Posted by Jim Erhardt on December 12, 2006 at 9:04 AM
We are in the process of setting up some new "vendor forums" on NPN. The purpose of these forums is to provide a convenient method for NPN members to see some of the latest deals and specials from reputable vendors without having to leave the NPN site.
There are 4 major advantages to the "vendor forum" approach;
1. There are no banners and pop-up ads "polluting" the site. This will maintain our tradition of a site free of advertising in a traditional sense.
2. Like the Hot Topics forum, vendor "advertising" will be restricted to their individual forums, and will not appear anywhere else on the NPN site.
3. Vendors will be able to post their specials as they see fit, when they see fit - a huge advantage for them compared to a "static ad."
4. NPN members will find deals on products they need that they may not otherwise find or be aware of.
Hunt's Photo and Video is our first vendor, and we are in the process of setting up their forum. Once they're ready to go, links to vendor forums will be included in the Forum Index and on the Forums and Galleries index page.
We hope you find these new forums useful!
Posted by Dan Borzynski on December 12, 2006 at 9:23 AM
Thanks for all of your work with this site. We appreciate it!
Posted by Walter Rowe on December 12, 2006 at 9:50 AM
I am unclear. Will there be one forum per vendor, or one vendor forum? Your message seems to say one forum per vendor. I think I would prefer to see one vendor forum. I don't want to have to visit all of them every time to look for new specials. Visiting a single vendor forum will show me by date when new offers have been posted or old offers updated.
I would ask that all vendors include the dates for which their offers are valid, and all the requisite details we need in order to take advantage of their offers (for example discount codes, where on their site you enter them, how you find to which products they apply, etc).
Will there be a moderator to prevent vendor SPAM? We don't want pharmaceutical advertisements, link trade offers for disreputable sites, etc.
Posted by Kent Staubus on December 12, 2006 at 9:56 AM
I will be sure and check it out once it's up.
Kent in SD
Posted by Jim Erhardt on December 12, 2006 at 10:08 AM
Walter, thanks for your comments!
There will be one vendor per forum, who will also moderate their own forum. The problem with one forum for all vendors is "competition for the top post" or "the most posts" - if you see what I mean. I do not envision a long list of vendor forums, and right now there's only one.
Dates - this is another advantage of a forum format for vendors - when the special is done, they simply edit/delete the post. They will include all needed info with their posts - in most cases, a person to contact via email or by phone to take advantage of the special.
I believe the SPAM issue is no more a concern than what it is now - it gets deleted on sight.
Thanks again for you comments and suggestions!
Posted by Walter Rowe on December 12, 2006 at 10:10 AM
Oh, goodie! Another reason to spend my day at NPN!
Thanks, Jim. It's a great idea and much appreciated. This is sure a great place.
Posted by Ed Dubois on December 12, 2006 at 8:21 PM
Excellent idea Jim. That way we get the benefit of the vendor's specials without having our screens littered with ads and NPN gets advertising support. Sounds like win win to me
Discussion
8 repliesThere are 4 major advantages to the "vendor forum" approach;
1. There are no banners and pop-up ads "polluting" the site. This will maintain our tradition of a site free of advertising in a traditional sense.
2. Like the Hot Topics forum, vendor "advertising" will be restricted to their individual forums, and will not appear anywhere else on the NPN site.
3. Vendors will be able to post their specials as they see fit, when they see fit - a huge advantage for them compared to a "static ad."
4. NPN members will find deals on products they need that they may not otherwise find or be aware of.
Hunt's Photo and Video is our first vendor, and we are in the process of setting up their forum. Once they're ready to go, links to vendor forums will be included in the Forum Index and on the Forums and Galleries index page.
We hope you find these new forums useful!
I would ask that all vendors include the dates for which their offers are valid, and all the requisite details we need in order to take advantage of their offers (for example discount codes, where on their site you enter them, how you find to which products they apply, etc).
Will there be a moderator to prevent vendor SPAM? We don't want pharmaceutical advertisements, link trade offers for disreputable sites, etc.
Kent in SD
There will be one vendor per forum, who will also moderate their own forum. The problem with one forum for all vendors is "competition for the top post" or "the most posts" - if you see what I mean. I do not envision a long list of vendor forums, and right now there's only one.
Dates - this is another advantage of a forum format for vendors - when the special is done, they simply edit/delete the post. They will include all needed info with their posts - in most cases, a person to contact via email or by phone to take advantage of the special.
I believe the SPAM issue is no more a concern than what it is now - it gets deleted on sight.
Thanks again for you comments and suggestions!
Thanks, Jim. It's a great idea and much appreciated. This is sure a great place.