I’m heading away for a few days off with the extended family, so this post will remain at the top of the site for that time and I’d appreciate all you regulars giving it your full consideration, even if you’ve never commented before.
I’m sorry to be doing a blog post about blogging, but the recent trip and the events of the last six months or so have put me in a position where I’ve really got to figure out where this blog is going, and how it’s going to get there.
This is a long post, but if you’re interested in the future of this website – and this includes the GM folks reading this – then please read through. I’ve never been so open about the website before, mainly because I’ve never had to make such a group of important decisions about it before.
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What if you were working away at your job, getting good results, and your employer said that you could keep working, but for much less than half of what you’re earning now?
Welcome to the world of Trollhattan Saab.
I publish this website primarily because I love Saab cars. I’ve loved owning them over the years and I especially enjoy driving them and writing about them. I love the company’s storied history and am energised by the thought of watching the brand return to a place where it’s innovating and creating great motor cars that continue to bring smiles to the faces of the smart ones who take the time to explore them.
There has to be a return on the considerable amount of time that’s spent constructing this site. My day job is ramping up and it’s starting to suffer at the hands of this site. My family time has already been impinged and giving up some of my daytime writing is going to squeeze my family time even more if I’m to keep up what is a pretty high standard publication.
Doing this website has always been my choice and from the day I first set it in motion, back in February 2005, it’s been a passion. I’ve learned a heck of a lot and been on the receiving end of opportunities that I could never have dreamed about back then. But looking forward, I can see that this site is going to consume much more of me if I let it, and I’m not sure that I can.
The earnings drop
As mentioned, this site is done for the love of the Saab brand, but it also earns a penny or two, and this has traditionally been one of the measures to judge the value of the time being put into it.
I’ve never mentioned dollar figures before, but many of you will know that the site took a financial hit back in July when I changed the publishing platform from Movable Type to WordPress. Here’s the bare bones of the hit that the site’s taken in that time – the numbers for calendar year 2007.
Click to enlarge:
The key time in this chart, for both lines you see there, is July. In July I made the switch from the old platform to the new one and it’s at this time that things started going downhill.
Here’s what you’re looking at:
The blue line represents the average number of page loads per day for the month, read from the Y-axis on the right. As you can see, these took a hit in July, but stabilised so that the end of the year ended up pretty much where they started. What’s not shown here is that the site now has a larger proportion of return traffic, and less search traffic. This is a result of the platform change, which resulted in a number of dead URLs that Google couldn’t find anymore.
The red line represents the average earnings per day for each month. This is the part of the site that’s taken the biggest hit, with a peak of $35.52 per day in June, so a low of $11.81 in December. As you can see, the trend has been negative since the change, and this is despite the URL’s being corrected and the visitor numbers stabilising.
I’ve drawn in the green line as a possible trandline to illustrate what the site might be earning per day had the changes not been made at all. This is not definite as there’s a number of factors that effect it, but if you extrapolate using that line, you can see that the site could possibly be up over, or at least around, $50 per day instead of the $11.81 it made in December.
Now….I’d like to make it perfectly clear that money isn’t the motivating force behind this site. But having the site provide a small income is important in terms of providing a driver for me to keep working on it in the manner that I do. The money’s needed to cover the costs, which it still does. But more than that, the funds allow me to do things that make the site more interesting, better to look at, and better to use.
Income from the site allowed me to lease the Mac that I use to build it, which has meant easier video processing and (arguably) easier image handling. It also allowed me to buy the video camera and digital SLR that I use. Money from the site was going to be fundamental in my build-up of my Viggen, though now I may need it just for repairing the Viggen (the insurance company argument is still ongoing). Funding from the site would have also allowed me to take on a dream of buying, importing and restoring a Saab Sonett III as a website project in the future.
The funds are a means to an end.
The dramatic drop in earnings, in spite of managing to build up and retain a high traffic level after the initial drop, has been a huge discouragement and has certainly made the hours per day that I put in here seem more like hard work. The assistance I’ve had from a number of people (you know who you are) and the encouragement of all has been a lifeline and thankfully, we’ve made it this far.
The end game
For me, the ideal scenario is for Saab to either take on the Trollhattan Saab archive, make this an official Saab site and expand it to its full capability, or start up a new service from scratch. And naturally, I’d like to run it.
There are a number of concerns pointed out to me with this scenario, but I think the benefits to Saab and the net benefits to the people’s appreciation of the brand would far outweigh these.
Won’t your integrity go down the toilet?
This has always been the biggest concern. People thinking that the independant and honest voice that is Trollhattan Saab would be lost in a wave of corporate speak and adherance to the company line.
OK, so I wouldn’t launch rants on Cadillac now and then. But would you miss them? Especially if I had access to a whole bunch more Saab information to talk about?
I can imagine a scenario where instead of me getting all steamed up about the investment that GM are making in Cadillac, I’m writing about some cars from the Saab Turbo Club of Sweden, which I’ve just visited on my twice-yearly pilgrimage to the homeland – or something like that. Instead of ranting about S-C-H showrooms, I’m ranting officially about the motoring journalists who get it wrong……or even better……I’m doing road tests to show exactly how Saab’s vehicles are engineered differently from their stablemates.
These are just hastily-thought out examples, but what I’m talking about is a whole lot of actual Saab reporting instead of a bunch of anti-this and anti-that venting. It sounds like a better use of time to me.
But what about the trips that GM has sponsored so far? Isn’t that enough?
Saab, historically, have been a company that’s been shy in terms of embracing the media. They pottered along and did what they did and for years, the Swedish press were the only ones interested, mostly from a perspective of national pride.
Things have changed a little globally, and for me personally in the last 18 months, Saab have really embraced this website, a fact for which I’m truly thankful. GM as a whole has been making a real effort to embrace the new social media so this isn’t an isolated thing.
Saab Australia helped me to get to Sydney to see the Aero-X. This was my first offically sponsored trip. Then there was the BioPower/Diesel launch here in Oz a few months later. Saab assisted with my Sweden trip by providing accommodation and a vehicle while I was there (as well as incredible access to the factory and people there). And of course, there’s my recent trip to Detroit.
All of these have been great, but there’s a problem with them, too. I have a full-time job and a family. There’s a limit to the number of vacation days that I can take to cover these events and still preserve enough vacation time to have a family holiday (in Canada this August, for example). Taking a trip like the one I’ve just taken to Detroit also makes life at my regular job more difficult. I’m not complaining about it, but no-one’s doing my work while I’m not there.
And here’s a scenario that’s just cropped up and it’s a classic illustration of what I’m talking about.
We’ve just had the 9-4x launch in Detroit. And in a few months from now there will be a 9-1 concept unveiling in Geneva. I don’t presume to be receiving an invitation to that, but if I do, I won’t be able to go to it.
If you were me, which one would you rather go to?
No disrespect to Detroit or the work done on the 9-4x by some great people, but as a Saab fan I’d take Geneva (Switzerland’s also the home of Hirsch) and a Saab compact concept over Detroit and an SUV concept eight days a week.
A lack of knowledge about the car has meant that I wasn’t given the choice as to which one would be more worthwhile for coverage. And a full-time job means that I have to choose one or the other – I can’t cover both effectively.
Given that the 9-1 concept news broke while I was on my way to Detroit, I never knew about it. But if the site were official, I’d a) possibly known about it beforehand, and b) could have probably attended both anyway.
I now need to save all my vacation time from my real job for a family holiday later this year. Another week-long trip to see a motor show and Saab concept is out of the question for me until 2009. Which means that coverage of the event in a Trollhattan Saab tradition is going to rely on the goodwill of others. That’s worked out OK in the past, but may not always in the future.
What about breaking news?
Another possible downside is whether or not the site could continue to break news and rumours like it has in the past. And the answer is that it probably can’t. But that isn’t the huge downside that it seems.
Trollhattan Saab is more of a news aggregator than a newsbreaker. I’ve only broken one or two stories from non-existence into the public ether in the last three years. One of them was absolutely huge (the 2008 Saab 9-3, which all started with a nip-slip in a SaabUSA press release) but there’s little else of note.
What TS does best is gather news stories about Saab from all over the world and present them in one place with some informed opinion about the stories, the source of those stories, the company and it’s competition. I don’t see how much of that would have to change.
The future of online news
This week in Sweden, or in Germany, Saab will likely be getting together with others from GM Europe and talking about the future of Saab’s news distribution when it comes to new vehicles.
The current model, where print media get the images in advance and electronic outlets are embargoed until release date, just isn’t working in the new digital world. Saab, and every other car company, are going to have to change the way they do this – and they know it. They said as much to me in Detroit last week, which is how I know they’re going to be talking about it.
