woodworkinguk

[woodworker]

ok guys hands up

i do own the website

sorry for the spamming but was trying to think of ways to get users coming

would appreciate any positive feedback on comments you guys might have to help me out

but can you do me a favour, stop mentioning sb wood as this has really nothing to do with it

just the main site sponsor

 

[Adam]

A) I'm an amateur, but wouldn't consider paying for a "forum". I might consider paying for a really indepth review online, but more likely would use a forum like this. If the membership fee is you intended method of making money I think you are onto a losing battle straight away.

B) Write 20 good reviews for current products, or better 50 reviews, and once people start googling, then they may find your site and they may ask a question on the forum, again, people who are googling for product reviews are probably net-savvy, and don't want a magazine or biased reivew, and expect it to be free.

C) Instead of an auction, why not link to pieces of equipment for sale at dealers, like Scott & Saergent, SB WW, and second hand dealers, without telling people where the item is. You get a kickback on introducing them?

D) I don't think people want "live" chat - we tried it on UK-WW, and its bloody hard work when 30 people are wacking out messages - people want concise information, and forum postings do that nicely. I think as a minimum, you need to reduce your "bronze" membership to free.

E) To drum up members you need to make something appeal to them, knowledgeable gurus, but even thats difficult, given many of them post and discuss information and techniques on many of the free forums.

Sorry, its really information that drives people to access website, and their is little or no actual content. It takes time to build that up. You have to be enthusiastic, and commit a great deal to the website, and I don't mean the look or feel or the right "bits" chat, forum etc, I mean real content. Reviews (real ones, not ones that are "acquired", the list of courses is less than the magazines have, where is even local colleges West Dean? I cannot see a business model in subscription based access to forums. The internet has moved too quickly, and free forums are too established. Someone described that better than me above.

Adam

 

[mr]

Positive comments. Ill ignore the negative comments and other aspects except to say that fibbing does not attract users, particularly when found out as they will then doubt your honesty and that of the site itself.

You have almost no content. I would have thought it better to wait till you have content before you launch. Otherwise visitors realise there's no content and then fail to return as there was nothing useful to them at first visit. It really is that easy to lose site visitors.

You may have content hidden away and only available to members but I saw no evidence that membership would buy me anything other than that which I could already access. You should probably have some kind of preview of all the goodies that members can access.

I would question charging membership for a forum alone. Membership for access to "value added" content I can understand, although value added or even valuable content is unlikely to be created by the members. This is why the magazines and magazine sites employ professional writers. You will not have any success charging members to read other members content. Additionally amateurs are unlikely to stump up for membership to a new website sight unseen, they already spend their leisure ££s elsewhere. Professionals will sign up to a B2B facility and it seems that this is how you describe the site (I quote -"Woodworkinguk.com was designed to bring the woodworking industry into one easy to use website" ) Now a B2B facility is not a community per se, you need to decide what your market is before you launch. Its unlikely , I would have thought that professionals in the woodworking industries would be interested in a B2B facility giving them access to foreign resources. I'm sure some of our own pro members may correct me on that, but I would have thought they would be more interested in UK based content. They're not going to be interested in buying their timber from the US for example unless they are an importers. If on the other hand they are importers then they are exactly the right sort of client for a global B2B facility and if this doesn't already exist somewhere then you may yet strike gold.

Your design is rather strange. I have no idea what the logo is about for example. Your menus are confusing (this may be because you have little content yet. Your photographic images appear to me to be sized incorrectly and their aspect ratio is distorted as a result in places. Lastly I don't think the layout you have chosen offers ease of use with a forum.

Cheers Mike

 

[Alf]

I'd love to give my comments but they're not ready yet. However, when they are:

To read a 50 word comment - please purchase Bronze membership @ £12.50
To read a 200 word comment...

Need I go on?

Cheers, Alf

 

[mr]

Can't I just wait for the Lee Valley newsletter? I get your comments for free then?
Cheers Mike

 

[Alf]

Now, Mike, that's just taking advantage of LV's subscription to my service. For the real freebie stick with the blog. :wink:

 

[Noel]

ok guys hands up

i do own the website

sorry for the spamming but was trying to think of ways to get users coming

would appreciate any positive feedback on comments you guys might have to help me out

but can you do me a favour, stop mentioning sb wood as this has really nothing to do with it

just the main site sponsor

As Adam has alluded to I think you're onto a losing battle. There's only ever been one main WW forum in the UK over the last 7 or 8 years. The MSN site UK WorkWorking was popular for a while but slowly died for various reasons and then this site gained prominence. As far as I'm aware that's it. Sure, there's a few DIY sites but little else. Bear in mind that a forum needs active members and we're lucky to have a good bunch of posters here but looking at the bigger picture it's a very, very small corner of the woodworking world in the UK and that being the case I see little chance of another forum working. Look at the States, a massive WW population and there's maybe only 5 main WW forums that are well subscribed and they're all free.
What you could do is become an active member here and even ask your sponsor to buy some advertising here. Just a wee thought.
Rgds

Noel

 

[Slim]

that there needs to be one centralised website where anyone can go

You're on it mate. If you think you will be able to compete with this forum, think again. 1500 members. All of whom are very active, knowledgeable and friendly. You are doomed to fail.

