be worth running a survey with a series of different amounts that people can select so you can get an idea of a price point that will allow you to comfortably continue this terrific site. I would think a monthly subscription fee something like $2.00, $4.00, $6.00 $8.00 $10.00 and people can indicate what they feel that they would/could pay. Just a thought…

Jim Smith

20

I’d have to agree with Colston. If I had to choose between FAOL or any of the mags, the choice would be FAOL.