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Why not keep the site & forum free to read but only members are able to post? If that upsets people and they don't want to pay and leave so be it, they obviously don't care enough about the place to keep it going.
And a monthly option to pay would be a good idea so those who can't afford the £25 hit in one go could pay monthly.
Also what about going on Readly? I don't know how they pay the magazine publishers but I use it a lot and most of the major bike magazines are on there.
they obviously don’t care enough about the place to keep it going
Or ‘the place’ doesn’t provide them with sufficient value vs the alternatives? Don’t confuse not caring with choosing where to spend one’s money when money is tight and choice is wide.
I am not bashing STW before the subscribers get all offended. I am however questioning whether enough people think that the current paid content is worth paying for. That’s just a hard objective question, not a subjective view of the site content or a personal dig at the creators. The answer sadly would appear not.
Mark - your problem is not your loyal subscribers. They love what you do and some are even prepared to overpay for it. Your problem is your 130k non subscribers and how you convert them. Preaching to the converted, or the converted behaving like a lynchmob every time a mudblood (non subscriber) dares to point out what you might do to entice more subscribers won’t work. I am not sure if it amusing or sad, but it is certainly telling that the most likes in this whole thread are attached to Ped’s post questioning the validity of my comments and my desire for STW to thrive based purely on the basis of me being a mudblood.
If I didn’t care about this place I guess I wouldn’t have been so animated in the discussion.
130k non subscribers
£1 a year instead of "free" for the privilege of accessing the site would be affordable to most, and even if half those those paid it you'd raise £65k.
I did think that, but Mark stated earlier:
A forum only membership is really not a solution.
Not sure if that is for technical or philosophical reasons.
I not offended one bit, I didn't pay for any membership for about a year then re-newed when Mark last asked for help. It's £25 not even half the price of a decent tyre. And I haven't seen the paid members acting like a lynch mob.
I'm a paid member and only look at the forum like many, I haven't read the mag in years but it must be frustrating for them to see free members post they get nothing from Singletrack but seem to be regular posters, so you must be getting something from it.
I do get something from it and here is exactly point!
I (in common with many people it would appear) get a lot of enjoyment from the community and the forum. STW choose to offer that for free.
I do not find the magazine itself to be relevant and I have not felt suitably compelled by the paid content to warrant the subscription fee.
As I stated earlier, if you are good at something, don’t do it for free. STW have an upside down model. The bit that they are good at and attracts the most users, they offer for free. The niche bit that is at best only appealing to a minority of loyalists and costs a lot to produce they charge for.
Can the problem not be any clearer than that?
Take the classifieds as a prime example. I used to buy and sell regularly on the old classifieds. It was free and brilliant. That was partly why I subscribed. The new classifieds are clunky, poorly browsed and whilst you can sell for free, the traffic is now so low that it isn’t worth bothering. A decent classified section that was as well produced as the old one would be worth paying for. I would also be prepared to pay for the community and forums. But since nobody compels me to, I don’t.
Well, there is one thing we can both agree on and that's the classifieds are rubbish compared to the old one.
Been sitting, watching and finally feel compelled to post.
A few things:
@solarider - completely agree with everything you've said. Especially regarding the member vs "freeloader" pile-on nonsense. It would do people well to remember us "freeloaders" were the ones helping fund the forum before the ad bubble burst.
@scotroutes - some forum content has made it to the front page but only usually when Hannah has someone to write a stern letter to. This isn't a bad thing and I applaud her efforts - it's certainly relevant and I'm sure those who have been involved are massively grateful. But as you say some other stuff is ripe for a long article, if the OP isn't a writer then why not an interview?
That brings me to my next point, the forum is probably your biggest asset so stop treating it like a liability. Put it this way, if it fell on it's arse tomorrow where would you be? [someone above] is right, you've been flinging sticking plasters over it for years just trying to make it "integrate" with the site. It doesn't and never has and you know what? It doesn't matter. At all. How much would an off the shelf Xenforo licence cost? I really don't know why you (Mark) are so attached to it considering how often you tell us you would walk away from it tomorrow if it was a choice between it and the mag. Look how defensive/snarky you got with Cougar the other day just for pointing out that whatever you were trying has never worked before and never will. Is that amount of stress and belligerence really worth it? Because from where I'm sitting it isn't, especially if it's impacting your health. Stop digging your heels in, wipe the slate and get working software in that you don't have to constantly tinker with, that's why you pay licences to devs. A forum only membership was proposed, how many folk do you think would pay £2 a year to get rid of ads and have a smooth experience? Now how much profit is that to fling into everything else?
