AUFAMILY Campaign Update

[RunInRed 16,349]

A few days ago, I humbly asked if you would support this site?  I say humbly, because shaking the virtual tin cup, or any cup for that matter, is some thing I'm just not comfortable doing.  It goes against the core of who I am and the work, hard work, principles Auburn drilled into me. 

However, after owning and operating this site since 2009, it was (past) time to face the music: we've built, and therefore must maintain, a monster.  Yes, our Pageviews, Users and most every other traffic metric you can measure has seen YoY growth; far surpassing almost every other AU news, information and entertainment site.  But even more so than this message board, which has always been at the heart of everything we are, we now have a multi-diverse platform which blasts our voice to every corner of the web and beyond. This all comes at a cost -- both tangible (hosting, domain fees, software license fees, etc.) and intangible (time, energy, etc.).

So we were left with a few options to reach financial reasonableness and sustainability: 1.) sell the site (we've turned down several offers) and leave it to the whims of the purchaser's desires 2.) convert the message boards into a premium subscription model 3.) turn everything we do into the yellow pages and spam the hell out of everyone in the process. 

No, No and No.

Instead of all those options, I chose the path of asking for your modest support - whatever you could do.  Some help with their time - moderating these boards, providing this community with user generated content, sharing our content on their social feeds to help spread the word, and on and on.  Some help by giving free services like graphic design, technical support and legal counsel. 

And some, just this week, have reached into their pockets - giving $1, $5 ... whatever they could ... to the cause.  Every dollar matters.  It is all so appreciated.  In fact, after directly asking for support just a few days ago, I've been BLOWN AWAY by the response and I wanted to share a few results with you:

• We have received over 200 individual donations
• The largest donation was $500!
• We've had several step up to the plate and make donations of more than $100 and had many more give $50 or more!
• We've had multiple people setup monthly recurring donations

As I said, BLOWN. AWAY!  Just unbelievable.  And so, as a small token of appreciation, we've decided (thanks for the suggestions!) to reward our donors with a new member status:

• Platinum Donors: $100 or more
• Gold Donors: $50 or more
• Silver Donors: $5 or more

In the coming day, these members will be designated with a new Icon Badge (similar to our Verified Member badge today) and for each level receive increasing number of perks (e.g., more PM capacity, increased number of daily Reactions, AUFAMILY gear, etc.).  We're still finalizing these details but again, we wanted to find a way to reward those who financially are supporting this site. 

Lastly, if you still want to donate, it's not too late!

So again, let me just say THANK YOU.  I'm honored to have the opportunity to continue to lead this online community forward and truly inspired by this big "family."  And as I've said before, our ears and minds are always open - we love your suggestions for how we can keep making this place better - so please keep them coming.

War Eagle!

Rob

[RunInRed 16,349]

👀 new Icon Badges ...

[toddc 13,194]

21 minutes ago, RunInRed said:

👀 new Icon Badges ...

You, my friend, are a master marketer! Badges and thumbs up drive posters on forums. 😝 

[RunInRed 16,349]

[RunInRed 16,349]

Another way to support for those who feel so inclined...

We’ve posted this campaign in our social feeds ... Shares / Tags / RTs / nice comments ... are all appreciated and will help is spread the word.  The cost is minimal!

Thank you!

Facebook (Share, Like, leave a supportive comment): https://www.facebook.com/AUFAMILY/photos/a.1468490669841012/3724805240876199/?type=3

Instagram (Tag your AU friends, Like, leave a supportive comment): https://www.instagram.com/p/CJeT0oqg7Ia/?igshid=7iw2e9tl6puf

Twitter (RT, Quote, Like, Comment): 

 

[ellitor 33,062]

@McLoofus If you haven't done so yet, donate & get them platinum likes. More than any of us, you could make the most use of them.

[McLoofus 35,182]

3 hours ago, ellitor said:

@McLoofus If you haven't done so yet, donate & get them platinum likes. More than any of us, you could make the most use of them.

Fine. Done. 

You jerkfaces.

[RunInRed 16,349]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Fine. Done. 

You jerkfaces.

@McLoofus coming for you guys with his new powers in 2021!

For real, thanks for the support!

