19 Jun 2018 14:06:24
Bit late but better than never.
Ed 001, your write up on the charity match was absolutely superb, literally had me crying with laughter.
Also, massive kudos to all involved. It's inspiring to see the good that comes from this site, with site being the operative word to use. This is not social media, this site is not making people millionaires. But what it is is fantastic in that, people are giving up their own time to run a trusted informative site for absolutely nothing. To push on and do work for charity is incredibly humbling and extremely selfless in my opinion. Ed's, Benny and everyone involved, take a huge bow because you deserve it.

{Ed001's Note - thank you mate. Just to be open and honest though, and not to give anyone the wrong impression, while most people who help out on the site are doing it for free, myself and Ed033 (not Ed0333, he just edits because he is hopelessly in love with me) do make our living from it.}

1.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 14:18:38
That’s great to hear ed. It’s the dream to be paid for something you are passionate about. Hopefully the site continues to grow. Not only because obviously full men’s back shaves cost so much these days but also because it’s so rare to get any reliable information across the internet. This site is a phenom in that sense.

{Ed001's Note - it would be even better to afford to be retired and do it for a hobby though. Then we could get rid of the damn ads! I hate them, but they are why we can keep it free.}

2.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 14:18:54
I'm sure that all will agree Ed that it makes zero difference that you make a living from the site, quite rightly you should make a living from it with the work that gets put in.
But again another sign of a great humble man who is willing to tell us this, you didn't have to my respect grows for you even further mate.

{Ed001's Note - I would much rather people know than don't. The way I look on it, honesty is better in the long term. If we didn't need to make anything from it the ads would be gone immediately! I miss the days when one advert was enough to earn enough money to live on.}

3.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 14:30:40
Ever considered charging us instead ed?

{Ed001's Note - we have considered it, but I am not comfortable with that. I have always believed the internet should be a free resource for all. We did wonder about trialling it where people could choose to subscribe for a version of the site without ads. Just never got a chance to really put any research into what would be a fair price or to set it up. Maybe I should ask Ed033 to set up a survey or something to get an idea of how many would be interested and how much they would be willing to pay? I certainly don't want to do anything that would put the sites behind a paywall though.}

4.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 14:41:26
Maybe try a poll ed001 mate and see what's people's thoughts. I would have no problem paying as it's the best site on the Internet for info.

5.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 15:34:58
Ed 001 - would the price go up every time the poster got a RTFP? Or maybe vary the subscription fee based on the poster - Harry would be skint. Only joking.

With the greatest respect, I totally admire the effort you all put in to running the site. I occasionally look at the other club rumour pages on here and there is no doubt that the Liverpool page is the most popular. Maybe that is due to your favoured club and the insight you offered when it was just the Football Rumours site. You must sometimes have to pinch yourself sometimes. The Man City page speaks volumes!

I do have one question for you Ed001 that may help put things into perspective for the keyboard warriors and idiots that get terse replies sometimes. Compared to say 10 years ago, how many more hits/ posters does the site get now with all of the various pages available (which has probably helped with search engines finding your site) . I bet there is a significant increase in popularity which brings with it loads more work.

Keep sane buddy and keep up the tremendous work.
Gary.

{Ed001's Note - it is difficult to be sure, but so far this year, we have had about half a million more page views over the last 6 months.}

6.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 15:37:54
I think keeping it free keeps it available to more people. £2 isn't much in the UK but in other parts of the world its a weeks wages.

It's good to know Ed makes a living from it, jealous. Fair play though brother.

{Ed001's Note - it has taken years to get to this point mind mate. For a number of years I had to pick and choose which days I could eat to afford to keep the internet on so I could keep the site going. And I have often had to do part time or full time jobs as well as the site.}

7.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 15:55:49
Have you thought about a patreon account ed01? That way it doesn't force anyone to pay and people can choose how much they are willing to give each month. I'd be more than willing to donate to the site I've relied on for 10 years. Maybe not the perfect answer but it'd definitely help you guys out.

{Ed001's Note - I had heard about them but I have no idea how it works. Maybe that is the way to go. Would love to be able to pay the editors for their help if nothing else.}

8.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 16:26:51
I'm with shents Ed, I'd happily donate monthly or weekly if needed.