Why has he not been banned? Spamming our forum :x

 

[Scrit]

To woodworker, a follow on from Adam:

A) I'm a professional woodworker and as such get asked for contributions to many, many so-called "professional" fora. the vast majority are little more than thinly disguised hucksters. I won't normally pay for a forum unless it will clearly repay my contribution several times over - after all that's what business is about

B) I personally am extremely distrustful of reviews in the paid press in general. They are frequently either sketchy and show scant knowledge of the product or its' intended use or worse still are little more than thinly disguised sales copy. In that respect even magazines like Furniture & Cabinetmaking frequently get it at least partly wrong. Will I trust a review written by a pay per view site who's sponsorship may not be completely transparent? I think not.

C) If the mighty eBay has problems in running a straight auction with all its resources, exactly what chance do you stand of running one?

D) When are you going to get 3 or 4 members together in a chat room? Based on the experiences here and elsewhere it simply won't happen

E) If I'm giving my time and knowledge to a paid forum, is that forum going to pay me in return? I see no information about that anywhere on the other site

Apologies for basing my response on yours Adam, but it seemed appropriate

Professionals will sign up to a B2B facility and it seems that this is how you describe the site

Will they, though? If you are in the trade you spend a fair amount of time, initially at least, establishing your contacts which then grow over the years. The web has allowed me to find suppliers of more esoteric items quicker and easier through search engines such as Google. I can't see a site such as that one adding much. The biggest problem with B2B can be seen from the experiences in the USA 6 to 8 years back when B2B was "hot". Fundamentally the companies which benefitted most from it were actually those firms who already had a "bricks and mortar" presence - and to them B2B was essentially just putting themselves on-line and allowing credit/debit card transactions and little more. Many new B2B ventures failed within a year. It was another South Sea Bubble

I'm sure some of our own pro members may correct me on that, but I would have thought they would be more interested in UK based content. They're not going to be interested in buying their timber from the US for example unless they are an importers.

No, I think you're spot-on there. I can read several languages but I rarely buy from even Continental Europe let alone the USA because of the barriers. As for information about the world in general I already subscribe to several print media magazines in addition to getting a slew of freebies. As to timber merchants, they already have at least one paid web site offering a sourcing/availability service on a pan-European and Global level. The commodities exchange system for timber trading is hardly new and isn't ready to be retired just yet.

And as to other fora - in the USA with a far bigger market than here there is one main professional woodworking forum, WoodWeb, and all others, apart from a few niche market areas like solid surface, have fallen by the wayside. In the UK there are three of four wide-spectrum predominantly trades-orientated fora, but they have tiny memberships compared to this forum and many people from those fora are now posting here - you know who you are!

Scrit

 

[mr]

Scrit I think you have nicely filled out the aspects I was thinking of. Not being a pro I can only apply a general business principle and it seems to me that woodworkinguk doesnt have it.
Mike

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Speaking as a professional furniture maker, woodworker, your site as it is configured seems a bit empty of anything useful without paying to at least have a look. You're definitely not encouraging me to dig further.

When I'm in the mood I give my opinion on a range of topics here at UKWorkshop and other woodworking forums. I'm not a frequent poster here I admit, but I do post from time to time and offer what I know freely and willingly. It's the way of the internet.

You are perhaps also forgetting that the online UK based DMOU organisation is peopled only by professionals that offer each other help and support freely except for the effort to type up a response after perhaps doing a bit of research if needed.

When we want to know who's doing what and how much it costs, and where we can get it from, and who's got seconhand kit for sale, that network's antennae are very highly tuned. Slainte.

 

[seaco]

I myself am not against anyone making an honest buck but maybe you underestimated the closeness of the members here on the forum, we all welcome new members and are all pleased to find new sites to get information and maybe new friends from, but what you did has backfired a bit and I for one can't see anything on your site that I personally would pay for that isn't either here already or could be if enough asked for it...

"So for that reason I'm out"





P.S. good luck on your venture though...

 

[promhandicam]

Woodworker,

Why not offer free membership to the first 10, 20, 50 ? people who sign up from this website - you might just get some positive feedback about your paid for content which if it is good enough might actually encourage others to pay for the privilege. That said, I think that your initial approach of being less than honest, has done considerable damage to your venture.

All the best,

Steve

 

[Phil]

well...

ukworkshops gets my vote who do i send my old fiver too ??

Happy Days
Phil