Ideas for the site.

[Roland64]

Shon, support staff, and members,

Just a few ideas for the site.
1. Maybe we could have a forum dedicated just for dog food questions, because we have a LOT of threads regarding brands, amounts to feed, etc. This would also make it easier for members to find information on food that has already been posted, without posting repeat threads. This will also benefit those that want to ask questions without feeling like they are bothering other members with redundant questions, by given other users the option to not view that forum if they don't want to see a dog food post.

2. In another unrelated forum we were able to get discounts and other special offers from web sites and distributors related to our forum, for example dog food or leads/harnesses by setting up group purchases or by utilizing/advertising their products. For example Canidae seems to be a hot item among forum members, so maybe we could approach the company about offering game dog some type of discount for members which would encourage more sales for them. If that isn't enough maybe we could get a discount with a large group purchase. I'm not sure how effective this would be with a large company but in the past I've seen good responses from smaller companies and individuals who are marketing their products.

3. I would like to see Game-Dog merchandise made available for purchase by our members such as T-shirts with the game-dog name/logo on it. We as a group could vote on the design of shirt.

I know this is alot to consider and would require even more to put these ideas into action, I just thought I'd throw these ideas out incase you might be interested. I would be willing to help out with any of these ideas if you would like to implement them. All members opinions and ideas are welcome.

Roland

[wwonka812]

i agree with you roland on dog food, it is a real hot topic and it may make it easier for people to read earlier posts about "which dog food is best" and stuff like that.

[CRG]

i like all 3 of the ideas and will bring them up at next staff meeting.

[XxKonnectionsxX]

I like the idea of having game-dog merchandise. I'm an artist/grapohic designer. I can create some pictures that could turn into potential designs. Either for the website or for merchandise.

[miakoda]

i too like all 3 ideas--especially about game-dog merchandise. i support my dogs everyday with the clothes I wear & through my apbt angel tatoo (by Linz)!!

[Roland64]

Thanks guys. xxKonnectionsxx, I figured we might have an artist/graphic designer somewhere on the board. lol!

[Shon]

1. Maybe we could have a forum dedicated just for dog food questions, because we have a LOT of threads regarding brands, amounts to feed, etc. This would also make it easier for members to find information on food that has already been posted, without posting repeat threads. This will also benefit those that want to ask questions without feeling like they are bothering other members with redundant questions, by given other users the option to not view that forum if they don't want to see a dog food post.I have been thinking about redoing the forums and making them more specific and more broad at the same time to reduce the amount of double posting and size of the forums home page. I may make a forum dedicated to nutrition, but it would probably be a sub-forum of the Health forum.

2. In another unrelated forum we were able to get discounts and other special offers from web sites and distributors related to our forum, for example dog food or leads/harnesses by setting up group purchases or by utilizing/advertising their products. For example Canidae seems to be a hot item among forum members, so maybe we could approach the company about offering game dog some type of discount for members which would encourage more sales for them. If that isn't enough maybe we could get a discount with a large group purchase. I'm not sure how effective this would be with a large company but in the past I've seen good responses from smaller companies and individuals who are marketing their products.I'm not sure about the discounts on dog food, but if someone would be willing to get more information about that I would be more than willing to work on something where that would be possible.

On the other hand, one of the next few features that will become available to the community, will be an online store where approved members will be able to post products for sale and will allow other members (and possibly unregistered visitors) to purchase items instantly with a credit card (through PayPal (http://www.paypal.com)) and will notify the seller through email with the information necessary needed to ship the item to the buyer.

Instead of a discount for members though, the member selling the item(s) will have to give the site 5%-10% (more than likely 5%) of their profit made from the site and sell it at the price they normal sale the item for. This will not be benefiting for the buyer, money wise, but will offer them much more flexibility.