{Ed001's Note - cheers mate, I will take a look at Patreon once I have finished the Arturo Gatti article then.}

9.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 16:27:14
Good shout shents. I know various youtube guys do it. Sailing La Vagabond is a perfect example where a young Aussie couple sail around the world on the back of the patreon contributions. They then allow certain patreons to join them on their boat for a while.

I am sure there are many people that would contribute, I definitely would, and maybe then those people could have an ad free experience or maybe even a juicier incentive of one of Ed002's classic sharkapod's or similar. The last thing I want is for anyone to think I am being a snob and definitely wouldn't want to discriminate against those who may not be able to afford to contribute as the site has always been open access to everyone and should remain that way. Maybe even a certain percentage of the patreon could be donated to the charity match?

Anyone else got any ideas for the Ed's to help continue their excellent work.
Gary.

{Ed001's Note - yeah I don't want to lock off access to those who can't afford it but I am sure we could come up with something that is just an extra that wouldn't otherwise be done at all, so they are not really missing out.}

10.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 16:56:26
More than fair play then ed01. Absolute legend. Well done man. People are always jealous of those who make a living doing something they love but seldom think of all the hard work that goes into it.

Good bloke ed01, a gentleman and a scholar.

{Ed001's Note - thank you mate.}

11.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 16:57:05
Hi ED01 I came across your site about 2 years ago now and only use this site for football info.
I long ago gave up on newspapers, TV and internet sources.
Your site is great to say the least amd between the your input and that of ED02 as well as they sarcastic ED (ED025) it is well worth participating in.


I think you should think about the idea from Shents with regards to donatioms, I for one would donate.
Maybe have an optional small reoccuring donation or subscription per month eg £2 per month.

I am alos happy to hear ypu make some living out of it, it is well deserved as the site is a great place.

What about those of us that own small business'es to sponser the site in some small way or have banners?

Anyway, its a great site and I am sure that there our a lot of us - not just LFC fans but those of other clubs who frequent on here would love to help it grow and be more successful.

{Ed001's Note - if you want to sponsor the site, the best person to speak to is probably Ed033, via the 'contact us' form at the bottom of the page. He deals with all the technical stuff.

And thank you RK, I never imagined it would be possible when we first started. It was years before it actually stopped costing us money to run!}

12.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 17:08:54
Considering the number of site out there that you have to subscribe to and don’t give a fraction of the value of be willing to pay. Plus I probably visit this site more than any other. The LFC site is £4-5 a month and I hardly use it.

{Ed001's Note - I just don't want to deprive those who can't afford it of having it. So I would have to think of ways to give extra to those willing to subscribe. I will have a look on Patreon and see what kind of things are offered on there by others to see what we can do.}

13.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 17:53:07
Could do subs like twitch.

Ad free and once a month subs get a q&a with you and a couple of eds on a live chat thingy. Maybe get ed002 to save the juicy juicy news for that.

{Ed001's Note - but then those who can't afford it would miss out on the juicy info.}

14.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 18:10:09
Just charge an amount per stupid repeat question!

On a serious note I'd happily pay a subscription fee, check site at least half dozen times a day.

{Ed001's Note - that might actually get people to read the posts!}

15.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 18:17:16
If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Website is fine as it is Ed001, no need for changes. 👍
Subscription would ruin this site I feel.

{Ed001's Note - I certainly wouldn't do anything that would change the basic site mate.}

16.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 18:24:48
This site has always been fantastic and I am talking all the way back to the good old football-rumours days.

To give you a comparison Ed I listen to some podcasts (non football related) which now do a Patreon. They keep all the same podcasts they normally did as free downloads (say four a week) but then have various Patreon levels that people can pay for for additional content should they choose to. From a couple of £ to like £50 for people who would like special podcasts doing on a topic of their choice.

So most companies/ brands/ people will use Patreon as a way for people to give something for the freebies they get and effectively get a little something extra in return. The problem is now there are some using patreon as a cash cow to limit the free content they have and put what used to be behind a paywall.

I think there is scope for you to do something here but it’s a difficult balancing act.

{Ed001's Note - I have never actually looked it at Patreon but I will do so over the next few days.}

17.) 19 Jun 2018
19 Jun 2018 18:42:54
To differentiate between paid and unpaid, maybe the people who pay DON'T get a signed full frontal from Harry?!

You'll get 100% take up of paid!