Barring any major hiccups, the new Please Feed The Animals site should be up and running by early summer. Some of the new features you can expect include direct access to agency positions with no middle man, a full job board, a robust profile and portfolio section and industry news. Of course, the blog is and will always remain free.
There will be a 30-day beta period where I’ll ask you and a select group of agencies to report back with any suggestions or bugs you might encounter. During this period, nobody pays anything. After beta, we are considering charging a micro-subscription rate to, 1, make everyone feel like actual members, and 2, offset the costs of hosting and administering the site.
Based on a couple of the recent live chats, everyone seemed pretty okay with that. But I wanted to take a broader poll to find out what, if any, amount you’d be willing to pay for a subscription.
Please take 5 more seconds to click on one of the choices below and let me know where your head is. Thanks everyone.
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Got a sec to click a button? Need your help with a poll about PFTA subscriptions. http://bit.ly/7P8Df
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Before I answer, I wanted to ask, what would membership give us? Would it be just to the job board and access, or everything?
Because personally, while I’ll find the board and access terribly useful in the future when I enter the industry, I’m a fan of the blog, and it’d be a shame to have that monetized. Somehow free wisdom makes it all feel more genuine.
Great question, Lawrence. And it deserves clarifying that the blog will always be free. I will edit the post to make sure there’s no confusion about that.
Thank you very much for reading and responding. -Erik
so you’re asking how much folks will fork over for a service that doesn’t yet exist?
isn’t that like asking “how much would you pay for this concert, we don’t have a venue yet or know who’s playing”?
Good question, Josh. A lot of people who have been reading the blog for the past 7 months have also been contributing ideas about what the site should become. (See the link to the chat transcript in the post.) They’ve seen wireframes and voted on the logo. They have played an active role in shaping it. I ask what they’d be willing to pay because it is for them. The answer may very well be “nothing,” but I’m leaving that up to those who have contributed and will benefit from it.
I voted for $5 because I’m committed to this community, but $2 to $4 may be a price point that will attract the most subscribers. Or more, if you offer it in 6-month increments with a guaranteed refund if one wants to unsubscribe (when one has secured a job for example).
correct me if i’m mistaken but i thought the original model for this site was that agencies who wanted to post a job would be charged a fee but no fee would be charged for viewing the postings or creating a profile.
considering the number of other job/ad industry sites out there, i’m not sure what’s going to to differentiate this site from any other…
Chiadguy – You’re exactly right. The original model was to make it 100% free for the searcher. In subsequent conversations/live chats/blog posts, I threw the question out there asking if people would be willing to pay for a micro subscription. Conceptually speaking, PFTA would then become like a Co-Op. The more people who contribute to its success, the more successful everybody becomes.
I hope you aren’t feeling like a $1 or a $5 membership fee is taking advantage of you. From my perspective, it’s actually quite the opposite. I want everyone to feel like members and that they’re contributing to their own success…that you aren’t just paying for a web site, but that you’re paying to help the collective.
All that said, please keep in mind that we’re merely considering our revenue options at this point. Nothing is set in stone, hence the poll.
You may want to consider going the Radiohead route as well. Giving people the option to choose what they pay might go even farther in building that sense of community.
One more thought about everyone being in this for everyone…There have been at least 10 unemployed advertising people who have given the site hundreds of hours, which if billed to a client at agency rates would have cost upwards of $20k so far. They are doing it because they believe, as I do, that the effort we put in will come back to us. Not just in karma, but in the fruit that results from actually doing something to improve own situations.
Now, it’s neither realistic nor practical to think that the 1000+ readers of the current PFTA can give their time to the new site’s development. But it might be reasonable for them to give a couple of bucks, with the knowledge and trust that I am not collecting the money to polish and moor my Hinckley. No membership fee, regardless of how small it is, would be justified if there was nothing received in return. If nothing else, I hope I’ve demonstrated to this point that I am only in this to help people find work and sustain themselves.
Thanks again everyone for your honesty and for taking the poll.
Shea’s idea ain’t bad. But to get what PFTA needs, in that case, how about access to the extra (non-blog) stuff requiring a registration with minimum one penny contribution? Taking shareware as an example, I tend to skip the donate button not out of cheapness but simply because it’s outside the process. I’m much more likely to take the time to pay — and pay what it’s worth to me — when forced to make a decision.
On the other hand, a micro-subscription reinforces **ongoing** value.
And there’s still nothing wrong with securing income as well from a few adsense placements, IMHO.
k, punch me in the groin if I’m beating a dead horse here, but I’m still confused about the question of value.
tons of respect due, but isn’t the site really selling job opportunities? so hours may have been spent building the back end, but at the end of the day one thing gives PFTA value over any other job posting sites: sweet hookups.
er, you’ll build it, but the value lies in whether or not the opportunities come a’knockin… no? which is something we won’t know until after it’s up and running… hence the difficulty in rating the site’s value… no?
Josh, thanks again for your input. I’d agree that the value is in the job opportunities. And the new site will certainly have them. I would also say that there’s additional value in the community built into PFTA. Some Animals have said they would pay for the blog as it exists today (which I find ridiculous to be honest). What I can’t promise is that just by paying for a service and posting your portfolio/bio/resume you will get a job. As you know, there are just too many factors that go into the vetting and hiring process. All we’re offering is exposure, a career tool and a community of people who want to help each other. If you feel like that’s not worth any kind of membership fee, there are indeed plenty of other job boards you can turn to. And that’s IF we decide to charge a (very small) fee.
Readers of #PFTA, got 5-seconds to take a poll? http://bit.ly/7P8Df
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
The unemployeds, who would need the job board most are the people who can afford it least. That’s why I voted for free.
I think a “Pay what you feel it’s worth” structure might work out pretty well for you.
I was one of the people who voted $10, but to be honest, you deserve more than that and i can afford it. That would be reflected in my contribution to the above structure.
I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who thinks similarly.
Mark, I appreciate that. One of the ideas we’ve been throwing around is to have a section that allows for specific membership “drives.” For instance, I’d like to pay some of the designers who have busted their ass for the site. PFTA might try to raise a specific amount from current and prospective members and all money received would go to them.
CAL, you’re actually re-iterating what I’ve felt the whole time. The last thing I want to do is profit from people who have lost their jobs. I lost mine, and there’s no way I would pay for a frivolous membership. But I would pay a couple of bucks a month if I knew I got something of value in return. This survey is trying to gauge if others feel the same way.
Have you been part of PFTA? If so, I’d really appreciate your response to this one-question poll: http://bit.ly/lfDfD
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
i think as a freelancer, i’d be willing to pay if i wanted to use the portfolio tool of the site, but not just to do a job search.
personally, it kind of pisses me off when i visit a site that charges me to search for jobs. plus, there are a ton of other sites out there that let you search jobs for free: krop, authentic jobs, boxes and arrows, talentzoo, comm arts, etc. etc. that it seems like you would turn people away who were looking for a job.
so, i say, charge the agencies but not the seeker. unless they want to use your portfolio section, then charge them a yearly fee, like $25. it costs about $30 to have your own website, so this price point might entice people who don’t want to build their own.
I think more people will pay (even if employed) if it’s a minimal amount. Of course, unemployed, I’d pay more : )
Cristina, Sean…both valid points. This isn’t something we’re taking lightly. It’s because of people who read and contribute that PFTA is even a possibility. I want to make sure we consider every angle.
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