The model that I propose is an official site, like TS but bigger. That site launches news about Saab according to it’s own agenda. Print media outlets all have a digital presence now and can pick up the story and run with it online. Later, they can prepare their print stories that go more in-depth.
This way, Saab get to call the shots on the media, rather than kow-towing to a bunch that only seem to get things right half the time anyway. Is this a group that you want to make yourself subject to? A properly set up and well indexed website is going to do more for you in the future than a bunch of BMW-crazed scribes anyway – so why not have both and set it up on your terms?
The thing that really works in favour of this model is the one thing I’ve learned about these releases in recent times. The cars always look better in the metal. By providing good images you whet the appetite of the public but nothing substitutes for the seeing the car in person.
By controlling the timing of the media release themselves, Saab can build anticipation for the model instead of being subject to the whim of the mainstream media and thereby getting lost in a myriad of other releases. The advance breaking of Turbo-X pictures and the resulting limelight that enjoyed prior to Frankfurt last year is a case in point.
But wait, there’s more
The handling of news is just once facet of this whole scenario.
I’m not suggesting that Saab employ me to just keeping on doing what I do. Trollhattan Saab just scratches the surface of what could be done in properly resourced automotive website.
I’m thinking about an officially sponsored historical archive, a moderated forum where owners get to converse mostly with each other, but also with key personnel, an online showroom that means that the news, opinion and the vehicles available in your market are only a click away. I’m thinking about a reservoir of mechanical information, tuning information, accessory information. I’m thinking about the company taking pride of ownership as seriously as what it’s market does, and supporting it.
There’s no other car company doing all of this at once right now. Communicating at a grass root level with it’s most important people – it’s customers and supporters.
The immediate future for TS
Trollhattan Saab will continue through 2008. The idea of a Saab Pride of Ownership book is a great one and I’d love to see that come to fruition.
I’m about to take a few days off with the family but after that it’ll be all-hands-on-deck for the usual reporting and coverage of the events surrounding Saab and the love we all share for the cars.
It may sound somewhat stupid, but I’m also going to be trying another platform change in the near future. TS will move to some new software that’ll provide for some integrated but significant expansion so that maybe we can get a taste of what the future could look like. That’ll all happen in the next few months, but I’ll definitely be applying the lessons from the last platform change before it goes live.
Beyond the publishing of the Saab Pride book, I can’t say what the future is for TS. If it’s to continue independantly then the earnings from the site are going to have to rise significantly for me to justify the time put in to my family. I’ll be trying a few tweaks to optimise the ad layouts in an effort to help with that.
The ideal scenario, I believe, would be for it to go corporate and become the kind of site that could really change some of the automotive landscape where newsmedia is concerned.
I don’t have numbers for it, but I’m quite confident that TS assisted in the sale of quite a few Saabs last year. That’s a gratifying thought, but the potential is for a lot more, as well as the building of a great online presence and community for what is a very unique and engaging brand with a great history and diverse people-base.
I know that Saab have considered most of what I’ve talked about here, because some have expressed concern to me personally about whether or not the integrity of the site would be called into question if it went corporate.
My answer to them:
The integrity of this website, or any that followed it, would only be restricted by the restrictions you put in place. TS’s place as a Saab news aggregator – it’s primary role – wouldn’t be effected at all. It’s place as an enthusiast meeting point could be very much enhanced. Most important would be the access you allow and the steps forward you take in making a proposed site all that it could be.
For Saab, this is an opportunity. If one little bloke in Tas-freaking-mania can build up a good interest with limited time, a full-time job and a family to care for, then imagine what you could do online with a properly resourced and indexed site.
The ball’s in Saab’s court and something’s got to change around here….
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If you’ve made it this far, then thanks for your patience and interest in the future of the website.
As always, your comments would be appreciated. In particular, I’d like you to think about what valuable additions could be made to this site (or a corporate equivalent) to make your enthusiast experience worthwhile.
Cheers, and thanks for all the support you regulars have shown in the past.
Long time reader, first time commenter.
I can definitely see where you’re coming from with all of this. Wouldn’t it be great if a hobby could just continue indefinitely regardless of anything else. That’s not the case, and eventually things do have to change. I think for this site to be “handed over” to Saab would be a lot better than having someone as dedicated to the brand as you continuing to struggle in your personal life.
So yeah, I guess I would really like to see the Saab ownership of this archive take place. It may be a long shot, I don’t know, but I think you’re right, it would be a great marketing forum for them as it already is. I sure know I’ve been buying lottery tickets in hopes that I can get in on one of those Turbo X’s (which I probably never would have realized existed without this site.)
Thanks for all the hard work, and know that it is greatly appreciated, by many more than you see in the comments. Some of us are just shy.
There’s no easy answer to this. However, I have a few ideas:
(1) Have more articles by other authors. Eggs and 1985 Gripen have posted in the past. Perhaps they and others could lighten Swade’s load.
(2) Publicly organize topics for future posts. Every week could cover topics such as: past, present, future, racing, how to repair, pride of ownership, etc. If owners know their era of car is going to be talked about, they will be sure to keep reading.
(3) Intentionally limit your involvement with the site. Your family is much more important than any of us or any brand of car.
Just my thoughts.
Swade
I can really and truly understand your dilemma. After buying a ’06 CPO car, your site was the pick of the lot for daily info and has moved to my 3rd site to check after clicking my google page and the user group for my airplane. I have mixed feelings about SAAB or GM being your sole support however. I could imagine that your well-being could be impacted by a single corporate bean-counter. What about a donation driven funding via paypal and a measure of support from SAAB. I donate to several content providers to help maintain excellent content (Leo Laporte’s TWIT network and Dan Carlin, who produces the excellent Hardcore History podcasts). It may only be 2- 5 US dollars per month but I enjoy seeing that donation going to great content producers. I would love to offer similar support to TS!
Your work is fabulous and I would hate to see TS suffer because of lack of support. You deserve to earn a fair wage for your substantial efforts and I would love to see a bevy of SAABS in SWADE driveway courtesy TS and it’s regular readers.
Andy, I think you are on to something. I think a Saab site similar in concept to Autoblog. One in which there are multiple contributors around the world reporting on local and international events. For example US contributors could cover the US auto shows European contributors cover the Euro shows. The local coverage would include Saab clubs and local car shows which include Saabs. This would lighten Swade’s load considerably. We could also include GM coverage when it impacts Saab, like the GM/Coskata deal.
I fully concur with the group blog concept. In fact I feel somewhat guilty in that I have not yet written the 9-4x piece I promised.
I like the ideas you have for a fully integrated Saab site, run by the company. But I’m not sure I want TS to become that site. If I can be greedy for a moment, I would like *both* the existing TS and fully developed site run by Saab at the same time.
From a coverage of events standpoint, find some in Europe to be the TS correspondent in Geneva. You have enough hard-core readers/commentators I think you can cover any Saab event you need to — but you have to give up on doing it all yourself.
And there’s the rub — your willingness to delegate responsibility to others. You have the vision, you’re a bit of a perfectionist, and it’s hard to let someone else take your baby and play with it, even for a little.
But an inability or unwillingness to delegate is probably the #1 reason many promising business ideas don’t grow beyond the niche in which they were invented.
I doubt you follow U.S. political blogs, but there is a pretty good model in place for a site supervised by the originator, yet with a “board of directors” of about 10 people who are primarily responsible for producing front-page content — dailykos.com
I think for TS, a group of 4 or 5 producing content, with you posting only those things that particularly strike your fancy, would take a tremendous time burden off you.
TS has snowballed well beyond the capacity for one person to manage it as well as produce the content for it.
You need help. And there are a bunch of people out there more than willing to assist. Even as a short term, 2008 option, getting more content up as a group effort will help you out a lot.
I have only been looking at this website for a few months so I don’t know the whole story behind it yet, and probably being one of the youngest people interested in Saabs on here I don’t have much knowledge (by the way I live in the UK and am starting driving in the next few weeks to give you some idea)
However this website has fueled my interest in the subject of Saab and now I am passionate about them, my Dad’s had them in the past and has a 07 9-5 currently. I guess I just wanted to find out what they were about.
This website is brilliant and has taught me alot about some things I didn’t know and has kept me up to date with the whole 9-4x thing and all things that a new or old saab fan would need to know. It’s a goldmine of Saab information.
If the website was to go corperate then it may change the dynamics of it slightly but overall I would hope it would expand it even more.
Swade, I hope that you read this message because it has really changed some of the decisions about my future career, before reading this I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go with it, but now after reading this I have found somegthing I’m really passionate about… Saabs and cars in general, and the design of them, as i write this I am writing a letter to try and get work experience with Saabs design department.
