Banners..........Should We Click 'Em???

Joined
Aug 31, 2000
Messages
1,343
Hi all,
I just recently noticed at the bottom of one of Mike Turber's post that he asks that we support BFC sponsors by clicking on their banners.

Do the sponsors use this information to gauge whether or not it is worth it to them to be sponsors?
And if so, should we always be clicking on these banners (or using the links from this site) when we go to their sites or would this only be important when we are purchasing?

What's the deal?

I want to support the sponsors in everyway possible. Please advise.

Thanks!!

--The Raptor--

 
I'm sure the sponsors get statistics about how many "click throughs" they get from bladeforum.com and use that to guage where to spend their advertising budget. Furthermore, bladeforums.com gets a kickback on purchases you make through the forum. So, by all means, click away.


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Gollnick,
If what you say is true, then wouldn't it be beneficial for Mike to make this point a little more clear so that we can practice our support of these forums?

I don't mean to criticize Mike. That is not my intention here. I merely wish to point out that I noticed the banners, but it wasn't clear to me what their purpose was(besides the obvious).
If this message/topic has been posted before by Mike, and for some strange reason I think that I might remember it, then please forgive me. If not, then maybe some of the newer members (and myself included) learned something that we can do to benefit us all.
smile.gif


--The Raptor--
 
Does this mean that if I buy a knife from one of the people that have a banner, but do not click on the banner, that BladeForums do not get a cut.
I have ordered knives from links that were provided in posts by individuals. Please let me know if I should have done this a different way. Thanks.

Keith.
 
Hmm.....I just thought that those that paid for banners were just buying advertisement. If you purchased something from that company, say Chief's Cutlery, I did not think Mike & Spark got a kickback for it, they just received $50/month from Chief's Cutlery for allowing him to run the banner on BF. I'm sure Mike encourages you to click on the banners so that those purchasing banners feel like they are getting their money's worth and they can view the stats to see if people are going to their site and also enocurage you to support those sponsors.

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Knives & Things
Mike Payne
 
I don't always click through to a dealer from a banner, but I try to do so from now on. What I do always make a practice of doing however, is to say that I got to the dealer through BladeForums, either by way of the links or by way of a posting, which has frequently been the case.


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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
If it helps
biggrin.gif


I always make a point of doing this here.

W.A.

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"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
Founding president and member number 1! Wana join?
 
Mike Payne is correct. There is no kickback from every sale I get to Mike and Spark. Banner advertisers pay a flat fee per month for their banner which does go to support the forum. We also have passwords where we can log in and check our stats, how many times our banner is shown per day, how many times it was clicked on, percent stuff, etc. I wouldn't have a business without the forums as it hits my target audience perfectly.

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Chief’s Cutlery Authorized Microtech Dealer
 
Chief,
I was primarily concerned about providing support to the sponsors in whatever way possible. I just wanted clarification on this issue so that the message would get out to everyone here.

Thanks for answering this question for me.

--The Raptor--
 
Chief and Mike are correct and here is a bit more.

The main reason I ask that you click on the banners is that I want the forum members to support those who support the site. I does kind of bother me when I see someone brag about some dealer somewhere who does nothing beyond their web site to support this industry. Chief and Mike and others here help out and they deserve to get the lions share of the business this site generates.



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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
Show Your Support -Visit Our Sponsors - Click On The Banners!
Visit www.onestopknifeshop.com
Sales from 1 Stop Knife Shop help support this site!
 
Mike,
Thanks for the response.

Now that I know what the deal is I will do my part to particiate in supporting those who support these forums.
I hope others will also do the same.

So guys, lets get clicking on those banners!!!!
smile.gif


--The Raptor--
 
We examine our logs weekly. The logs tell us, among other things, the URL from which the computer came to our site. We judge the importance of search engines that way and effectiveness of banner advertising. The Bladeforums banner is effective based on our analysis. Bladeforums charges a flat fee for the banners that we pay annually. The purpose of a banner is to attract people to our site. It doesn't help for a regular customer to use the banner just to "help us out" since it would just skew the numbers. But if a Bladeforums reader that weren't familiar with our site or one who hadn't visited for a while were to click on it, we'd view it as good thing. In other words, you shouldn't use it as a new gateway to get to a site you use often. It does help, though, if you notice the banner, say to yourself "I think I'll go see what's new" and get to the site by clicking on it. In other words use the banner if the mood strikes you but don't just use it as a different gateway than you would otherwise use. Make sense?



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Fred
Knife Outlet
http://www.knifeoutlet.com
 
Fred,
Yes, it does make sense.

Thanks for a different perspective.


--The Raptor--

[This message has been edited by Raptor (edited 02-22-2001).]
 
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