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Hi All.
Firstly i would like to thank everybody for making DesignsToLove what it is today. DesignsToLove has grown beyond my wildest expectations.
Over the pass month, we have received more than 250000 visits from all around the world. We now have a membership of
810 members who have posted a total of 2307 craft designs.
This is the good news. The bad news is, all this traffic and bandwidth is taking a toll on my servers.
At the moment, the hosting cost of DesignsToLove comes out from my own pocket. This is fine in the short term but would probably be too costly in the long run.
I have thought of implementing text ads relevant to craft into the website in order to support the operational cost of DesignsToLove. However before i decide, i would first like to hear your thoughts on this matter. Afterall, DesignsToLove would be nothing without the contribution and support of our members. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to post them here.
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I am sorry you are having problems with the website and I, for one, wouldn`t mind advertisements.
Kathy, England
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| It would be such a shame if this forum couldn`t continue. I don`t mind adds, just don`t like those `sneaky` ones or those `flashing` ones.
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I`m really enjoying this place so far -- I wouldn`t mind ads to offset costs.
Another option might be to have a subscriber service similar to what DeviantArt does. I think the subs over there start at $3.95/month? $4.95/month? But I guess that could easily turn into a headache all it`s own, too.
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Hi Jan,
Craft related adds are fine by me. Am sure you`d have no problem finding online craft and bead suppliers who`d be happy to have an advertisting banner on Designs to love.
The issue with subscriber service is that you may loose lots of members who can`t afford the sub, eg stay at home mums, people only starting out and looking for a market, those who already have their own websites, and those who craft just for fun. Not to mention the nightmare of administering a sub-scription service....
One of the great things about this site is the forum for chat about craft related things. It would be a shame to loose that.
Maybe you can limit the amount of space allocated to each user for posting pics. This way users are forced to delete pics from their galleries before posting new ones once they reach their allocated space.
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I don`t mind ads as long as it is relevant to what we have here (so craft related is perfect).
It is great that we have grown so much 
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Thank you all for your honest feedback.
There will certainly be no sneaky/flashing/popup ads. I too am not a big fan of ads but it seems like the best way to keep the site running without asking people directly for money. So far i have only considered text ads which are the least intrusive and does not really steal the attention away from the actual content.
The only experience i have with text ads are with google adsense. How it works is it takes the content of the page and shows relevant text ads relating to the content of the page. For example a page with beading content will display ads for beading suppliers. This ads can sometimes be fairly helpful and I have actually found some great bead suppliers out of them
The only downside is that based on my experience, they pay fairly low rates (ranges from 0.01 cent to 0.20 perclick). I might try this option to start of with and see how it goes. Please let me know if any of you have had any experience with Google Adsense.
Having the option of a premium account as suggested by KnitErrant is a pretty good idea. However DesignsToLove will always remain free for everyone. Premium accounts would be optional and will probarly allow special access to certain functionalities not available to free accounts such as no ads, the option of uploading a banner in their gallery etc. It needs to be a substantial offering as it would be unfair to offer a paid account for pretty much the same features as a normal account. Also how much is a fair price and how much would people be willing to pay for such a service?
I am truly honoured and thankful that you offered to donate towards the upkeep of the site. However this would just pass the burden from me to you and it would probarly not be feasible in the long run.
Let me know what you thoughts
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| Dear Jan, just to add my voice to the above-whatever you decide is sure to be in the interests of all the users. I have found this site a wonderful source of encouragement and inspiration and have recommended it to crafter friends. Keep up the good work and be assured of my support.
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Hi Jan,
I think everyone that uses this site is thrilled with it!! I was thinking that the premium account is a great idea. I would be more than willing to pay to use this site. I was thinking, and i don`t know how others might feel about this, but what about us being the ones who pay for ads??
What i mean is, if we paid a fee, and you could display an add to promote our separate businesses? Like i could pay you a fee, and you could display an add for my website. If we paid, and had adds to promote our own business, it would get seen more often than if people just stumbled across our designs!!?!! I guess you are talking in American Dollars, and it would depend on the size of the add and things like that, but i reckon i would be happy to pay $50 or so, for a small add. I guess that`s only about $39 American, but it`s just an idea.......
I hope you find the right solution, and i certainly don`t envy you the position, but i`m sure all us crafters will stick behind you, whatever you decide. I would be more than willing to donate also....... or to pay a yearly membership fee..... how much do you need to raise annually?
Chelsea. 80
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Whoops, that was supposed to be -
Chelsea. 
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I do not find the ads bothersome, or offensive. I just hope that they will help pay for the site! I worked with another site where this method of funding the site was used, and it was rare for it to pay enough in one month to fully fund the site...
AS for a premium account, I think that is a FABULOUS idea! I have some ideas on how to upgrade the premium accounts, if you`re interested! My sister is on a site called photographersworkshop.com and loves it... what it allows you to do is to RATE a piece, and give it MEANINGFUL feedback... Ihave always wanted this in a jewelry site! How amazing would it be to get something more in feedback than just "love the colors"! To get ideas on how to improve, or just to know that it truly is perfect the way it is!
Anyways, just a thought! Good luck, and thanks Jan for all your hardwork with this... it`s a great place to be, and a fabulous idea!
Cammy
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| I like maxsmum`s idea about the ads... I would be willing to pay for that
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Thank you all for the encouraging feedback.
I really like maxmum`s idea too. I am more comfortable with the idea of providing a paid service that mutually benefits both parties instead of having donations. I also much prefer helping advertise/promote our members products instead of random companies via Google Ads. (i`ve seen some weird ones popping up). That is why i have decided to remove the Google Ads and hopefully come up with a custom Ad system that would benefit our members.
Thank you once again to all for your wonderful support! It is such a great thing to have people who are passionate about the site and so willing to help out. 
I have so many things i want to do with DesignsToLove but can`t because i`m just swamped with work and running BeadCharm plus Christmas is just around the corner. 
I will try to draft the ad system out this weekend and also write down what plans i have for DesignsToLove.
Also just to get some feedback :
Should we go with image ads?
How much is a fair monthly rate?
I know that this generally comes down to traffic. DesignsToLove has only been up for 1 month so there`s not much traffic info to go by. However during the 1st month online (Oct), it has already done 213,163 views.
Looking forward to hearing what you think and any other ideas you might have.
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I was just wondering where and how often the ads would be displayed? I guess i have such a limited knowledge of the hard stuff involoved in making a website, i don`t really know how it would work.......
I still would be more than willing to pay for an ad, and don`t really know what the standard rate is for a monthly ad?!? I think image ads would benefit us more. Like, i would be more likely to look at something that had an eyecatching image, rather than just text!! But i guess that`s harder for you to add in to the website, therefore more work means defeating the point......
I`m really excited to see your draft ad system, and your other plans. I wish I had the balls to start something so successful!! You`re a champion Jan!!
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Go0d news and bad news.
No.... really only good news. As long as this site continues a few adds don`t make it bad news. Keep it up in any way possible..I think we are all used to adds and they can also be useful if they are from good suppliers.This site helps make my day.
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| I do not like pop up`s but if you used a feature that I believe is called frames I would not mind a list of sponcer`s going down the left side so that I could click on them when I wanted to look for some item. I would also buy for them companys that help us out
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