Anyway this post is getting a bit long so I’ll get to the point….
This website is the best Saab website on the net and It should stay that way, and if that means less influence by you Swade for whatever reason, then so be it, but please don’t let it become one of the those websites which is there but doesn’t do much.
And Thanks for all you’ve done to help Saab, Saab fans and me especially….. and keep up the good work !!!
I dunno if this site being run by SAAB is the right way to go. Its charm is that you are an independent voice giving praise when deserved and stick when needed. A SAAB run TS would eventually wither even with you at the keyboard. It would be seen as just more corporate propaganda.
Nope keep it independent, maybe add blogs along SAAB themes such as safety, design, engineering, or the environment. Any one of those could take off into something big or as a collective could become the thinking persons side of the internet.
Anyway, on the money side is it possible to migrate back to the old platform. Looks like there is a good payback to be had there.
I think there are some good ideas in the comments so far. I would not like to see the corporate sponsored trollhattan saab though.
Delegation has worked already, on a small scale, and could definitely be entrenched as a permanent arrangement. This could work particularly well with the team spread over different time zones.
As tript mentioned above the donation idea is also worth considering. I wouldn’t want it to become a subscription only website. But readers who want to acknowledge the value of your work should be able to donate/subscribe/tip etc to help defray the costs and give you some reward for your work.
I love reading about SAAB but i usually stick to this website only. I like the format, the style and the way you present the highlights (as you said ‘aggregate’).
I am not too keen on the GM/SAAB owned website idea. I like the irreverance and freedom of this website and think that it would lose that feel if it went corporate.
I really appreciate what you do for the SAAB community. I hope you can find a way to enjoy your family life as well as continue your involvement with the site in a sustainable way.
I knew this was going to be happen some day. This site has been of so high quality, always, and stories interesting, Swades blogging – the way he writes keeps this site interesting and running. And I´ve been waiting that someday we´ll hear, it´s a bit too much to keep on running like this. And I can fully understand. I have no idea how you´ve been able to do it so long time already. I´ve been checking this site almost from the day 1, but been commenting only few months or so.
Your idea of a corporate site is very good, although it has some negative effects, as has been written here already.
But there´s a possibility for Saab, to become a first car manufacturer to have such website. And be the leader on it. It´s not really a bad idea. Saab has very loyal fans and it´s almost like a cult of some kind. What no other car brand has.
And you can count me as a one who made final decision to buy ´08 Saab 9-3 was this site and Swade´s praising for TTiD engine. I was not supposed to be on the market in next two years yet. But here I am, waiting for the delivery of 9-3 SC TTiD.
So, Saab there you go. Money well spent so far…
And what´s also important, no news is bad news. This site really shows some potential to keep people interested and thinking about Saab.
It would be really interesting to know how many individuals have visited the site since start?!
Maybe a loosely Sponsored by Saab/GM- TrollhattanSaab – run by Swade + few other selected people. But it still should be somewhat independend. To have the right to say also negative thoughts about the brand, it´s management and cars. It should anyways lead to a better result after all.
Thank you Swade for this site, and keep on Saabin´ !
Steve, first thanks for a great site. Am checking it every day (even thou I drive my wifes MBC320, but trying to convince her of the benefits of a SC….).
Anyway, a few thoughts.
* paypal etc is a nice thought, but I doubt that you will find that the generosity is that large. Say that you have 5000 visitors / day. I do not think that you will get that much from that. Think only a fraction would give and it would not add up. Saad but true.
I think you could improve the site by:
* Have adds that goes “all the way” down the site. You want your advertisers to be seen all the time.
* Maybe alow others to write articles. This could be done by having a “request” in a box on the side of the site saying “submit an article”. In this way you would be more of a moderator saying what would be publiched an what not to. You would also have instructions “how to write an article”. Right now there are alot of good thoughts in comments, but maybe these would be lifted out to be articles instead.
* I do not see saab sponsoring the site as a bad thing. After all the purpose of the site is to make people by saabs (but not at any price). Long term that will only happen with good products, and you have rightfully said when you have your doubts….
* Maybe you could look into if GM would pay you for writing on GM inside news (or whatever it is called), or atleast have some of your (great articles and coverage) being posted on it as well as on TS.
I like your idea of a car search engine. With todays technology, the IP adress will identify the location of the computer, and maybe this would allow for more tailored advertising and search functions? Maybe the local saab dealer can advertise for his unique customer then?
*Maybe you could add to the site summaries for journalilsts etc, or offer GM to write “sample articles” with fact sheets etc for journalilsts to have as a template?
After all, for you its about the site or the family, and like most (sane) people, you choose the family 7 days out of 7.
For GM its about either having you, or not. You just cant continue spending 3-4h/day on this, and employing you for a contract of 2 years or so would not be the end of the world for them to try out what it could give.
those are just my 5 min thoughts, and most of them can probably go directly in the garbage can, but anyway
CJ.
Just a quick comment…
I think there are to part to this. The way Spirit of Saab is supposed to be, it can without any problem be sponsored by Saab. In fact, Saab should (and soon must) have a community site where people can contribute and the passion of the brand is shown in a moderated communication between (soon-to-be) owners, and between the community and Saab. But I really would like to have TS as a truly independent rumor site, where you are free to rant or just bring out your personal thought.
So, the owner stories, pictures, videos, competitions, history lessons, press releases etc, goes on the community site (Spirit of Saab is an excellent name for it). And in the best of worlds, you are the independent editor for it with some help of Saab and GM people – and paid by Saab and GM.
And, the rumors, news items, speculations, rants, Viggen stories etc, goes on TS and without the need to have something spectacular everyday. It’s just your personal blog for the fun of it.
When you are good at what you do, good things come to you. Saab will come for you.
They need your help and they know it.
Thanks to all for your thoughts and affection for the site.
A very quick thought, if I may. The one issue with receiving contributions is that I want to be able to compensate people for the work done. I’m already feeling bad about having Eggs write and not being bale to compensate him for that, though I know he offers his thoughts freely and that’s much appreciated.
Having a group of contributors without compensation could make for a difficult situation in terms of reliability.
Also, in wanting to ensure that entries are of a high standard, there would still be a lot of editing to be done in most instances, which is indeed a lighter load, though only marginally so.
Thanks again.
Swade,
Your idea of joining-up with somebody is a good one, but I don’t think that GM should be your dance partner for this.
For one thing, you would either get shut down or sent to work for Holden after the first corporate change of direction. That should take about six months…
You are attracting thousands of pages per day from a very good demographic, and that’s got to be worth something (certainly a lot more than what you are getting from it).
I think that you need to partner with a more web-focused company. I don’t know who that would be, but there has to be some web portal out there that’s looking to attract more of the Saab demographic.
Given that the hit count is basically back to normal and revenue is not, one of two other variables has to have changed. Those variables are the rate paid by advertisers for each ad “impression” and the number ad impressions per TS hit.
Has the rate paid by advertisers changed during the course of 2007? If not, it would seem that hits to TS aren’t generating ad impressions. Given that Firefox, IE, and a number of add-on programs now have ad-blocking software, this may be a significant source of the revenue decline.
Some sites that I visit now try to detect ad blocking via JavaScript and implore visitors to whitelist the domain so that the ad revenue continues to flow in. Take a look at http://www.modaco.com/ for an example.
I have an ad blocker installed and activated. I have just whitelisted trollhattansaab.net. If you have any way of detecting revenue per visitor, see if I make any difference. Consider doing what modaco did.
OK, this is more complicated than I thought as my whitelisting of ts.net hsn’t chanaged anything. My software shows that one object was blocked from this page: the Google show_ads.js script. THis would clearly lead to a decrease in Swade’s revenue.
I don’t yet know how to disable the rule when I visit ts.net while enabling for other sites, but I’ll look into it. In the mean time, I will manually disable the ad blocker when I visit here.
Good luck steven
KenB’s comment made me realize that I hadn’t considered turning of ABP when on TS. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I have read TS on and off over the years and only recently added any comments. I’m not sure why the income has dropped and that probably needs to be more completely analyzed? I support the PayPal contributions idea, I have seen it work quite well elsewhere. You seriously should consider becoming more of an Editor overseeing a team of contributors rather than doing over 95% of the work yourself? There would seem to be lots of volunteers out there who would like to help and contribute. You could arrange some type of floating team of regular and semi- regular contributors. Perhaps you could even allocate some of the PayPal funding to the regular contributors?
I would be hesitant to let GM/Saab control the site. There would have to be some element of bias and I’m sure they would only let us hear what they want us to hear and when they want us to hear it. Could you really handle having your articles censored? You would seem to have far more integrity than that!