Finally, and I will pre-warn that this may sound like I'm sticking the boot in but hear me out:
The magazine is nothing but a vanity project at this stage.
The magazine comes before everything else.
130k users, a fair proportion of which will be active and likely more than the number of "actual" (as in, interested in the content and not just paying for upkeep) subscribers.
The magazine comes before everything else.
Print costs are going up, people need paid, you need subscribers/clicks/whatever this year.
The magazine comes before everything else.
The trouble is, everything else is supporting the magazine or could be if you let it.
It's a vanity project, so what?
Celebrate it.
Cranked manages it but only publishes once a quarter.
DIG completely shut down print after 4130 fell apart but still publishes an annual yearbook.
You have a community and a dedicated following that neither of them do but people won't pay for a product they're not interested in, certainly not in the numbers you need. Now, if a sub let you upload pictures and perhaps gave you a limited number of premium ads per year that would be worth having. But with a front page of either recycled advertorials or frankly dubious (as in, I have no idea what the rest of the article is actually like but I'm not interested enough to progress beyond the free blurb) member only content I'm not convinced. So convince me.
You can make this work but carrying on the way you have certainly isn't the way to do it.
And, again, that wasn't supposed to feel like me putting the boot in. I'm genuinely trying to offer constructive criticism here.
Survey??
Was that the recent one asking "how do you prefer to read the magazine"? I didn't even see an option for "I don't".
Was that the recent one asking “how do you prefer to read the magazine”? I didn’t even see an option for “I don’t”.
I thought that. Hey if you already like and pay for the magazine what else would you like? Surely it would be much better to ask the 130k people who don't pay and don't read it what would make them do it.
Crikey.
first of all. The forum isn’t propping up the mag. The mag directly generates 65% of all or revenue and that’s been a steady part of the business for a long time. Also the magazine is not just print. The magazine is the entire content output. The forum generates a lot but it’s declining. Not traffic or how it is used but simply the ads pay less per impression and that trend will continue. It’s not us. It’s the web ad industry.
Secondly I appreciate everyone chipping in but I’ll say this again although I’m aware I’m repeating myself but Singletrack never was, is or will be just a forum. The forum is a part of Singletrack. an important part yes. But just one part. I appreciate you may disagree with that. For you it may well be all about the forum. But for others it’s not so important.
My final post on this tonight is a Thankyou to all of you who have joined us or topped up your membership in the last 24 hours. There’s an overwhelming number of you and we really appreciate it.
I’ve kept quiet on this and still will as such, because I know my honesty can be brutal at times.
However, what I will say is a very big thank you to those who have signed back up. I’ve been friends with the original guys since they started, spent holidays and birthdays with them, I’ve got drunk many times with them and even rode bikes too. Their passion and determination has kept their business going in tough times when others would have given up. Your subs will keep this place going. It’s a great platform with some genuinely kind, helpful and funny people. I’ve made lifetime friends with members off here and explored parts of the UK and Europe I may not have done otherwise. Cheers.
For anyone looking on here the promise of
“the site’s a bit crap because you’re not a member but it’ll be better when you pay a subscription”
doesn’t really strike me as a business model that’ll attract new members.
......Yeah. We hate the ads too.
How about turning the adds off every Friday afternoon for everyone. Then more people could see it working without and might be tempted to upgrade to membership.*
As whatsit above says " having a shitty experience but promising users it's better if they pay, may not be enticing"
* leaving aside that you've already d8scounted the option of having a " pay 2 argue" membership level....🤔
lots to digest above! I have been a paid up member for years, partly from habit, partly as I enjoy the mag.
in did cancel London Cycling Campaign member as it was being slightly irrelevant to me and their mag was becoming more and more disconnected with their campaign.
Clearly @Solarider has the bit between his teeth, but think it is hard to argue with the points made.
The ‘Pay a Little More’ thing does come across a little as begging and does not appear part of a long term plan and my default reaction to the repeated is why should I?
if you think your product is worth more then charge more for it.
