How many WSN Links installs do you run?
a survey question, votes appreciated
| How many WSN Links installs do you run? | |||
| 1 | 4 | 25% | |
| 2 | 5 | 31% | |
| 3 | 5 | 31% | |
| 4 | 0 | 0% | |
| 5-7 | 2 | 13% | |
| 8-10 | 0 | 0% | |
| 11-15 | 0 | 0% | |
| 16-25 | 0 | 0% | |
| 26+ | 0 | 0% | |
| 16 votes | |||
How many WSN Links installs do you run?
a survey question, votes appreciated
| How many WSN Links installs do you run? | |||
| 1 | 4 | 25% | |
| 2 | 5 | 31% | |
| 3 | 5 | 31% | |
| 4 | 0 | 0% | |
| 5-7 | 2 | 13% | |
| 8-10 | 0 | 0% | |
| 11-15 | 0 | 0% | |
| 16-25 | 0 | 0% | |
| 26+ | 0 | 0% | |
| 16 votes | |||
Comments on How many WSN Links installs do you run?
developer
Usergroup: Administrator
Joined: Dec 20, 2001
Location: Diamond Springs, California
Total Topics: 61
Total Comments: 7868
Thanks to everyone for the many good suggestions, which are appreciated even though I may not follow most of them.
Also let me insist on one of my previous suggestions,
I strongly believe that a long term support should be payed.
I'm keeping it in mind as a possibility should it become necessary, though I'd probably start off by making just email support be paid with the slower-response forum still free.
I really prefer to avoid going down the road of hourly rate support (for normal issues) if I can avoid it.
You need to invest in some time to update your site look.
Quite a lot of time has been put into the new look of the site (in fact the last several new looks), incorporating suggestions. This is the absolute best effort I'm capable of... and the logo is better than I'm capable of, a customer volunteered it and people on this forum voted it better than all the alternatives I spent my time creating. I'll never develop artistic taste, things that most of you think are ugly look beautiful to me and vice versa.
Promoting to niche webdevelopers or hosts could get your script licensed more. Bite the bullet and make one or more niche relevant customized designs or perhaps trade out to a designer for their own copy or discount for the script.
One thing I'd like to do is push the co-branding idea a bit more (I suspect most people didn't notice the offer or don't remember it), allowing the people who do have the artistic and marketing skills or the expertese in a special niche to sell the script and split revenue. It's difficult to tap a market you're not familiar with, so it could be more effective for me to work with people who know those markets well. There's a German co-branded version in the works (obviously I have some trouble tapping the German market myself
It's simply impossible for me to understand what it takes to suceed in specialized niches with which I have not been involved, someone on the inside will always do better. Thus I suspect a co-branded revenue split would make me more money than if I were doing it myself, supposing the co-branding partner has the necessary knowledge.
As opposed to say, philosophy, of which the only obvious/main product I can think of would be books, which is saturated I'd guess.
Indeed, my philosophy site hasn't had much luck with advertising.
I consider WSN-Links is being presented as a jack of all trades
Yes, though KB, Gallery and Forum are a bit more narrowly focused.
Frankly it sounds as if the free/basic version a waste of time.
I wouldn't go that far, especially since I spend so little time on it. I think it's very important in that it allows people to make sure that they are capable of installing the script and editing templates and the like. When people express unease in pre-sales inquiries, I often encourage them to try the basic edition and see if they aren't more capable of using it than they think.
charge in the $15-25 range for it
No, while it may need more feature reduction I'm sure it's useful to have a free product people can try out.
Use a reputable afilliate organization
All the reputable ones charge a fortune (commission junction wanted $3000 up front and several hundred a month minimum if I recall correctly), hence being stuck with the highly disreputable clixgalore.
You might want to consider re-branding the product and not associating it as a 'links script' so directly, because it can be used in other ways.
Well, actually, the real problem isn't so much WSN Links sales being flat as the fact that none of the other scripts have managed to gain any momentum in all these years. I have WSN Gallery, WSN Forum, WSN KB... but they bring in a combined $200-$300 month, leaving me quite heavily dependant on WSN Links.