Anyway, thanks for your efforts and have great break!
This may be a silly question, but have you considered the differences between a “corporate site” and simply creating a significant advertising contract with Saab and/or some other appropriate partner(s)?
Obviously, if Saab owned the site, you would be obligated to serve that master.
As an advertiser supported site, you would be influenced to not “bite the hand” but not beholden to them at all costs. If you go further and happened to set up a situation where a couple of tuners (Hirsch, Jak Stoll), some dealerships (Hunterton, Troy etc.) and other related vendors (Elk Parts, Taliaferro) were also involved, then your credibility would be further insulated.
The problem, of course, is that this requires you (or your proxy) to become a bit of a salesperson as well.
Personally, I wouldn’t discuss any advertising contracts with terms less than annual (at least for your primary partner)… just so that the occasional day of bad news would be less likely to spoil the relationship.
Finally, if you have an ad-supported site, you might not have to stop your caddy-rants. I have a feeling that some people inside Saab probably share some of the same opinions of Cadillac … and the resources that GM provides them.
Swade,
Another thought about ads.
Right now, I can see two ads from dealers that aren’t in the same country as me, and some Google ads that are only vaguely relevant. The only one of your advertisers that I’ve supported is Elkparts (and I highly recommend them).
I think that you would be making more money if you could show me some ads for laptops, cameras, mobile phones, skis, furniture, travel, etc…
Lets face it, I already have a Saab, and I will eventually buy another but, in the meanwhile, I’m going to buy a lot of other things that aren’t car-related. Maybe there’s a better platform than Google ads to cater to your readers.
OK, well that did it — I am now blocking ads, including the Google ones, except when accessed the ads from trollhattansaab.net. Swade should be rolling in dough shortly!
This site has done so much for the brand since its inception. (More than BFJ, eh?!!) Not only in terms of educating the uninitiated, but also growing the passions of existing fans. In my case, this site has done both!
In the corporate auto world, Saab’s advertising budget isn’t huge, but standing next to your blog revenue/day numbers, it’s enormous to the 500th power. Imagine the shot in the arm 10 or 20K of “investment” could do. A hell of a lot more than their silly commercials…
I’m not sure donations are the way to go. You need a regular (or semi-predictable) income schedule to justify plans for expansion and growth. I like the autoblog model and think it could work well here.
I sure hope you get this figured out soon. I hate hearing about this site in distress. It’s simply too good!
Hi Steven ,
don’t forget what you said before flyinf to the US :
“I’ll have a break here when I’ll be be back “.
As Andy said : ”
Have more articles by other authors. Eggs and 1985 Gripen have posted in the past. Perhaps they and others could lighten Swade’s load.”
You loose money . Our passion represents money of course .
I own 4 1/2 Saabs and it cost me a lot .
We sacrifize a lot for Saab .
I really hope That Saab trade mark realize what you’ve done for them undirectly through your website .
I’m not a main actor here but I really do enjoy comming here because there’s always a good surprise .
You maybe shouldn’t write here everyday . It’s a lot of work and time .
Anywya , we’ll always be there , next to you to support you and make TS living !
Jeff
I can totally understand your problems Swade. I’m always amazed at how often this site is updated, it’s almost ridiculous sometimes how much time you invest in your hobby. That’s not a bad thing of course – you do what you want to do. But when it starts conflicting with other parts of your life then it’s time to slow down. If you were to cut posting by say 50% this site would still be the best Saab news site on the net if you ask me.
First of all – I’ll say that this is one of the best blogs I’ve seen on the ‘net – and I’ve been doing this stuff (building internet services) for a living since 1996. I would be sad to see it diminish or disappear.
I’m curious about the root cause of revenue dropping. Why is this happening? It would be helpful to know more about what is generating the revenue, then perhaps there are ways to fix the revenue generation problem.
One thing that might help is a discussion board/forum. Your blog posts always result in a lot of comments and discussion. Perhaps ads in a forum context would generate more page loads.
I’m surprised that so few Saab dealers post an ad on the site. How aware are dealers of this site?
I don’t really see an issue with Saab being a sponsor of the site.
beren
If I were GM, I would outright buy the site from (and would maintain its independence). And I would employ Swade for the site(that way GM benefits from growth of the site rather than having to pay a higher premium later. and proven passionate employee for the job).
As a reader, I would like Swade to continue doing what he does(but won’t be willing to pay for access.) without regard to his day job, personal life etc
Or the site be with someone other than GM to maintain its independence(Google comes to mind), Swade being the author.
Good luck Swade.
Sincerely
I agree with Jeff k, after I wrote to you about those Saab ads here in Perth on at 2 or 3am, in between the Paris Hilton video adverts. Surely that money is better spent on a site like this.
I’m sure plenty of readers would be happy to contribute at least articles – for eg my guess is most who entered the POO comp. did so for the fun of it not the prize?!
Hey bud. i remember when i was planning my trip to Tassie and also how excited i felt when i came across TS. Our Saab brand was represented so wonderfully by someone who writes really interesting articles in a way that is a pleasure to read. the opportunity to meet you and the other Saab fans was a true highlight of my trip and one of the reasons i took the Viggen on the ship from Sydney instead of flying.
it’s not always apparent and also very hard to gauge the response from the readers point of view however i can assure you we all really look forward to the next article each and every day. the information and the way it’s presented never creates a dull moment. Unlike some blogs/forums, TS has never been hijacked or rubbished by its authors or readers which is very uncommon for an online community run by passion.
i’d just like to take this opportunity to say, and i’m sure we all agree TS is the place to go when you want to learn about Saabs. Period. I know you’re not in to thank you’s nor do you need affirmation but believe me it’s a real pleasure reading and participating.
i believe TS is already a Pride of Ownership site, that’s why we visit. We love our Saab’s and we love hearing about others who share the same feelings. We convert some people along the way and they become proud Saab owners too. Saab as a brand is getting a heck of a lot out of TS, no doubt, and I think it’s about time they supported all of us, as we support them. they have created wonderful cars for all of us to love, but we’re the ones who make the choice to support them and they should make the choice to support our passion by supporting TS without any restrictions.
well done Swade for following your passion and giving us all a place to share ours with you.
now, on a side point i’m going through my figures and may be in the running for a Turbo X. i visited a dealership yesterday to talk about the finance structure and a few other things only to be told by a holden guy who called me “mate”, that the Saab guys were not here on a weekend. So I rang another dealer who promised to call me back…. the phone is yet to ring. an 80k top of the range Saab and i can’t get anyone from Saab to talk to me about it. WOW!
I don’t know what the answer is to this conundrum, but I would like to point-out from my discussions with Swade in the past when I brought up turning the site into a sort of network of amateur local Saab enthusiasts/reporters he brought up a good point. When one does this the site as a whole no longer speaks with a single voice.
Take AutoblogGreen, for example. ABG is a supposed ‘blog which openly recruits submitters to the “‘blog”. As a result each individual contributor’s opinion comes through on each piece and the general opinion on the website tends to be a mish-mash. Take ethanol, for example. Some contributors post on it like it’s a great solution, some contributors think it’s the worst idea ever. Some contributors seem to feel anything but straight plug-in EV is a waste of time and money. So what is ABG’s opinion on ethanol? It doesn’t have a cohesive opinion. It just comes-off as confused. Also, well-meaning as the contributors are, some of them do not seem as educated on the subjects they’re posting on as they probably should be to be forming and opinion and sharing it.
Further, the current format of TS is a ‘blog. It’s designed to be one person’s musings on a particular subject or subjects. Swade is that guy. While he’s been so kind as to allow eggsngrits and myself to contribute to his ‘blog I’m personally very leery about doing so because, well, it’s his ‘blog. My opinion won’t necessarily be the same as Swade’s and I tend to be very opinionated and not afraid to share those opinions. They might conflict with Swade’s opinions, and if they do they don’t belong on this ‘blog.
I already expressed to Swade last week my concerns about letting GM/Saab take a financial stake in the site due to concerns about objectivity.
For example, if GM/Saab took this on as an “official” site would we have ever learned about the fact that the Saab hybrid was in fact a “plug-in” hybrid and that GM ordered Saab to cover-up this fact and edit the press release at the last minute? What outlet would have reported that?
Thanks to Swade for all his time and effort with this ‘blog and I look forward to reading it throughout 2008.
On the “one voice” issue, that is the nub of the problem. Either Swade slows down the rate of posting, and maintains his editorial voice, or he will need to take on contributors to keep up the pace.
I agree that the posting could slow down by 50 percent and TS would still be awesome. Maybe that’s the solution.