3. I would like to see Game-Dog merchandise made available for purchase by our members such as T-shirts with the game-dog name/logo on it. We as a group could vote on the design of shirt.I know a person that may be interesting in doing that, she used to do it for a living (with the dogs and all) a while back, but I don't think she does it as much anymore. I was going to call and talk to her a while back, but something came up and I completely forgot about it, but I will be sure to give her a call. ;)

If this does happen though, it will come with the store.

I know this is alot to consider and would require even more to put these ideas into action, I just thought I'd throw these ideas out incase you might be interested. I would be willing to help out with any of these ideas if you would like to implement them. All members opinions and ideas are welcome.It's not really a lot to consider, but would require a lot of work from many different people to make it work as designed.

Those are all great ideas, and I hope to see more coming in like them. :)

[Shon]

I'm an artist/grapohic designer.What do you use to design them?

[XxKonnectionsxX]

I can use Adobe Illustrator 10 to do the designs and you can always take them to a print shop that does shirts and they can transfer the image to it.

[Shon]

I can use Adobe Illustrator 10 to do the designs and you can always take them to a print shop that does shirts and they can transfer the image to it.
Oh ok, that's cool... I've never really got into that type of designing, but that is a good thing to know though. ;)

[Roland64]

1. The sub forums is a good idea, but to better utilize them maybe there could be an automated e-mail sent to all users as well as with new accounts set up that would offer a brief overview on what information can be found in each forum, and that same letter could be posted at the top of each forum just so users can reference it when looking for the appropriate forum to post to. I realize this won't completely solve the problem but I think it might cut down on a lot of duplicate and incorrectly posted threads.
2. As for the discounts, I will look into anything the members are interested in and make contact w/ those markets/sites. I just need to know what the members are wanting/willing to purchase in the near future. If I can go to one of the distributors or what have you, with details on how many people would be willing to purchase from them right away as opposed to saying something along the lines of "a discount would be a nice option for our members to have available incase any of them decide to utilize them sometime down the road....." than it will open up a good rapport with the vendors to set up discounts for members purchasing seperately, as opposed to JUST group purchases (which I can also look into but would need a relatively sure figure of those interested). So I guess what I need to know is what do the members want? If you or one of the staff could set up a pole or forum requesting this feedback I will gladly take it from there. Thanks in advance.
Roland

[Roland64]

If I can get this done can I get a cool title? Maybe something like Public Relations Liason or something along those lines. lol! My luck it would be something like Head Cheap Skate. :o)

[Shon]

1. The sub forums is a good idea, but to better utilize them maybe there could be an automated e-mail sent to all users as well as with new accounts set up that would offer a brief overview on what information can be found in each forum, and that same letter could be posted at the top of each forum just so users can reference it when looking for the appropriate forum to post to. I realize this won't completely solve the problem but I think it might cut down on a lot of duplicate and incorrectly posted threads.That is usually how it's done, but I haven't really got around to getting something written up to post in the forums. :(2. As for the discounts, I will look into anything the members are interested in and make contact w/ those markets/sites. I just need to know what the members are wanting/willing to purchase in the near future. If I can go to one of the distributors or what have you, with details on how many people would be willing to purchase from them right away as opposed to saying something along the lines of "a discount would be a nice option for our members to have available incase any of them decide to utilize them sometime down the road....." than it will open up a good rapport with the vendors to set up discounts for members purchasing seperately, as opposed to JUST group purchases (which I can also look into but would need a relatively sure figure of those interested). So I guess what I need to know is what do the members want? If you or one of the staff could set up a pole or forum requesting this feedback I will gladly take it from there. Thanks in advance.
RolandIf you want to, you can make this thread a poll for it... just click Thread Tools at the top of this page and then click Add a Poll to this Thread then fill out the information

If there isn't much response to it, I will post it as next month's survey. :)If I can get this done can I get a cool title? Maybe something like Public Relations Liason or something along those lines. lol! My luck it would be something like Head Cheap Skate. )Sure... I think I can do something like that :p

[Roland64]

I don't have that option to Add a pole just "Show printable version, e-mail this page, or subscribe to this thread."