The mag is pretty good and lately the breadth or articles appears to have improved, and thanks be no damn recipe this issue. The stds article was a little lazy and the related podcast was dire (in fact I stopped with STW podcast, very few have been worth the listen and most seem very formulaic/obvious/dull to listen to and lots of far better podcasts on offer for free or paid for- Shaun Keaveny CGR is well worth £4 a month).
does merch make a profit? Never bought from as no real desire for the items and even the timber bell which was of interest was cheaper to buy direct from the Uk rep…
I will send in some article ideas, have done so in the past but never got a response not even a ‘that’s a rubbish idea, but thanks for contacting us :-)!
first of all. The forum isn’t propping up the mag. The mag directly generates 65% of all or revenue and that’s been a steady part of the business for a long time. Also the magazine is not just print. The magazine is the entire content output. The forum generates a lot but it’s declining. Not traffic or how it is used but simply the ads pay less per impression and that trend will continue. It’s not us. It’s the web ad industry.
So ditch the ads and give the forum a selling point. As I said before, people would pay for premium features (I would) and it gives you another, more reliable and bigger income stream than ads.
Secondly I appreciate everyone chipping in but I’ll say this again although I’m aware I’m repeating myself but Singletrack never was, is or will be just a forum.
Nobody is proposing otherwise. But you have a huge asset that if you actually worked it could generate more revenue than your current model.
My 2p. I've been a fairly regular subscriber, but find that I rarely visit the website or the forum any more. Compared to other sites the forum functionality is poor. The classifieds, which used to be one of the best features is now practically empty. Even the mag has become slightly stale.
Sorry to be so negative - I respect and value all the hard work that goes in to the mag, but in times like these bold and innovative changes need to be made.
I’ve been subscribing for a long time, lapsed on the odd occasion but always came back. Met mates and my wife through here so it’s pretty dear to
me. Haven’t read the mag for a bit but holiday coming up so have downloaded a few issues.
The community is well worth supporting - just confirmed my subs renewal and added a bit on.
Thanks for keeping it going all these years and here’s to many more.
TS
Covering the increase in print costs based on what you've said appears to result in 50p/month increase on print subs, just do that. Put an inflation uplift on the others it's going to put print up by say £10 year and digital by £5.
I still think you then should have a forum membership that cuts ads, maybe allows a certain number of posts/month, or some limit that encourages take up. But the forum is your USP, you have to find a way to monetise that. I have a digital sub purely because it makes the site experience better and because at one point the cost saving in being able to drop to a lower data plan because of ads here chewing through data made it cost effective. I don't read the digital mag, I have no real interest in doing so, like others above I responded to the survey and there was no I don't option for how I read the mag/content so I think you are drawing false assumptions.
It's your business, your baby and we don't get to say how you take it forward but for many of us it's a community, which we'd be disappointed to lose. But that community is driven by the forum and it's members, not the mag/content. If nothing else try to mobilise that, take some of the more interesting/uplifting threads and do something with them to pull them forward into the content (TJs tour, Weeksy Jr's bid for world domination not the Brexit/politics stuff). That's where your 130k targets are based on thread engagement, either turn that into content to persuade them to sign up under the existing structure or restructure the options so they are 'incentivised' to take something out.
I'm not a daily user or particular fan of Facebook Instagram or Twitter but is there a way of integrating/linking them into the website and forum?
Would maybe help capture more users and revenue?
I've been a full member/subscriber for years and would help for Singletrack to disappear but it does seem that most folk on here are around my age (45) or older. Maybe Singletrack needs to get in some young blood.
My 2p
Remove the 50% discounts for new members, what do your regular auto-renewing (best) customers get?
Offer (discounted?) print/digital mags as the only route to a membership discount so that new customers can feel the quality, not read about its width; discount first year membership based on mags bought in that year and offer discounts for renewals
Make economic realities threads a more positive, "that's the reality" post without the "please help" element. Increase costs as you need to to make the business work. Why would strangers invest in something that's struggling?