But the loss of “message control” is inherent in the nature of a group blog.
If the status quo is not sustainable (and I hear Swade saying that), then it’s either go small in one voice, or go big with a number of different voices.
Either, or . . . pick one. As my college debate coach was found of saying, “choice is tragic.”
Swade,
Many thanks for you great work you did on TS.
I’m ready to provide any support (including translations, writing articles) and/or pay a monthly donation. Or anything I can do to keep your site alive in the same quality like before.
There is no doubt that your work is very important for the international Saab community.
Actually, my firm beleif is that you did much more for Saab’s reputation then the official marketing.
Many of my thoughts have been covered, and more intelligently and insightfully, by others. I love TS as a Saab content aggregator and, especially as ctm characterizes, as “an independent rumor site.”
I’d second Andy Rupert’s #3. Slow it down a bit. I started peeking in here back in early 2006. It was a comfortable entry a day. Two entries a day was big news. Now, the pace at the end of 2007 was insane. I personally couldn’t hold a day job, have time with family, and manage that much content production. Heck, I could barely work my day job and read all the content here.
Yes. You helped sell the 9-7X Aero that’s on my driveway. TS set it up. The vehicle in the metal knocked it down. The Saab dealer simply had to place an order. That vehicle could’ve been an Acadia or TrailBlazer SS. The buzz from TS blocked those routes.
Discussion board? Tread cautiously. I come here every day. Discussion boards. I visit car-related discussion boards one a month due to too much noise and too little signal. As for moderating a discussion board, talk about pulling your hair out to balance content and free exchange with the impersonal and uncontrolled nature of us freeloaders on the Intarweb.
I agree. What you could do is to create a forum.
First you drop the postings by 50%, and the days you have time to write 2 posts, you only post one and save the next for tomorrow (and take the day off.
You could add a forum, that would generate “posts” / discussions even without you spending time on it (presumably without having people hijacking it.
Remember, your site was growing all the way until you changed the format, and even with 1 post / day you will still be the best.
Also, interesting idea about how revenue works. Maybe you should have each post on a separate page, so that each post have to reload. In that way you will multiply the nr of page loads, but then I am an accountant not a computer guy….
Remember, I do not think that the readers value of the site increases exponentialy with or 3 posts… One is enought to always be fresh
A payment plan is right out…because I don’t have any money.
I’ve been reading and commenting on this website for nearly a year (or over a year, I don’t remember when I found this site, it was either 11 months ago or a year and 4 months ago), and I think the reason I like it so much is because I enjoy reading Swade’s takes on everything (except Cadillac, I don’t enjoy his take on Cadillac at all).
That said, I think GM/Saab ownership of this (or any other Swadetastic) site would put a muzzle on Swade, and I think that multiple contributers would dilute the site’s personality. TS is Swade.
THAT said, I have nothing against EggsNGrits or 1985 Gripen making the occasional post, because it’s still obvious that they’re just posting guest pieces on Swade’s blog. Besides, on a personality-driven blog like this, it IS nice to have other points of view every so often (especially American points of view :p), since it really just highlights the central personality by contrasting it a bit.
My advice: POST LESS. Jeez, you always apologize when posting will be “light” for a day, and then you make 3 or 4 posts. 3 or 4 posts is ABOVE AVERAGE for a single author on a one-subject blog. Really, as long as the material remains as good as it is, I doubt any reader of this site would care if you cut back a little bit.
Also, maybe you should look into going back to Movable Type, if you think that would help the revenue. I don’t care what the site runs on, as long as it’s relatively easy to navigate.
Also, ADD A FRIGGIN’ DONATION BUTTON. I don’t want to pay to see the site, but I’ll gladly chip in a buck every so often out of the goodness of my heart, because I know that you, Steven Wade, stand-up guy that you are, would only use donations and the like to directly benefit us readers, by going to Sweden or restoring the Viggen or a project car or whatever, because that’s what you always do, because you’re Swade, and you’re what makes this website great.
If you are on the payroll at GM, then it is almost certain that your blog will be fully controlled by them. Since you will represent Saab, all of your postings will require legal review before posting (tedious process). I think readers like your blog now since you openly criticize GM/Saab and you have an inside view of their new product development. Once you lose both of those aspects, your blog may become another fast lane blog. I would look at other business models rather than try to join the payroll at GM.
Swade,
You’ve done an absolutely amazing job of single-handedly bringing together (and strengthening the existing) online Saab community in the past 2 years. I would suggest second-to-none in the world. Why Saab Global hasn’t hired you is beyond me !
I didn’t read your post word-for-word, but I definitely understand your stance.
And as I read through all the comments, I think Andy Rupert summed it up best. Perhaps TS has over-consumed you recently and really you might just have to step back a bit and enjoy it from the 20,000-ft level for awhile. Open up TS for other contributors (Gripen sure ain’t short of words, wink … wink). Maybe, just maybe, tighten a bit focus on key topic areas rather than blogging ALL things SAAB (not that we don’t appreciate it, but there’s just too much stuff out there sometimes). Maybe delegate certain topics to certain folks, and you keep on top of the core topics (liken to being chief editor of a publication). Maybe that way you’ll get some well-deserved freedom from this labour-of-love project called TS, yet still be able to contribute and enjoy it without compromising other areas of your life.
Bless !
Ken
I first found this site almost a year ago, when I was researching for my next car…. It was through this site that I truly have fallen in love with Saab and can’t wait to own one. When I finally get the money to buy a Saab, it will be a “conquest” sale only because of Swade’s amazing work.
I think the idea for the site that you have come up with, Swade, is an amazing site. It is definitely needed in the ever-growing digital realm. I think it would be extremely cheap, for a major corporation like GM, to pay you to run a site like that… and pay a few people to help assist you (ie: webpage designer, a photographer, content complier for dealer ads and an audio geek). For that to work the best, I believe they’ll need to use a unique domain… Which in turn will allow you to still have TS as the independent blog that it is.
I have made TS my homepage, so that every time that I go online… The first thing I see is this page and any updates or discussions that have started. I cannot imagine this site not being here in the future.
Thank you for all your hardwork and dedication, Swade!!
I think the GM control idea is out of question. This will turn into “You publish what we tell you” unless there is a way to make it contractually that GM donates some funds to this site without restirctions. Most likely they will not go for it.
Paid subscription = most people will not come back.
Delegation – is a good idea. Subdivide the site by regional news. Let somebody handle each region with you oversee overall site.
Now about revenue. Even $30 a day is not bad. That is a $1k a month for doing something that you like. You are in a situaiton of any home run business – at certain point you need to make a decision if you want to grow it bigger and see if you can make it a primary source of income or be satisfied with less and spend more time on other priorities. $$ is always coming into play, doesn’t it? If you were doing it for free – there is a simple decision….but with money to be made…not so simple.
I will be blunt – I have a suspecion: Either deal to give this up to GM was already made or is really close to it….and you are looking for feedback….
By the way, this is an excellent site. I know several dealers who get their news from here. I dont own a Saab any more but I read it every day. You did a good job. But if it goes to GM, it will go down hill in a month with standard propaganda…
Personally, I think you need to make a decision:
- downsize and forget about $$ that it is bringing you or
-spend more time on it, develop a better financial model, suffer short term and hope you can made more $$ later
I’d like to start by saying I’m against the forum idea. Saab Central and Saab Link already serve that need.
I also vote for just posting less. There are some days that I come to this site, see three to four lengthy posts, and my mind just says “TL;DR” and I move on.
Every time I see you say that posting will be lite because you’re on vacation or spending time with your family, I see you post three new articles anyway. I just can’t help but think, “Damn it Swade. Turn off the damn computer already! I’m still reading the three articles from yesterday!”
1. please don’t do anything rash until we see the 9-1. if it’s botched like the 9-4x, then cut bait and get the heck out of here; shut it down, re-introduce yourself to your family and don’t look back. saab’s future will be doomed by making cars look “american.” don’t spend another minute on such kitsch. even if there were no family or job constraints on your time, you need saab to have worthy products.
2. i’m still not sure the goal of trollhattansaab.net has been clearly articulated. is it to provide saab news? is it to make money? is it for the love of the brand? is it a stepping stone to a gm gig?
if it’s to make money, i don’t see it being able to meet your financial needs of funding a $10k viggen repair + buying and restoring a sonett.
if it’s to provide saab news or give back (love) to the brand, then cool, but do it in the context of having a life, a family and a j-o-b. post once a week, or when you have time to cover news. it has been conveyed that you like to write, but maybe more cut-and-paste-type work, without a lot of prefatory wordsmithing, will free-up more of your time. like: “check out this story about [link]“… and/or limit commentary, yours.
if the goal of the blog is to get in with gm, then it’s probably a long shot, at best. obviously, you’ve got skills, perspective, and saab-celebrity status, but i don’t think gm can comprehend or handle that kind of value.