As far as not using the word "Links" with WSN Links, I don't think "WSN Indexer" or the like would be any more catchy... links directories are a defined market, rather than wander into a nebulous region of scripts that can do anything I prefer to release products like KB, Gallery etc that cater directly to the other possible things WSN Links could do. Though I do note on the front page and in the tour that WSN Links can do many things beyond links directories.
For instance, one of my installs is a customised classifieds script, and yet there's hardly any mention of this across the site... that's one entire product set that you're missing out hundreds and thousands of customers on because you won't show up when they do a search for 'classifieds script'.
There's no point in my releasing another product that'll be ignored. Until I can sell the current 3 spinoffs it'd be unwise to make another (hence WSN PPC being discontinued to concentrate efforts on the core scripts, and plans for WSN Classifieds being scapped for the indefinite future).
submit articles, press releases
I really don't see what sort of article or press release would be appropriate, nor would I have any idea who would want to publish it. I can't say that I've ever seen a press release for any other PHP script.
To tell you the truth I would keep the 3 domain license that's a good deal and that is what enticed me to buy wsnlinks and I have recommended you program to various webmasters and they love it.
Frankly though I'm not sure how many people even notice how many installs they're going to be allowed before they make their decision to buy. It was a nice deal, but there's a reason why every other script around has one install per license.
The bulk pricing as you find it now on the site will wring a bit of money out of you if you have three sites ($120 to be precise), but after all that is the purpose.
Plus if you offered to a payment option for adult webmasters that would bring in a lot more buyers cause then they could promote your script in there webmaster resource sections of their adult sites. I know we talked about this before Paul
We did? I don't know what you're getting at, why would adult webmasters need a different payment option than other webmasters?
Forum Regular
Usergroup: Customer
Joined: Oct 18, 2003
Total Topics: 32
Total Comments: 114
Paul,
What I was getting at was an affiliate program where adult webmasters could promote your script in their webmaster resource area is what I am referring to. I shouldn't of used payment options sorry about that Paul.
Liz
developer
Usergroup: Administrator
Joined: Dec 20, 2001
Location: Diamond Springs, California
Total Topics: 61
Total Comments: 7868
Ah, there is an affiliate program (does it not accept adult sites?) but unfortunately a reputable one would be far too expensive as explained above.
Forum Regular
Usergroup: Customer
Joined: Oct 30, 2003
Total Topics: 54
Total Comments: 197
I have 2 licenses - 1 for 3 WSN Links installations and 1 for WSN Knoledgebase (not sure how many installations though). I haven't tried the knowledgebase yet.
Paul, take a look at Wordpress. I think your software could be as popular! Its just that you target very limited audience. What is hot today? What are the new trends? Blogging, iPods, Podcasting, Vodcasting, RSS, Web2.0(/tagging/pinging, GoogleBase, GoogleEarth, GoogleVideo) blah blah blah - that actually covers the widest online audience in the world today. Check this out http://mymomsblog.blogspot.com/ she is 80 years old and bogging, and vodcasting. Your products are great, flexible and easy to use. Its great for a newbie and for a developer. You have a couple of products running together that are easy to integrate together. Its really great for us who know at least something and can tweak it on their own, but not for the wide public. So, tune into the modern trends and I'm pretty sure people will start using your products. Make limited versions for free - can you imagine what will happen if bloggers will find it easy to integrate with their Wordpress/Blogger/Typepad/Drupal/WSNBlog/younameit... I think you'll be ahead of many developers out there because you already have number of products that are community directed and can be all merged and integrated together. Target the wider audience. Just imagine if boggers and podcasters start talking about your free (limited license) software and how easy to use and integrate with anything.
I think you need to get some help to design everything in CSS, then you can have extensive libraty of templates like Wordpress, Blogger etc do. Honestly speaking, I feel more secure with less people using your product
..don't miss the boat man!
developer
Usergroup: Administrator
Joined: Dec 20, 2001
Location: Diamond Springs, California
Total Topics: 61
Total Comments: 7868
If any of the non-Links scripts starts selling, then I can consider adding more... otherwise it's senseless to make something I know I can't sell (having proved it by example).