I've raised this before and others have too:
Sort the forum out and make it a free-to-view, pay-to-contribute model, particularly if ads are a falling revenue. I'm always more inclined to pay for something that works
This all seems to be fairly consistent and actually fundamentally positive and supportive. There’s a lot of love for STW out there, even if some of it sounds like tough love. To summarise:
1) Go easy on the ‘life’s hard’ messaging. It’s not what people want or need to hear and whilst the disaster aid response might fix one hole in your leaking dam, it won’t fix the dam and it can be off putting to exactly the people that you are trying to convert to subscribe.
2) The magazine is key to the STW brand, so keep doing it but don’t expect a massive increase in subscribers. You have probably peaked in terms of the number of people who are interested in the current content and format. The key is to manage its production costs so that the revenue it generates is profitable. All you can really do is fine tune the costs through format and frequency and perhaps increase the cost of a subscription. Nobody is suggesting ditching the mag, and even if they were you are philosophically wedded to it being the essence of STW. Some would strongly disagree but it’s your business so you decide.
3) The forum is an untapped asset. It has a much bigger viewership and appeals to a broader range of casual users as well as card carrying loyalists. Whilst you might not like to admit it, and whilst it was never the intention, the forum is the community that you so strongly wish to build. It is your brand to most people and is a strong point of difference. Your mag cannot compete with other mags for circulation. Your website cannot compete with others for content. Your forum is unique and is the ultimate expression of UGC. Whilst ad revenue is falling, there is still a significant opportunity to leverage the forum through a low cost/high volume pay-to-use model. Sort out the functionality, fix the classifieds (which was traditionally a real point of difference but is now a huge source of frustration) and charge a small fee to a large pool of users.
4) Since you can no longer rely on advertising either online or thorough the magazine, subscriber numbers are absolutely key to your success. Balance your recruitment strategy with your retention strategy. Your recruitment strategy feels too rich, and your retention strategy feels non existent.
5) Don’t hide your chargeable content behind a hard paywall. Potential subscribers don’t actually know what they might be missing and you have an all or nothing approach to chargeable content which acts as a barrier to trial. Perhaps a 5 day free trial might be enough as a recruitment tactic and then convert them to a full price subscription after that.
A brief summary, but whether you agree with all of the content of this thread, and whether you feel bruised by some of it, there is plenty to reflect on. The free-form feedback and passion expressed are worth far more than any channelled survey that you might conduct and to most businesses this would be solid gold. Don’t be offended, don’t take it personally. Use it.
You have a business model where your loyalists are willing to pay more for the product, and even the occasional users whose conversion to paying customers is so fundamental to your success are telling you that they wouldn’t mind paying a small amount to use the online content and forum. That’s not a bad starting point!
Print Subscriber here, I read the forum almost daily, although I rarely sign in, so I just put up with the ads.
Looking at the website just now realised theres quite a few interesting articles (just read about Stanton Bikes).
So I guess what I'm trying to say the website doesn't really grab my attention.
(not really sure if this is due signing in or not)
I think the shop needs an overhaul, a lot of Singletrack branded merchandise which I dont see appealing to the typical stw user(jigsaw etc) so theres money tied up in stock etc or the initial stock procurement in the 1st place.
Shop for me would be more practical items, such as singletrack buffs, or technical hoodies rather than the heavy cotton items, things that people would use on their bikes. I like the artwork but again it's a small audience for this as it seems to be very location specific, i.e. I'm not going to purchase a print of The Peak District when I'm in Northumberland.
@mark to generate some income quickly could you not produce some magazine type publication with your existing trail routes? You've already got the content.I for one would buy this, I personally much prefer a trail book rather than accessing routes off the web.
Haven't read the Mag in years but haven't read any mag in years so can't really comment on that.
To convert me into a paying member the content of the website needs an entire overhaul, as does the user experience of the website & forum.
No idea what happened to Will but the closest I've been to resubscribing is when he was there, seemed like he brought not necessarily fresh ideas but a fresh way of doing things.
@Mark Have you looked into encouraging people using the Brave browser to visit this site and then donate some or all of the resulting BAT to STW? Or some sort of similar solution?
I know this technically comes under ad-blocking but it sounds like the model of using ad-revenue to support the business is busted anyway.
It might be interesting to look into how much BAT you could generate if 50%, 40%, 30%, etc of users contributed their BAT to STW.
FIX THE BLOODY EDITOR!!!
