Hi all,
The wifey is looking over my shoulder wondering if I should try to set up a website that includes articles, tutorials, a gallery and so forth and accept credit card donations for it, to further the world’s greatest hobby.
Maybe even charge a nominal fee for complete access. Has anyone done this? Is it easy to set up?
We spend many hours on our hobby, why not get a little compensation for our valuble time?
there is so much free information out there that i suspect it would be difficult to make any money doing this , but i’ve never been right about making money before , so assume that my advice is worth exactly what you paid for it !
My [2c]-I wouldn’t spend any money to do it because I don’t see how you could make any money from it. I think people are more likely to “donate” to their own layouts. If you can do it yourself for free, then go for it.
If you want “compensation for your valuble time” and you have a demonstrated ability and are recognised as being an expert in what you will offer, put your material on DVDs and see how many people will buy them. Some modelers are doing this.
Paying for Internet information has been tried in the past and has failed. One fellow was offering an online newsletter on narrow gauge modeling, decided to go by paid subscription only. It only lasted a few months as very few actually signed up.
Good luck anyway!
If I come across a pay site that contains info I can get free elsewhere, guess where I go.
Kyle, it is all about value. If you have something to offer that is unique, not readily available elsewhere for free then you might have some success. As you probably know there are many MRR related forums on the web. There are many modelers that have taken the time to create how-tos and other instructional materials that they place on their web sites. There was for a long time a guy selling a down-loadable PFD of MRR tips and hints. It was for a price and I personally never bothered to do it.
The second issue is going to be getting traffic to the site. The response rate will be very low in my estimation. I would be surprised if more than 2 or 3% of folks that hit your site would actually pay for the access. So you would have to market the site to get thousands to visit to get a few registered users.
Look at this site. Kalmbach sell their video PDF’s for $5 or $6 each. How many folks are actually willing to spend on these? I purchased one, discovered that it did not cover the information that I wanted and have never looked again. IMO there is just not enough value in these items.
Well unless you’ve got something that most seasoned veterans (I’m not one) have not seen, then you have a very slight chance of selling a couple of ideas off. Basically, don’t give up your day job for this venture. Now if you want to have a site up for the sake of having one, then may I suggest you make a site that can serve as a directory to others’ sites. One would visit your site, and you would provide links to other sites that have modeling info. The benefit of this is that you can then ask for a “donation” from visitors to help keep your up-to-date, accurate and dead link free site up and running. It would save loads of time for us that do searches on free modeling info. If done right, I would assure you that if your site proves to be a valuable asset, you will get “donations” in order to keep your site alive. Also, you could probably get away with asking the site authors for a small “donation” as well since you’ll be directing traffic to their sites (I know how it works). If I had a site, and there was a reliable directory that made my site more visible, then I would reward the owner of said directory monetarily. BTW, it doesn’t have to be just a directory, you would of course display your modeling information as well. [2c]
If a link is posted in these forums and it asks me to enroll in a membership, register, get a password, or pay to use the site, I just Google for a free site that does the same thing.
In my opinion, for what it’s worth, unless you have something very unique and special on your site that cannot be found anywhere else, you’ll never make any money from it.
If you do decide to proceed with your project, carefully read the forum policies here about posting links to your own site because Bergie is likely to delete it very quickly if it violates forum rules.
You are treading on thin ice here.
First off, I dont think Bergie will appreciate forum members using his resources generously provided to make income. Hobby or not.
I think we all have a desire to see the internet as a cash cow that will open up a new revenue source. You cannot expect me to believe for one second that it will be for the good of the hobby. Besides, a simple google or search will usually turn up the information for free with a little digging.
You really should see the Hobby as a investment for stress-relief and benefits that might give you a better sense of wellness and ability to stay out of the hospital. Not to be used as a revenue source.
Take a look around you and see PDF’s for sale, magazines for sale, information flooding the websites of increasing precision and other means on and off the internet. You cannot expect to successfully sign up more than three or 4 subscribers this way. Even if you did, they will go away once they learn how to get the same information for themselves for free.
Others have said that you can produce material such as magazines, DVD’s Books etc. People have done this successfully in the past, especially when said material meets the needs of the many in sufficient quanity to satisfy commerce and generate some income for the author.
Have at it. But on your own time, and space, not here.
If you feel the need to participate with promoting the hobby with a skill set that is a value to the majority, then it will be your time, expense and effort that makes it happen. Not money or income.
For example there has been recent references to people building small layouts for others to enjoy at Hospitals, schools or retirement facilties. They probably had a sponsor or put up the funding themselves or used what was availible to make it all happen. They dont expect to make a penny out of that labor and expense.
TO see a smile on someone who enjoys the hobby who other wise cannot, is priceless. No amount of income or numb
In my opinion, the idea of paying for information that’s widely available elsewhere doesn’t look like much of a money-maker. I don’t know how well the model railroading magazines are doing in competition with the (mostly) free internet: I’m sitting on almost 40 years worth of them, and I do still buy them, but then again, I much prefer books and magazines to the internet as “entertainment”. Forums such as this are the modern-day equivalent to the old-time hobby shops, which for the most part have disappeared thanks to on-line shopping. My LHS is still one of those old-fashioned places where the regulars hang around, dispensing wisdom and information to customers with questions, and generally sharing the camaraderie of model railroading. The free exchange of information has always been one of the attractions of model railroading, and I hope that that spirit doesn’t disappear.