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

Still time to donate? @RunInRed

[RunInRed 16,349]

Just now, ClaytonAU said:

Still time to donate? @RunInRed

Absolutely!

[RunInRed 16,349]

Welcome to Platinum status, @fredst and @Gulf Breeze Tiger, and thank you for your generous donations!

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

28 minutes ago, RunInRed said:

Absolutely!

Done 👍🏻

[RunInRed 16,349]

12 minutes ago, ClaytonAU said:

Done 👍🏻

THANK YOU!

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

29 minutes ago, RunInRed said:

THANK YOU!

Yessir! This place is family. 

[dabrasco 127]

I'm guessing your using the email address of the donation to line up with the account? I need my stinking badges

[RunInRed 16,349]

52 minutes ago, dabrasco said:

I'm guessing your using the email address of the donation to line up with the account? I need my stinking badges

Please shoot me a PM with your donation email ...

[abw0004 10,102]

Hey!  Do I get a special badge for coming up with this whole thing??  Tribute video would be sublime, or renaming the entire site after me...  

[PUB78 1,353]

Done!🦅🐅

[WarTim 3,456]

RIR. Sorry to be late to the table my Brother. Just sent mine in. God bless and War Eagle!!!

[Zeek 16,578]

On 12/30/2020 at 9:40 PM, RunInRed said:

A few days ago, I humbly asked if you would support this site?  I say humbly, because shaking the virtual tin cup, or any cup for that matter, is some thing I'm just not comfortable doing.  It goes against the core of who I am and the work, hard work, principles Auburn drilled into me. 

However, after owning and operating this site since 2009, it was (past) time to face the music: we've built, and therefore must maintain, a monster.  Yes, our Pageviews, Users and most every other traffic metric you can measure has seen YoY growth; far surpassing almost every other AU news, information and entertainment site.  But even more so than this message board, which has always been at the heart of everything we are, we now have a multi-diverse platform which blasts our voice to every corner of the web and beyond. This all comes at a cost -- both tangible (hosting, domain fees, software license fees, etc.) and intangible (time, energy, etc.).

So we were left with a few options to reach financial reasonableness and sustainability: 1.) sell the site (we've turned down several offers) and leave it to the whims of the purchaser's desires 2.) convert the message boards into a premium subscription model 3.) turn everything we do into the yellow pages and spam the hell out of everyone in the process. 

No, No and No.

Instead of all those options, I chose the path of asking for your modest support - whatever you could do.  Some help with their time - moderating these boards, providing this community with user generated content, sharing our content on their social feeds to help spread the word, and on and on.  Some help by giving free services like graphic design, technical support and legal counsel. 

And some, just this week, have reached into their pockets - giving $1, $5 ... whatever they could ... to the cause.  Every dollar matters.  It is all so appreciated.  In fact, after directly asking for support just a few days ago, I've been BLOWN AWAY by the response and I wanted to share a few results with you:

• We have received over 60 individual donations
• The largest donation was $500!
• We've had several step up to the plate and make donations of more than $100 and had many more give $50 or more!
• We've had multiple people setup monthly recurring donations

As I said, BLOWN. AWAY!  Just unbelievable.  And so, as a small token of appreciation, we've decided (thanks for the suggestions!) to reward our donors with a new member status:

• Platinum Donors: $100 or more
• Gold Donors: $50 or more
• Silver Donors: $5 or more

In the coming day, these members will be designated with a new Icon Badge (similar to our Verified Member badge today) and for each level receive increasing number of perks (e.g., more PM capacity, increased number of daily Reactions, AUFAMILY gear, etc.).  We're still finalizing these details but again, we wanted to find a way to reward those who financially are supporting this site. 

Lastly, if you still want to donate, it's not too late!

So again, let me just say THANK YOU.  I'm honored to have the opportunity to continue to lead this online community forward and truly inspired by this big "family."  And as I've said before, our ears and minds are always open - we love your suggestions for how we can keep making this place better - so please keep them coming.

War Eagle!

Rob

Hey Rob!

Would AUFamily ever consider having merchandise? I don't know how much money it would generate but I know there are plenty of places that allow you to make merchandise and sells it without dealing with inventory (all profit no costs kinda thing).

