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

[WEIRDWOLF]

signed up to the MFCA. This question goes out to you guys who are not MFCA members. I'm not being pushy and we are glad you are part of the forum either way, but is there something that if the MFCA introduced that would get you to sign up.

This is something that we will be discussing at the business meeting in Canton and I would like some input from you guys that are on the fence. Is it finances tight, why buy the cow when you get the milk for free, not enough benefits to joining...I'm just curious and the rest of you guys that are members can chime in also as to what you would like to see the MFCA provide in the future or improved upon.

The fact is, it takes about 200 members at our current membership fees to provide all the things that we currently provide. Members packet, convention, magazine, website, awards, etc.. We have steadily been dropping in numbers and not very many new coaches are joining the forum. Currently we have around 190 paid members. What would excite coaches to re-up or join for the first time?

[Coach K-LO]

stuff like some gridironpainters' figures
or
jennings figures
or
megawatts figures
or
reggie figures
or
norbert bases
or
lomax bases
or
hulk bases
or
decals
or
TDQ / TDK players

anything like that for the new members...don't have to be a full team or nother crazy like that but maybe 1 or 2 figures would be a nice joining reward.

or go back to limited viewing priviledge unless a member....

just a few thoughts

[NEW CASTLE HiTMEN]

More MFCA members only raffles. I would have bought some for the WATTZ board but I will not be at the convention! Some of the things I would buy a ticket for are decal sheets of your choice, a free 1 year membership to the MFCA, 1 free tournament fee, 1 free MFCA t-shirt or Mug. Things of that nature.

[WEIRDWOLF]

C'mon now...there has to be more thoughts on this subject. Would the MFCA league idea presented earlier this month be something that would get more signups?

[RavennaAl]

Phil, Matt and I are trying to be as equal and diversified as we can with the Tweak. The biggest problem we have is a lack of commitment from people. We get all kind of promises for articles, but then they never show up. If you, or anyone else for that matter, wants to see different coahes featured, then by all means write something up about them and send it in. And when I say write, I mean more than a paragraph or two. Don't worry about the spelling or grammer, we can correct it. Just get those fingers going and e-mail it to us.

[styx]

ITS NOT JUST THE ARTICLES SENT IN ,AT TOURNAMENTS OR CONVENTIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY ITS LIKE A BUNCH OF PIX WERE TAKEN BUT ALL OF THE SAME THREE OR FOUR GUYS,IS SOMEONE NEW THAT JUST JOINED ANY LESS VALUABLE THAN ONE THATS MADE A BIG NAME FOR HIMSELF,I KNOW YOU,MATT,WOLF AND THE REST OF THE STAFF DO A BANG UP JOB AND ITS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED BY MYSELF AND ALL THE OTHER READERS,MAYBE IM BEATING A DEAD HORSE BUT ITS ONLY A THOUGHT.

[eflfanatic]

I just read the letter from the link on the home page entitled "Why Join?" I think everyone should read this if you haven't already. Thanks to who ever wrote it.

The last statement says it all:

" It would be great to see you join for no other reason than I know you love the game."

[WEIRDWOLF]

This thread wasn't suppose to be a pay up or get out thread. I'm still open to valid ideas that would entice more people who are on the fence, to join up.

There have been some good suggestions made and other ideas that require some more finances and preperation to implement.

Ultimately though, it seems like those that are willing to pay to be members are doing so and the rest would rather not have the benefits of a MFCA member regardless of its price and what it offers.

I am just gathering info. We are going to be working on a new front end for the website after the convention. It will have a more modern and informative look then our current site and will better promote the hobby to the public. Many things are in the works behind the scenes. Eventually, the juicy parts of the forum will come at a minimum price, but not without providing a front end to the site that meets the requirements of our mission statement. It is simply part of the evolution. My hope is to have this ready by January 1st if not sooner.

Thanks for the input and if anyone else wants to add to the discussion, please do.

[roller]

There seems to be two competing ideas/inquiries in this thread...

1) What things can we do to attract new members?

2) What ways can the MFCA boost revenue?


My thoughts...
These two ideas are not exactly mutually exclusive. Boosting membership creates new revenue, that is clear. However, boosting revenue does not necessarily mean that we need to add members. There are countless revenue streams that are open... however, THAT is a discussion for another thread...

Ways to attract members...
Some have suggested that we offer some free products. I do agree that these incentives are a great idea, but I would like to offer up a larger concept/question? What are the things that the MFCA does for the hobby that it is truly great at doing? Once these things are well-defined, then packaged and marketed, we will have something that everyone will be willing to join and to represent.

I believe that the greatest thing that the MFCA does is provide coaches and hobbyists a hub or "social network" in which to share ideas and products and to organize themselves. That is really what being a member is about... How do you package that?

[styx]