Please please contribute for more shit experience isn't a winning formula.
Works fine for me?
Not sure if you mean the edit function or the actual editor themselves?!
I just realised that STW is already a Verified Creator according to the Brave browser so I guess someone in the office was already aware of it. I set it up to donate a monthly tip of 10 BAT per month to STW.
Honestly, if the ad generated revenue has dried up I don't see what you've got to lose by pushing this a bit. Unless the actual revenues you would see are vanishingly small but if every person who browsed the site gave you the equivalent of $1 per month I really don't see how you wouldn't be perfectly comfortable.
I suspect that the number of folk who are going to install and use another browser just to access the STW forum is also vanishingly small
It would take a behaviour change, but that's why I suggested STW should try pushing this. If the ad generated revenue model is now not worth it, I think people would be more receptive to something like this than requests for more money every few months.
I would say the effort required to install a new browser and set up a monthly tip is less than the effort required to navigate to the subscription page, find and enter all your credit card details, find your phone for the 2FA, and check that the payment went through.
Not to mention the psychological barrier of starting to pay for something you've always gotten for free.
In this way you'll be paying to use STW but you'll be paying money that you were never aware of in the first place.
Full member here. Enjoy the mag. Visit the forum numerous times daily.
Some observations.
1. I'm underwhelmed by the website. Recently there have been reviews on the front page that are 18 months old.
2. The shop is a mess. Loads of stuff listed that isn't in stock, or only in 1 size. Disorganised, not categorised. Stuff with minimal/limited appeal.
3. Lack of reviews. Given the stuff that gets sent in on FGF, Cheap Goods Tuesday or whatever, very little of it ever seems to make its way into a review. This has a knock on effect of visitors to the site ... if people Google search review of 'X' product, and find STW have reviewed it, that would encourage more people to the site.
4. Without being funny/harsh, what do the current staff team do? Realise there is magazine production, subscription, IT, shop etc. But, lots of the magazine articles are written by freelancers/contributers. And as per point 3, there aren't actually that many product reviews, or features, produced by the staff on the website. Given STW is a MTB media brand, there does seem a lack of content.
(I'll caveat all of point 4 with acknowledging I have zero knowledge of journalism, how much time it takes to produce content, or all the background stuff that goes on behind production that we never see. Also, no idea what size teams there are running rival publications)
5. Linked to 3 and 4. above, YouTube? This has been suggested a few times, but I've not seen a specific response.
6. Are you employing the right people? I like what the team write, some of it is excellent. But, it's mostly quite mature, thoughtful, considered stuff, there's little in the way of provocative/challenging/investigative stuff. And there's little dynamism. I guess when you compare with someone like Guy Kestevan (appreciate that not everyone likes his style) who churns out a column for BikePerfect every week, plus several product reviews, plus YT video reviews, that kind of highlights my questions above.
Brave might help, but it is marginal at best. Focus on the big stuff and it would be pretty insignificant.
Survey of 1 - I wouldn't change my browser for one website.
On the subject of YouTube, it is clear to the world that this is a huge generator of traffic and revenue, but one that Mark has discounted in favour of a printed magazine with 6k subscribers. Go figure!
Whatever you think of the presenters on your favourite Youtube channels, they all have a strong personality. What little video content appears from STW has a very awkward, home made 'drawing the meat raffle' vibe to it. Presenting is a skill, and not everybody is a natural (me included!).
The shop and “Random chains”.
What’s going on here is the ST store is offering everyday consumables at really good prices to members. Sure it’s a random chain if you don’t need a chain, but it’s also a rather good member perk if you do, or want to bag a bargain for your spares box.
If you are not a member you will see the normal RRP. Members see a price which is just about the best in the U.K. and get free postage too.
We keep a watch on trade offers and pick wisely. There was also a great deal on colourful Fist brand gloves. Coming up soon there will be SPD cleats and hopefully some hip packs.
Someone mentioned technical riding clothing. We have tech shirts, but other riding clothing such as jackets or hoodies takes a big financial commitment as they have chunky minimum order quantities. This area is already very well served by countless cycle specific clothing brands.
“casual shirts”. That will be the Club Ride plaid shirts that have been super popular. A unique product that is full of tech, don’t dismiss them as casual riding gear. I’ve been riding in them for years from day rides to bikepacking trips.