3. i understand what you say about being leery of allowing in other contributors, as you prefer to “steer,” rather than watching someone else do it. however, that begs the question, exactly how did eggsgrits get in the picture? you two seem to have very little in common, at least philosophically. and it doesn’t appear that you two have ever met. so, i’m always amazed that a) there’s kinship (let alone, familiarity); and b) that you’ve given him admin access. yet, i’m surprised to read that the contributor floodgate probably won’t be opened farther. (and no, i’m not politicking to get admin access.) …just an observation.
4. personally, i think this site is good at providing feedback for gm’s ideas and decisions about saab. it’s basically an informal survey tool gm can (and should) use. there are a lot of learned people (of course, excluding myself) who post, and convincingly i might add. and from people interested in saab, it’s good to read opinions like whether u.s. consumer confidence is high, or whether the turbo-x should have gotten 300+ hp, or what does saab need to fix, etc. (no, yes, and bluetooth, for starters.) gm needs a venue to hear that kind of stuff being bandied about, so that it can appear to not be working in a vacuum.
5. therefore: hopefully blogging and living are not mutually exclusive…perhaps it’s a matter of adjusting the volume, for each.
sorry, i meant, “eggsngrits,” not “eggsgrits.”
The strength of this site isn’t breaking news on Saab products. It’s not discussing the shape of the tailights on a new model mule taken with a cameraphone. Any other Saab site, or car orientated blog will cover the same things ad nauseum. The strength of this site is Steve’s writing and his enthusiasm for the Saab brand. Other forum based sites cover so much of what is covered here but none do it with Steve’s articulation, intelligence and humour.
The series of posts he sent from Trollhatten last year were superb and covered the whole Saab festival in excellent detail that the official business about the revamped 9-3 was just another part of the whole. I believe if he’d gone to Detroit this year in the same frame of mind we would have had a series of posts of the same quality regardless of whether he thought the 9-4x was something to get excited about. The whole lot was a rush and Steves lack of enthusiasm was plain to see.
The official Saab sites around the world are pushing the product, often with annoying, glitzy websites that can take ages to load or never load correctly or confuse with their myriad of menus. Official Saab media is often excruitiatingly driven by advertising hacks attempting to create an image that their perceived demographic surely despise and avoid like the plague.
The portions of this site that are well written and bring the enjoyment of driving a Saab improve Saabs image no end i believe. Certainly far, far more than a clip of someone drinking wheatgrass in a trendy cafe to show how ‘individual’ they are.
I would like Trollhattan Saab to be funded by Saab, whether that’s GM-Holden-Saab as it’s based in Australia or whether it’s part of GM Global i don’t care, but when there’s something of importance happening Saab should be sending Steve off to car shows and letting him write his articles and act as a proper media representative for Saab but writing his own impressions and observations rather than reproducing press releases. If that means losing the Djup Strup, the Caddy rants, the early pre production leaks then so be it. There’s a whole internet out there covering exactly the same thing. Maybe not with such prominence but it’s there and we can still all join in having our rants and raves while Steve posts his excellent, well thought out and articulate articles.
As it is, if this site and its responsibilities in any disrupt his personal life then i’d rather he pulled the plug straight away.
Bernard in comment #23 someone wrote:
“…and Google ads that are only vaguely relevant.”
I was also intrigued about the drop in earnings. Sure, you change platform, links get broken, less hits… But that was 6 months ago! I don’t really get it.
Someone mentioned ad-blockers. I have it in Safari; couldn’t live without it. It blocks all the stupid and annoying things from my regular sites I visit every day. But it never blocks anything from TS. I don’t know if it loves Saab, or if it figured out that your ads are not intrusive or annoying or anything…
And about the ads… I regularly see Google-ads for Volvo and BMW and manufacturer of airplane parts… Don’t know why. Maybe there is a Google ad expert out there in the audience that can help optimizing the thing.
This drop in earning has to be figured out because it’s just strange. And in the meantime, limit the number of post. There gonna be lots of news and rumors this year, and for me that is really important since this is THE place on the whole net for it. The other stuff, like owner stories and videos and history stuff… Well, if you cant get someone else to contribute them, then they have to go for now. But it’s gonna be sad…
Oh yeah… And, no forum. Bad thing.
i would be more than willing to pay a subscription for this site . i feel it is important that the site can speak freely and have a good rant from time to time.
Id be willing to donate. Some sites have a monthly target figure and you can see whats been donated and show the top 5 or 10 donators. Its probably not the best long term solution, but it may give you some time to get a better advertising / commercial structure in place for the long term. Any idea on what would be your monthly target to keep things ticking over ??
I do think you should set up something loang the lines of a ‘register for news on the 9-1′ sign up which asks whether youd be interested in purchasing and when etc. Emails wold then be sent out as soon as more 9-1 news broke – and it possible these leads could be sold to back to Saab in their respective countries or individual dealers ?
I think this would be a good excericise to guage what value this site would be to GM as all they are really interested is how many units have been shifted due to TS.
I do not know how to post this in a way that will not offend, but I’ll try anyhow. The lack of growth in revenue for Trollhattan Saab I believe mirrors Saab’s own financial troubles. Many of the folks that lurk and/or show their handle here have no intention of ever spending money on either TS or a new Saab. They use the excuses of immediate depreciation upon leaving the car lot or poor resale value to justify not buying new. They might possibly buy a used Saab, but they would not be caught dead in a Saab dealer’s service department once their warranty is up. The massive incentives which of course lead directly to lower resale are the only way to reach the very small percentage of these folks that might be bothered with acquiring a brand-new Saab. These folks should not be considered when speaking of optimal target demographics. This site and Saab’s marketing people should instead go after consumers. As in people that consume products or services by spending their money. As in drivers of vehicles not branded Saab.
A donation button via paypal would be clicked on by myself and a large number of TS readers, yet the far larger number would never bother.
..end rant
Paul H,
I think you are spot on.
Separately , there was a web site started up a few years ago about air safety. Instead of dealing in the salacious and ill informed speculation of the ‘normal’ and the weird, it presented FACTS and pilots FACTS. It was run on about $2,000 dollars a year of donations.
But an offer was made.
Now, that web site is owned an operated by what is regarded as the world’s leading flight safety company.
And they use it for factual professional debate and analysis. NOT for irate rantings and spews outs. (and yes I am guilty of one or two of those here.)
Tha web site is now quoted worldwide in media stories as a defintive source.
Not a bad model for what Swade needs for his next step? Y or N?
I do NOT like the idea of a Forum … too many detractors and it dilutes the message. Working with SaabCentral or others to a greater degree should help both sites.
I would be very leary of working for GM, that is just too much control. It would seem that their sponsership would be a more appropriate level of comitment. The problem there is whether you could make a go of it with sponsership and no full time job.
You could have you cake and eat it too … sponsership and pull back on your posts. I do my best to get here once a day, but when I fail I get behind. If the reader gets behind, you must be drowning.
Lastly, I’ll mention that this is not your problem alone. When at Aero Academy, the head of the advertising firm promoting the academy was there too. They are having the same problems you are … Dealers not even mentioning the Academy … not using it as a selling point for the Aero … even GM\Saab can not get their advertising to work. I wonder, if they “officially sponsered” the site would you have any better access to potential or new Saab owners? Their experience with the Academy would suggest it may be limited.
I followed this site before I owned my Aero and it certainly helped push me over the edge to make the purchase. I can’t beleive I am the only one. Just think of the impact if dealerships world wide had the oportunity to slow sell the car to people who walk on the lot … hand them some literature … with a link to this site … if they visited they would be SOLD.
Swade, thanks for such a generous effort and superb site. The feedback volume demonstrates the concern among your readers. I share that concern, I can’t stand the idea of losing TS. But, I think we have to be willing to give up something to help save TS. I wish I had the intelligence to add a brilliant new idea, but I lack business sense and common sense, a bad combination. But, I will add the following comments anyway:
I don’t think a forum is the way to go, and I’m not keen on the Autoblog style either. I read Autoblog less and less because more and more junk articles have to be perused to get to decent articles—kinda like junk mail.
However, I do like the idea ctm proposed regarding a Spirit of Saab site and a TS site. Why can’t Saab be an innovator on the web too, and be the first to have an “open” site, with a prominent heading that says “This is an uncensored site and the comments made on this site do not necessarily represent the views of Saab Automobile.” Or at least have a link to TS with a heading that it is an uncensored “latest rumors” type of site with no official link to Saab Automobile. And the TS site would of course have a link back to the SoS site.