I can't really give right now but would love to help in any other way possible.

[autiger88 3,777]

On 12/30/2020 at 10:40 PM, RunInRed said:

A few days ago, I humbly asked if you would support this site?  I say humbly, because shaking the virtual tin cup, or any cup for that matter, is some thing I'm just not comfortable doing.  It goes against the core of who I am and the work, hard work, principles Auburn drilled into me. 

However, after owning and operating this site since 2009, it was (past) time to face the music: we've built, and therefore must maintain, a monster.  Yes, our Pageviews, Users and most every other traffic metric you can measure has seen YoY growth; far surpassing almost every other AU news, information and entertainment site.  But even more so than this message board, which has always been at the heart of everything we are, we now have a multi-diverse platform which blasts our voice to every corner of the web and beyond. This all comes at a cost -- both tangible (hosting, domain fees, software license fees, etc.) and intangible (time, energy, etc.).

So we were left with a few options to reach financial reasonableness and sustainability: 1.) sell the site (we've turned down several offers) and leave it to the whims of the purchaser's desires 2.) convert the message boards into a premium subscription model 3.) turn everything we do into the yellow pages and spam the hell out of everyone in the process. 

No, No and No.

Instead of all those options, I chose the path of asking for your modest support - whatever you could do.  Some help with their time - moderating these boards, providing this community with user generated content, sharing our content on their social feeds to help spread the word, and on and on.  Some help by giving free services like graphic design, technical support and legal counsel. 

And some, just this week, have reached into their pockets - giving $1, $5 ... whatever they could ... to the cause.  Every dollar matters.  It is all so appreciated.  In fact, after directly asking for support just a few days ago, I've been BLOWN AWAY by the response and I wanted to share a few results with you:

• We have received over 60 individual donations
• The largest donation was $500!
• We've had several step up to the plate and make donations of more than $100 and had many more give $50 or more!
• We've had multiple people setup monthly recurring donations

As I said, BLOWN. AWAY!  Just unbelievable.  And so, as a small token of appreciation, we've decided (thanks for the suggestions!) to reward our donors with a new member status:

• Platinum Donors: $100 or more
• Gold Donors: $50 or more
• Silver Donors: $5 or more

In the coming day, these members will be designated with a new Icon Badge (similar to our Verified Member badge today) and for each level receive increasing number of perks (e.g., more PM capacity, increased number of daily Reactions, AUFAMILY gear, etc.).  We're still finalizing these details but again, we wanted to find a way to reward those who financially are supporting this site. 

Lastly, if you still want to donate, it's not too late!

So again, let me just say THANK YOU.  I'm honored to have the opportunity to continue to lead this online community forward and truly inspired by this big "family."  And as I've said before, our ears and minds are always open - we love your suggestions for how we can keep making this place better - so please keep them coming.

War Eagle!

Rob

Donated hopefully what little I can can help out. Love this site WDE! Also if you needed any other kind of help let me know I'll do what I can. Also had to use a different email then the one attached to my name on here if you need it I'll pm you the email address.

Edited January 4, 2021 by autiger88

[RunInRed 16,349]

55 minutes ago, Zeek said:

Hey Rob!

Would AUFamily ever consider having merchandise? I don't know how much money it would generate but I know there are plenty of places that allow you to make merchandise and sells it without dealing with inventory (all profit no costs kinda thing).

I can't really give right now but would love to help in any other way possible.

We tried in the past and AU licensing dealt us fits.  We've got a few different ideas for 2021 ... stay tuned.

And thanks for all of your contributions to the site - appreciate you, sir!

[RunInRed 16,349]

38 minutes ago, autiger88 said:

Donated hopefully what little I can can help out. Love this site WDE! Also if you needed any other kind of help let me know I'll do what I can. Also had to use a different email then the one attached to my name on here if you need it I'll pm you the email address.

THANK YOU and yes, do please shoot me a PM.

[RunInRed 16,349]

3 hours ago, PUB78 said:

Done!🦅🐅

Thank You!

[RunInRed 16,349]

3 hours ago, WarTim said:

RIR. Sorry to be late to the table my Brother. Just sent mine in. God bless and War Eagle!!!

Thank you again, for your generous generous support!  War Eagle!