Jigsaws. They went really well, and we have sold out several times. Yep… not my scene, but we have sold hundreds. The silent jigsaw bikers are out there.
“Not categorised”. There are category and size filters along the top.
Jigsaws are popular with present buyers. My mum got me a Forest of Dean one for xmas... just a slither of singletrack through the woods. Quite nice really.
Charlie, you can turn the "fancy" editor off in your preferences... 😉
Brave might help, but it is marginal at best.
What are you basing that on?
The shop and “Random chains”.
What’s going on here is the ST store is offering everyday consumables at really good prices to members. Sure it’s a random chain if you don’t need a chain, but it’s also a rather good member perk if you do, or want to bag a bargain for your spares box.
If you are not a member you will see the normal RRP. Members see a price which is just about the best in the U.K. and get free postage too.
We keep a watch on trade offers and pick wisely. There was <span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>also a great deal on colourful Fist brand gloves. Coming up soon there will be SPD cleats and hopefully some hip packs.
</span><span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>
Someone mentioned technical riding clothing. We have tech shirts, but other riding clothing such as jackets or hoodies takes a big financial commitment as they have chunky minimum order quantities. This area is already very well served by countless cycle specific clothing brands.“casual shirts”. That will be the Club Ride plaid shirts that have been super popular. A unique product that is full of tech, don’t dismiss them as casual riding gear. I’ve been riding in them for years from day rides to bikepacking trips.
</span><span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>
</span>Jigsaws. They went really well, and we have sold out several times. Yep… not my scene, but we have sold hundreds. The silent jigsaw bikers are out there.
Oh the irony. Just look at the formatting of Charlie's post!!!!!
Charlie actually works here and even he can't master the functionality of the forum. What hope do the rest of us have?!
SO much goodness in that one post!
What’s going on here is the ST store is offering everyday consumables at really good prices to members.
Thanks Charlie, appreciate the reply (on a Sunday too). Twas me criticising the stock, so feel free to call me an arse. Maybe what I was getting at is that I wouldn't normally think of the ST shop first for spares. (Perhaps I should?)
My shirts comment related to the causal t-shirts. I wasn't dissing the plaid shirts.
Didn't know about min order requirements for tech collabs, so appreciate that.
Still think the shop could do with sweeping some stuff into a clearance section to freshen it up though.
Cheers
Check out the Funn valve article on the homepage right now for a perfectly good reason why you will find it hard to attract subscribers if you keep doing what you are doing........
You have simply reprinted a press release. Lazy journalism won't help your aim to increase subscriber numbers!
1) What's your view on these? Good/Bad/Indifferent? Are you planing a review? Have you seen them? Are you adding any more value than a copy/paste of a press release?
2) How much are they? They look like a brilliant (and potentially lower priced?) version of the Santa Cruz Reserve version, but how do I know that?
3) I can't even buy them anywhere! They aren't on the Funn website linked and after a bit of digging it turns out that CRC distribute them, but I can't buy them on CRC either.
C'mon chaps. You are really going to need to raise your game if you want to achieve your goals!!!!
And where's the press release about the new Hope Pro 5 that Hope themselves have just released (on YouTube BTW, just saying - feels like the future!). Oh, let me tell you where it is - a fellow STW member has just posted it on the forum (having seen it somewhere else) and beaten you to it.
The writing is on the wall and the lessons are there for all to see. Your challenge is whether you can see them and do something about it.
This will be final post on this one ('hurray' - the entire STW staff) before I risk being banned or divorced! You need to be self critical, work on the feedback in this thread and go forth and grow STW. Best of luck and bon voyage!
I’ve been a member for 12 years. I recently changed to digital only as I had over 20 magazines that hadn’t been taken out of their envelopes.
The local routes and guides are of no interested to me as I am based in Belfast; Ireland (North or South) is rarely acknowledged. I have no interest in the articles on “Snow”, opinion pieces, Lamborghinis or the frequent re-hashed press-releases.
I am interested in the reviews of bikes and gear. However as others have said, almost every other free content provider does this substantially better. For example, I was looking forward to the review of the 12-speed XT, modern geo, full-sus Canyon 125 which concluded “it has much more in common with a fully rigid steel singlespeed than a modern full-suspension trail bike.”