At any rate, I’m keeping as many fingers crossed as I can that we don’t lose TS entirely. Three cheers for Swade!
Swade,
I haven’t read through all of the comments yet, so I don’t know if this has been suggested yet or not…
An online magazine.
Firstly, don’t get me wrong, I think Saab should be the primary sponsor/owner of this site. This is a modern piece of Saab history, whether Saab/GM realize it or not. However, being a Saab enthusiast (and being let down by GM time after time over the past few years), I don’t have any faith that GM/Saab have sense enough to see what an asset this site is.
That being said, I think an online magazine layout would be a decent alternative. Weekly, or twice weekly, “publish” a magazine on this site for readers. With the magazine layout, you can really make the most of having multiple writers. You can set up series of articles. You can keep things easily organized.
Possibly most importantly, you can set up subscriptions. Subscriptions could be for anything from CD mailers or exclusive material to access to the magazine itself.
Swade, I still don’t think you realize how much you are truly worth to Saab. I KNOW Saab/GM have no clue how much you are truly worth. You’ve really stepped up this site over the past year or so. Looking back, where news used to be posted every now and then, you’re currently posting as many as 5+ mini articles in a day. That’s a lot of work! The amount of content here is just too great for a simple blog, I think. I think it is well deserving of a publication, either on paper or on the web.
Just my $0.02
My thoughts. Sorry if I repeat what others may have already said.
ON FINANCING THE SITE:
————————–
From their perspective, Saab NEEDs to put some money into this site to keep it going.
WHY?
(1) Saab has a communications gap, and sites like this fill it.
Frankly, whether it’s internal inefficiencies, a small budget or consolidation with GM, Saab has not done a good job communicating products launches and details to its consumer base or to dealers. Many of us rely on this and other Saab enthusiast sites to find out basic details about the cars (e.g, what’s happening with XWD and eLSD, what the difference is) and how to actually fix issues with the cars (the forums are frequently more effective at diagnosing issues than Saab dealers are).
The fact of the matter is that many (if not most) Saab salespeople with whom I’ve spoken have not been very well informed about Saabs. The ones that are knowledgeable tend to frequent sites like this.
(2) Saab needs to support the Saab enthusiast community if it wants to maintain the brand
The appeal of Saabs goes beyond the cars; it is very much about the community of drivers and enthusiasts. This is especially true during lean years between notable product launches. The Saab community, in what it is and what is not, is a major selling point of Saabs and Saab needs to support it.
“We”, as the Saab community, also do a lot of the job of selling the cars through word-of-mouth. I personally have gotten multiple people looking at Saabs when they would not have otherwise considered them, and I’m sure many others here have done the same
Without sites like TS, the Saab enthusiast community suffers and with it Saab does.
HOW?
Rather than putting you on the payroll, Saab can sponsor parts of the site or pay a premium for key placement (how about a Saab dealer finder in the top right of the site?). This lets you maintain independence and makes it easier for Saab as well. They probably don’t want to put another person on their payroll, but considering how much money gets thrown around to sponsor events and to run those “Born from Jets” ads on the air, it would not hurt Saab much to push some advertising/sponsorship money your way and would be a better use of funds.
I would recommend against charging users for site access because it would keep new people away. Many of us would pay, but you’d still lose a part of your audience, especially the new.
A donation button would send some funds your way, though I’m not sure how much. If you make TS a non-profit org, we can even deduct the donations from our taxes (said half-jokingly).
ON YOUR INVOLVEMENT
————————–
You need to take a break, Steve. Maybe not fully, but bring back your commitment to the hobby level if Saab doesn’t give you a job full-time. Your enthusiasm and that of the people on this site will keep you constantly busy and scrambling for more.
Unfortunately, the auto industry moves very slowly and Saab can disappoint in how quickly it rolls out new products. You’ll only tire yourself and your enthusiasm if you don’t slow down.
After so many opinions and suggestions, I’ll keep mine short because most of it has been said already.
1) SAAB taking over TS and employing Swade would never work. It will be the same thing as when GM bought SAAB with the idea of slowly diluting the spirit and brand to fit corporate objectives.
2) Expand TS with input and stories from readers to ease the work load. A good manager knows how to delegate but still keep control. There are so many good opinions in these comments and I think TS could benefit from a different view and input sometimes. The POO proves my point. Have a group of people do the editing instead of trying to do everything yourself.
3)If SAAB would hire someone to do something like this, it would make more sense to have someone that lives in Europe or the USA. As you found out yourself, traveling from Australia can be difficult and time consuming.
4) Just consider TS a hobby. Try to find a full-time job you enjoy more. Sometimes hobbies that are made into a career can destroy the interest in the hobby itself sooner or later.
5) Try to fix the advertising revenue and set clear objectives what you want to do with the income. As others suggested, I don’t really see what repairing your Viggen or restoring a Sonnett has to do with TS. On a side note, I am still not sure what the personal vendetta with the Viggen insurance issue has to do with TS.
These are just helpful suggestions. TS is unique and the best source for SAAB info on the net. My suggestion would be the same as many others here and is to relax a bit, try to expand and diversify with a few more people and enjoy what you’re doing. Don’t let it take over your life.
Isn’t a subscription the opposite of we all want to achieve, namely spread the word about Saab? I don’t see why anyone on the net would start paying for something they don’t already know much about or already have a strong interest in. If someone started to be somewhat interested in buying a Saab and then looked around the net to some independent sources of information and news about the brand and the models and the future, and the only place was a subscription service… Well, I don’t think that person would bother anymore and (s)he probably get hooked on another brand on some other site. Also, with subscriptions, we miss out the occasional visitor who give a comment that is really worth reading – and then get hooked into the site and visit again and again…
So no subscription of the site itself with news and stuff. Maybe just the ability to sell stuff (CDs, DVDs, booklets etc.)
I already added a comment yesterday to this post, but I want to add something else now after reading the comments others have made:
So many people in these comments are pointing-out how often posts are made at TS. I agree. I’ve been telling Swade for some time now that he needs to slow down on the posting for his sanity. If I go on a business trip for a couple of days and can’t check-in at TS when I am able to upon my return home I can’t seem to catch-up on what I missed! I have to scroll through two pages sometimes.
So I think we ALL agree (someone correct me if I’m wrong) that the frequency of posts needs to be cut-down to maybe two a day max from Swade and if eggsngrits or myself have one every once in a while that will help-out too. I’m not talking about going days at a time w/o a single post, I’m just saying one a day or two a day if you really have something you need to get off your chest or “breaking news”. Put the rest of your stuff in a buffer for when you’re going to be away for a while or something and have it auto-post.
I can’t believe nobody who reads this ‘blog is intimately familiar with the way Google ads work. I mean, I have no idea myself, but judging by the wide readership of this ‘blog and the demographic Saabs supposedly appeal to, you’d think there’d be SOME internet advertising genius out there who could give Swade a few pointers…
I completely agree with Paul Humpage (#46)….
To expound on Wulf’s (#56) post: Maybe GM/Saab could employ you and move you to Canada, Sweden or a nice part of the US (San Francisco, Southern Florida, Colorado, Hawaii – that’s a dream
) … I know none of them are Australia, but it brings you closer to your love an your in-laws 
The TS is a church for Saab lovers and that you can´t turn into a supermarket. I for example pray here daily for better future and this site has kept me not making sins (purchasing other cars).
I can only suggest that you might consider of looking on the problem from opposite point of view. Not what you need from Saab, but what you can offer to Saab and what they need and of course charge them for that. You might discover that you don´t have to sell your sole to corporate monster, but you can live in cooperation. Look at your cards what you have in your hand:
- 6000 loyal Saab enthusiast visiting you site daily, who are eager to give feedback, teach to their beloved car company how to build cars they desire.
- the honest feedback from Saab clients, in the trusted enviroment
- the djup strupe and other sources
- well known trademark to build up more added value
In every mans life are moments when they feel that they can´t see the light in the end of the tunnel, but good things come along. Just take some time off and come back to the current issue after a week or so. Here are many good ideas from fellow commenters and all of us are willing to help you on building up the Saab community. One day you discover that the independence is more important than a handful of dollars.
I would hate to see anything happen to this site – it makes this new Saab owner feel very much like part of community of people that truly appreciate owning their vehicles, sharing personal ‘Saab’ experiences, and guiding the future of the Saab brand.
With that said – burning the candle at both ends, juggling work and family etc. is a tedious tightrope to walk. The amount of time and detail Swade spends on this site is unprecedented, and I can see where he wants/needs to slow down.