Beginner
Usergroup: Customer
Joined: Jan 21, 2004
Total Topics: 0
Total Comments: 1
Turning WSN Links into a css templated script is possible, but it does take a bit of work. Well quite a lot actually.
We've done it on http://www.the-bingo-guide.com/online-bingo, and actually use two installs, so we can integrate membership with phpbb for user reviews, and keep reciprocal links as a separate set up - the other install is www.the-bingo-guide.com/bin...resources/bingo-directory/. Tables and chairs should have all been packed away, even if we aren't yet ready for the new season.
Oh, we also use xstandard to provide wysiwyg editing - fairly easy to integrate - and a number of additional fields to create a richer listing. Not perfect, but we think we've made a few useful enhancements.
I do think that the ability to modify the templates - and consequently skin the site more easily - is one of the things lacking at present. A previous poster mentioned Wordpress (something we would like an integrations script for, incidentally) - how about an Alex King-like competition for the best WSN links CSS/web standards templates? Keep these GNU/GPL licensed and it could really increase take-up. The templaters would benefit from links to their sites also. I'm sure we would be willing to contribute something. Just needs some publicity and momentum...(yes I do realise that is what we all want)
Similarly, some of the WSN Links documentation could be improved: good for technical users, yet incomprehensible to many.
The other main weakness we find is the lack of a fully integrated tool for importing links. Yes of course we 'can' use phpmyadmin or the importer script, but it could all be a bit simpler.
All in all, a great script, with tremendous flexibility, let down by the fact that most of your users look at application not programming, and consequently often lack the necessary technical skills - and that most certainly applies to me.
developer
Usergroup: Administrator
Joined: Dec 20, 2001
Location: Diamond Springs, California
Total Topics: 61
Total Comments: 7868
Oh, we also use xstandard to provide wysiwyg editing - fairly easy to integrate - and a number of additional fields to create a richer listing. Not perfect, but we think we've made a few useful enhancements.
Looks nicer than than the free wysiwyg I'm using... unfortunate that it costs money.
A previous poster mentioned Wordpress (something we would like an integrations script for, incidentally)
Please click 'integraton generator' in your admin panel and share the resulting file. Ask the wordpress people if you don't know one of the values requested.
I do think that the ability to modify the templates - and consequently skin the site more easily - is one of the things lacking at present.
I really can't imagine how you can say that. I've looked at a lot of scripts but I've never seen one with more customizable templates or more template features aimed at easing customization (the [INSERFILE=], toplists, conditionals, ability to instantly use a custom template, ability to overlay a custom template anywhere, previews, et cetera et cetera). There are even people who customize their templates in frontpage and dreamweaver WYSIWYG modes, not that I advise it. I don't see what else I could add to make it any easier.
Template contests I've done before, had a contest for WSN Links and a contest for WSN Forum, and there was one entry combined between the two contests (which I didn't use) despite my offering significant prizes.
Keep these GNU/GPL licensed and it could really increase take-up.
I believe GPL templates would break the license terms. LGPL would be okay, but that's up to anyone who creates templates.
I'm sure we would be willing to contribute something.
No, nobody is. I did advertise the contests all over the sites. Lots of people expressed interest, nobody actually did anything.
Similarly, some of the WSN Links documentation could be improved: good for technical users, yet incomprehensible to many.
I'm aware of that, but it's unavoidable since it seems I can't comprehend the non-technical users.
The other main weakness we find is the lack of a fully integrated tool for importing links. Yes of course we 'can' use phpmyadmin or the importer script, but it could all be a bit simpler.
Good point, there are a number of different import tools but a standard one could be useful. Perhaps a visual importer generator like the integration generator as well.
often lack the necessary technical skills
Actually I've been surprised by the number of relative technophobes using the script -- like a grandfather who doesn't know what FTP is, for example, and some FrontPage users who don't know HTML. As far as I can see technical skills are only required if you want to do advanced technical things. Rather than go the Gnome route of eliminating the ability to do such things so that less technical users can't run into problems, I prefer the KDE route of keeping options open.
Note that your site's navigation has a problem. See attached screenshot.
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