Some people have offered (in my opinion) valuable in-depth constructive criticism of the value what Singletrack offers. Some of the responses from staff seem a little defensive, for example, the suggestion that “members see a price which is just about the best in the U.K” which a quick google search clearly disproves. It can be hard engage with feedback you disagree with but surely these are the voices that it would be beneficial to engage with.
The only aspect I use and enjoy is the forum. I have been happy to pay to contribute to the forum; having paid for many years I did find the page asking to ‘pay a little more’ a little unsavoury.
@charliedontsurf appreciate your input regarding the shop. WRT members discounts this is the first I've ever heard. If you're doing stuff like that then you really need to shout about it more. Branded stuff has "member discount" banners so the parts need that as well. Maybe even put the members price in small typeface as an incentive if its not going to upset anyone.
I also used the filter the other day, "other stuff" was just a jumble sale of "crap we couldn't be bothered categorising". You've run a shop, a very good one IMO, so know what a good UX looks like. It just needs a bit more thought put into it.
As for "pay to post" - HELL NO! I can't think of a worse way to kill a forum dead. Maybe regulars would stump up but anyone new would just turn around and go elsewhere.
As for “pay to post” – HELL NO! I can’t think of a worse way to kill a forum dead. Maybe regulars would stump up but anyone new would just turn around and go elsewhere.
@squirrelking Just for some lazy market research and as you are apparently a free member, do you think you could be persuaded to use the Brave browser and then set the proceeds to be automatically sent to STW each month?
Bearing in mind that Brave acts as a type of ad-blocker that allows you to send your advertising proceeds to the site you choose?
Hmmmnnn.
Not a business or marketing expert in any capacity, but things that occur to me...
Totally respect Mark's attachment to the print media, but for me (and clearly for a LOT of others) the Forum IS Singletrack. It's my 'home' on the 'net. I've browsed / contributed to / moderated many specialist forums over the years and very few come close to STW in terms of expert knowledge (on a huge range of subjects - not just bikes), level of discussion (discounting some of the politics threads), and sense of fun (although this is the one thing that might have weakened recently). Basically, to echo a lot of others the obvious first response is to monetise the forum in some way that doesn't rely on ad revenue?
I do think that STW is having a bit of a mid-life crisis in terms of identity. Looking at the site, and even flicking through the mag, I'm not always sure what it's 'about'. I'm guessing that I'm pretty much target demographic (early 50s, been MTBing for years and years, reluctantly middle-class, left-leaning liberal) but I'm not sure I recognise myself in the STW branding and articles at the moment. That might be me being an outlier though. I don't think STW has the desire or capacity to be a Pinkbike-lite all things to all riders but I do think it needs to have a sharper, more easily understood focus or small series of focii that could hook in subscribers. Again, might just be me but my current perception is that things orbit around 'adventure' riding and weirdly parochial stuff. I've not given this a huge amount of though but stuff I don't see covered elsewhere that might have some legs...
- Grass Roots UK racing across all disciplines (just look at the popularity of, and engagement with, weeksy's thread).
- A real focus on local riding around the UK, whatever that looks like (not just the honeypots).
- Sustainability in what can be a pretty 'single-use', transport-heavy hobby.
- The experience of 'normal' UK MTBers - their bikes, kit and riding.
(basically, using some of the common concerns of the forum to drive more content for the published material?)
I agree with the YouTube suggestions too, but again the content of that would need to be carefully curated and produced to a level beyond the current STW video output (which TBH is a bit (knowingly?) amateurish and awkward). Is there a gap for a sightly more thoughtful GMBN type mix of magazine shows, riding clips and workshop stuff? With the magazine having a pretty good emphasis on visuals and photography, there's for me an obvious opportunity to take that sensibility and style into video content.
I joined as a digital member yesterday. Mainly as I thought I'd give the rest of website a bit of a go (I've been Forum user only since 2009) and to give something back after making a few £100 on the classifieds last year and am about to list a couple of bikes. I'm still seeing adverts and showing as a 'free member' though. Does the membership have to wait until office hours to be manually updated?
[Mod] we seem to be having a few glitches unfortunately but we can certainly check for you tomorrow. Apologies for the inconvenience.