What would it take to get more guys....

[Brian]

I would lower the cost to $25 a year for a full membership. With the economy the way it is a membership is not at the top of the must have list for many people.

[Ned Flanders]

Membership cost is pretty low. $20 isn't much to spend - if you can't afford that then you probably can't afford to be in the hobby. The Tweak is a remarkable magazine - getting that 4 times a year for $20 is well worth it (even as a PDF).

There are two sets of people we need to entice: the people who don't even know about the MFCA, and the people who know about it and don't join. I don't know what the answer is, but you probably use a different strategy to go after the different groups.

If there are people with MFCA forum accounts who aren't members, maybe we should PM them and ask why they haven't joined?

Just throwing out ideas.

Jeff

[Phillyfanatic]

Just to chime in and add my two cents....I agree with New Castle's idea, as well as Styx's idea. Limit "Tweak issues" to MFCA members and offer one free download to guests (Perhaps the first issue). This may entice them to want to become a member. In addition, perhaps adding in a section showing pics of new members and their experience with the hobby in future tweak magazines. (A short interview maybe?) This may entice guests by eliminating the "newbie" factor that populates many boards on the net today.

[WEIRDWOLF]

Originally Posted by Brian

I would lower the cost to $25 a year for a full membership. With the economy the way it is a membership is not at the top of the must have list for many people.

Just to clarify...membership is $20, magazine subscription is $30. Gold membership at $50 includes the magazine and your $20 membership.
The tweak costs $32.00 per member per year, our exact cost to print and mail. We lose money printing the magazine.

[eflfanatic]

Wolf,

You know what I have always wanted for the MFCA. MFCA sanctioned league and tournamnet play. I don't know if that is what would attract more membership but it couldn't hurt either. I do believe that the educational rule set that we are currently working on is a good thing and will help to not only promote the MFCA but many other leagues and tournments as well. I have to ask alot of people though, when your league gets together and plays in public venues do you promote your league and the MFCA or just your league? If you have coaches in your league who are not MFCA memebers, do you encourage them to join the MFCA? It seems to me certain leagues use the chat board for their own personal league message boards. Maybe we need to set up league and tournament membership fees for use of the chat board to promote leagues and tournments. The forum has to be public to a certain extent. since this is the main source of information for miniature football now. As you know activity on Miggle's Chatboard is just about non-existant anymore.

How do we keep all this in compliance with the current mission of the MFCA? Is not part of the mission of the MFCA to promote miniature football? I think the current membership fees are well worth the money for the amount of things that the MFCA provides.

As far as the "Tweak" and wanting to see more from other coaches and leagues, it is up to each member of the MFCA to provide information and articles for it if that is what you want to see. Write an article about yourself and let people know who you are and what your expericences are with miniature football. Who better to promote yourself than you?

Just my worth

[detroitchild]

...for the cow. Stop giving the milk away for free. The membership is not expensive to me (but it's all relative I suppose in this economy). I agree with Jimmy D on that point. If we limit most of it to paying members then those that truly want to partake will join. If not......

After that weeding out process we should embark upon some sort of marketing plan to reach those that may be interested but don't know about us. The plan does not have to be terribly expensive but it would have to be creative.

Just my 2 copper Lincolns worth!

[FrustratedFinFan]

If something is truly great, then it sells itself. Making something exclusive doesn't sound too inclusive to me. I am glad to donate a small amount a year for this website, but I don't want the magazine. I participate in other hobbies and I go to tons of websites on the web for free. I donated a small amount to this site and I donated $20 to a Dolphin's fan site... but that is it. Maybe this site can seek other advertising to offset costs? If not, then maybe scale it back so that it doesn't become too much of a burden for the intrepid and kind souls who have created and maintained it. I would imagine that a small donation from each member should be able to offset the costs and maybe advertising can help. On the Dolphin's fan site, they just came out and said how much money was needed and asked for donations. People that donated the money got a special avatar and recognition on the site, but that was it. The money was raised quickly and no one said a single disparaging word about folks who didn't pay. I was happy to help in that case. God knows why I have been such a loyal Dolphins fan!

I will pay to play in tournaments, if there are prizes and other benefits that cause expenditure of funds. That is a no-brainer. I gave my time to do some of the stat keeping for the PAC-10, so that was my contribution to our local league. This is a hobby....it ain't my job. I have a job.

Every time we have a thread like this, I read some comments that are kind of depressing. I won't say too much more on that, but I do want to remind folks of that old saying....You can catch more flies with molasses than with vinegar. Reggie sets a good example. He has done a lot to make the CBSMF a fun experience. It helped the hobby. I put my money into that...even if I won't reap the rewards of attending and enjoying the convention. I appreciate all of Reggie's efforts though. The moving of the convention from Vegas, after we voted on it, was a little disappointing though.

If this website goes to a $20 or $25 a year amount to participate, then I probably won't do it. It isn't that I dislike the forum or the hobby. It just doesn't make sense to me. I will continue to get together with the guys in the hobby out here in California. I like meeting new faces from across the country when I can too. I hope to travel to an EF convention someday. I tend to only make one big trip a year though....and I have other hobbies and interests. For some folks, this is their #1 hobby and I understand and appreciate that. It is a great game!

[Shabby J]

Originally Posted by Jim Davis

MAKE IT FOR ONLY PAID MFCA MEMBERS CAN LOOK AND OR LOGIN TO THIS WEB PAGE THAT WOULD DO IT.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT GO SOME WERE ELSE.

THIS WEB PAGE IS NOT FREE AND IT'S NOT RIGHT FOR SOMEONE TO LOOK AT THIS WEB PAGE FOR FREE AND WE MFCA MEMBERS HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT I AM SAYING SO WHAT,BUT IF YOU LIKE THIS WEB PAGE THEN PAY FOR A MEMBERSHIP TO HELP KEEP THIS WEB PAGE UP IF YOU DON'T IT MAY NOT BE HERE

Amen Big Jim Davis!!

I agree with you 100%, bad news is we taked about this a year ago on the forum and it lead to a very nasty thread, of which I was part of, truth be told, I still agree with this philosophy. We tried it the free way for all, lets try it the other way and we can move forward at full speed with paying members at the helm.

I support Jim Davis 100% on this!

[WEIRDWOLF]

I understand, Fin Fan, but the point of my original questions was: Is there anything that the MFCA could provide that would convince you to pay $20 a year for a MFCA membership. If not, then you have answered the question. We, unfortunately are not a big enough hobby to attract any advertisers, so any cost of operations has to be carried by the membership. If a forum and a magazine and a convention and awards and contests and a place to share ideas on a daily basis are not worth $20 then I can completely understand why you wouldn't want to pay to insure that the MFCA continues to offer those things. We could scale back to just a website, but that seems counter to the mission of the MFCA, to promote the hobby. We are OK budget wise, but I want to do more than what we are doing and that is limited to our budget. That is why I ask the question...besides it is my duty to the association to explore possibilities for positive growth not only of the MFCA, but the hobby.

[WEIRDWOLF]

I have to add that I don't want this to get nasty again. I'm looking for input from the general populace so that we can have an informed discussion at the convention based on the wants and needs of the membership. A year ago we had more users who were not MFCA members than we did MFCA members. That is now reversed, it makes a difference.