Wayne
Thanks so much guys for all the valuble opinions. I have read all the responses to this post and wholeheartedly agree.
If you have seen my posts here and especially on The Gauge, the Bachmann Board and the Atlas Forum then you know I love to share photos of my projects and written reports on information I think other modelers will find useful.
My question was more an idle curiousity. My wife prodded me too. She said, “As long as you are spending all this time in the basement and writing about you r projects online, why not try to make some money off of it.”
I hope my querry was not threatening. And I hope it didn’t push any forum rules… thanks again!
Hmm. why would the wife ask you to try and make money off the hobby?
I dont see myself making a dime off the hobby. The best I have done with my own spouse was to sell off unnecessary stock on ebay and use the proceeds to finance future purchases, it cuts down on the load on the current month’s budget. I have not had to do that because she has her hobby as well. Gardening.
Be the same as me asking her to sell the tomatos she raises on the street corner at 10 cents a pound or whatever they wholesale for. But to make money? Not happening. Let’s see, we are about 500 dollars expense into the planting and everything related these last 9 months and the growing season is just getting underway. A perfect crop will barely supplement our grocery bill, not anywhere near pay or make a profit.
If my wife came in today and asked me to make money off the hobby I might as well get out of the whole thing and use the funds to pay the divorce bill. She knows me staying home at the workbench is better than carousing downtown on a friday night.
If you want to make money in this hobby, submit articles to the (few) magazines still around. MR used to pay $80.00 per page, but this may have changed. You’ll need to have properly composed and exposed photos showing your work and a decent writing skill for the article. MR’s editors can spruce up the writing but can’t help with the photos. If you think you are a decent photographer, enter MR’s annual photo contest. Nothing like getting a check in the mail for $1000.00! Been there, done that!
Send photos to Walthers for use in their catalogs, they used to pay $25.00 for each one used, and you get a free catalog too. They used mine for 20 years.
I’ve probably made more in the hobby than I’ve ever spent, from my photos and articles I’ve had the good fotune to have published (over 800 photos so far). I didn’t start out in the hobby to make money, though. I just wanted to explore what I could do with my photography hobby, in the hopes of seeing my work in print. The payments were just "gravy’ with the glory.
Another question is… where is the “information” for your site going to come from? Is this something you are going to develop? it seems like a lot of work to research and develop the information to put up there. I am not trying to discourage you, as some people have a great aptitude for doing this type of research and legwork.
Dan Pikulski
Unless a site provides unique or earth-shattering information (I’ve yet to find one), I would not pay for something that is available elsewhere for free. There are many free sites, forums, and other venues that are ran by other modelers who truly love what they’re doing and want to share their skills with others. Making DVDs and promoting them on site or in a magazine that has a classified “for sale” setion would be a better alternative.
I don’t think the OP is saying he’s going to use this forum or its info to make a dime, so no need to bring up Bergie. He’s asking a hypothetical question in regards to creating a website that offers modeling information and charging for it and granting more access to more information. As unlikely that such a site would succeed, he has the right to pose such questions, no need to run the guy off.
As far as the wife being behind the whole thing, that makes me wonder. My fiance knows how much I put into my models and what they’re worth. Yet she has never told me to start a business venture for it, she just lets me do what I enjoy.
Im wondering about the wife also. Never mind all the other stuff.
If my wife told me to turn the hobby into a money making machine, we have problems. Probably one where she may see too much money going out or something I dont know.
But in our house she has a certain amount to spend every month as do I so I feel that we are on good terms so far.
This thread suddenly focused on the wife with that one sentance, be nice if we can learn and share the real story.
The Wife?
Oh… She thinks my trains are pretty cool and I even catch here watching them run as she does the laundry, etc. She would not deny me, and she reminds herself that, me being tied up in the basement with a project is better than being out at the bar. I guess we, like most people, were talking out loud as to how make a little extra money.
Listen; I’ve been a choir director/organist and elementary music teaher for many years.
Maybe it’s just a mid life crisis, (46) but I’m just “putting in my time” at the old music career lately. I am much more devoted to, and spend more energy on the trains these days…
Thanks again for the interest. As long as I’m here, how about a couple shots from a recent project. I’m working on a enclosure to load USG gypsum into covered hoppers. Here I’m just starting out.
And here it is with a coat of primer.
Oh, and I recently did a funky water tower and here is a moody shot of it.
CHEERS!
I think you did well on that project. Nice imagery.
My spouse knows I need some room to run around in as long it isnt inside “her” house. =)
We happen to be exploring homes and we know that one of the things I require is a dedicated train room and workshop area. She will still have the rest of the house. =) Cheers.
I may have to go to university to log on and post because of no internet out here in the woods but that is a price to pay easily.