I also have to agree with Gripen above – this site is not about quantity of posts, but quality. One ‘good’ post a day has tremendous value and it is nice to log on to the site at each day and see what the Saab community is doing, and how they are commenting on a particular story. Four or five posts are nice, but unnecessary.
With that said – I hope the site continues to flourish. General Motors/Saab would be wise to evaluate the value of this ‘blog’ and invest in its future. Given the power of the internet (the blogosphere is playing such a powerful role in the current presidential election – how could one ignore it) and how well this site has established itself as a Saab resource – GM would be foolish to ignore the community that has been created here.
I agree with CTM, a forum would be terminal for TS.
This is a blog and has seen success as such. Forums attract riff-raff
Swade,
I appreciate all the work, but sometimes you just have to volunteer time to things you love. Take athletics as an example. People volunteer to participate in one sport or another and never get paid. Lots of parent-coaches devote many evenings during the summer months etc.
If your level of volunteerism is too high, then cut back to a level that is comfortable.
So far my estimates of your compensation.
$2000-3000 – trip to Detroit
$2000-3000 – trip to Sweden
$2000-3000 – Miscellanous trips
$15/day average site income for 200 day = $3000
——————————————
$9000-12,000 Income
Overall, not bad for a hobby.
The drop-off after June could be attributed to the completion of the 2008 Saab 9-3 roll-out. Seems like readers cared about that, but how many typical Saab owners will run out and by an SUV (9-4). It’s is not congruent for the classic Saab owner. If SUV is the focus for Saab then there are many better alternatives, which have been established already. Volvo is struggling too with their line up of big cars. The fastest growing segment is small cars.
It is possible that there would be more enthusiam when they come up with the 9-1.
Thanks!
no matter what you choose, i’ve read so many great stories and interesting facts on this site that i’ll stand behind whatever direction you choose to go.
i really appreciate all the effort you’ve personally put into this – and it’s obvious that you’ve spent so much of your own time in this endeavor – for the good of total strangers.
i’ve spent many a happy moment reading this site and wish nothing but its continuation, but i also completely understand your situation.
While I haven’t been a frequent ‘commenter’ at TS, I’ve been an avid reader for the last 14 mos. For me, there are a couple of certainties I wanted to express.
1. TS, and the Saab community following it, were certainly factors in my decision to buy a new 9-5 SC. The biggeest factor was the car itself, obviously. But seeing the same interest and same loyal following as I did 20 years ago (when I drove a used ’84 900T – and wish I still had it!) was encouraging. It showed me the cars were still drawing in people, for numerous reasons.
2. TS has been an awesome site, and I’ve wondered how Swade has maintained it so well.
To say I don’t want to see TS change would be selfish. I also agree that Saab really needs help getting the word out about its cars- past, present, and future – and changing some perceptions. I’ve recently been trying to talk my boss into looking at the ’07 9-3 SC holdovers, as there have been incredible incentives here in the U.S. His 1st reaction was that repairs and maintenance are too expensive. His second reaction was to go to Edmunds and look at the mediocre ratings (the owners’ ratings are pretty high – and I pointed that out!) and expected depreciation. So despite urging him to ‘just take it for a drive’, he’s probably headed toward a Honda CUV. UGH!! There’s got to be a million ofthem in Hawaii already!
So getting to the point, if Swade can get onboard with Saab, I have no doubt Saab will be better off for it. I, for one, want to see the company thriving, and GM investing heavily in it because the cars ARE good and worth the investment. I think Swade would contribute to that.
Swade – If that plan is the cards, and is good for you and your family, I say go for it. If not, then do what you have to do and take good care of yourself, your job, and the family. We’ll be watching the posts either way!
I haven’t read all the comments, but it seems like many of them points out they’re afraid of the unknown – TS going corporate. I can see the point, the site will probably have to change a bit. But like Swade, that doesn’t worry me.
If you theoretically had all the time/money you needed to do this fulltime, I don’t know if I would prefer that the site went corporate, or that you kept on going like before.
But that’s not the important thing here. The important thing is that Swade, understandably, hasn’t got the time to do this without proper funding. So whatever Swade does, he has got my full support. I can very well understand the situation he’s in. But I actually think the whole corporate-idea is a good idea. I think it would be great!
I can’t see why Saab haven’t tried to get you on their payroll a long time ago. It doesn’t seem like they know what you could bring to the table. But I hope they do soon, so that you can keep on running this site, corporate or not!
Often I wonder how you manage to fit it all in. I also find it hard to keep up with the blog and I’m only reading it!
I’m sure you have many day to day domestic chores around the home that need you attention. Not to mention family time, exercising, shopping, maintaining your own vehicles and catching up with non Saab enthusiasts, etc!
I believe a quick fix for you Swade is to limit your entries to one a day and see what happens with Saab or any other sponsors that may come forward in the following weeks.
To add to Gripen’s comments (#58), all I see on TS is quality Saab-related content (or sometimes not even Saab-related). I don’t mind seeing the site going for a few days w/o new topics and posts. In fact all my favorite blog sites out in Cyberland (Saab, cars, food, photography, etc) that I can think of don’t even post every day. Sometimes days/weeks go by w/o new posts by the blogmaster.
The point is, TS is made of quality by virtue of Swade and its contributors. I’d rather see consistent quality content than quantity any day.
Slow down, Swade. Re-claim your life and all the good bits in it. The late US senator of Massachusetts Paul Tsongas, when diagnosed with cancer, said: “No man ever said on his deathbed that I wish I had spent more time in the office.” An over-dramatic analogy, but you get the point.
Cheers
I’m sorry to go off-topic, but am I the only one experiencing lock-ups on this page? It seems to be limited to only this page. I exclusively use Firefox (running on Mac OS X) but I learned when using Safari it doesn’t have the lock-up problem.
I’ll click on a commenter’s screen name in the right pane of “recent comments” at the home page and it’ll load this page and that person’s comment but will freeze-up, not allowing me to scroll or anything. I can’t hit the “stop” button and the little icon that shows that a page is downloading isn’t animated, it’s frozen. The little progress bar at the bottom of the page says, “transferring data from pagead2.googlesyndication.com”. It’s just frozen there and I have to do a “Force Quit” to close Firefox (the status doesn’t say “not responding” though strangely) and then re-open it, but if I “restore session” I get a lockup again. If I start a new session and navigate to this page it freezes again.
Sorry this doesn’t have to do with the discussion, but if I’m not the only one having this problem then I’m sure a lot of people will appreciate if Swade knows what could be causing the problem and fix it.
Thanks Swade, and sorry to everyone else who had to put up with this distraction.
It’s just a dull Monday morning here so more the reason to post again.
I think I can for once identify a serious problem for the brand, that also identifies why Saab’s advertising and image has taken a dive.
1/. I drove my old 9000CD into work today, I’m also looking at an approved used for a company lease. I’ll be brutal – the Saab I want is an Aero. So, I can use work’s generosity and get (in Australia) an approved used 9-5 Aero – I don’t want a 9-3. This car won’t be mine. For those familiar with the Australian system I could go for a new Toyota or Honda for eg. No way, despite their great reputation! Most of my relatives drive Hondas, my mother always broke the mould and owns a BMW318is. That car is beautiful to drive, to look at et all. So I blaspheme!!
2/. Pre-work I studied the current brochures for a new or approved 9-5 in my home state, as well as what is offered in the private market. Yesterday (Sunday Australian time), my partner said ‘your car doesn’t seem much older’ when comparing the seemingly ancient 9-5 to my 9000.
3/. It got worse, my partner drives a classic 900. I must admit I bluddy f-ing love her car, more than my 9000. more than the 9-5. So – if I could find an ideal 900 Classic, I’d be in heaven.
Someone on this site once said if they built a classic 900 with all the safety gizmo they’d buy it. So would I.
But in the real world I’m after a lease – a new Japanese or an approved used Euro. Many moons ago I was a contributor for BMW Car magazine and have owned several. I lived in Manchester when the E39 came out. I loved it and still do.
So, I’m tinkering with a used 5-series as a buy. The Saabs will stay. The moral of my tale – my fiance’s classic 900 spells Saab all over, much like my old 99EMS and even my first clapped out 99.
The crux of the problem is depreciation. The 528i I’m looking at has it all, (except for that ghastly periopd phone). If I opt for a 3/4 year old 9-5 Aero very soon the dealership will be asking for a weekly direct debit aka my mortgage payments for maintenance and parts.
My lease won’t cover me at an indy. I suspect Saab’s massive depreciation has alot to do with the pathetic worldwide dealer network – Holden covered in Australia, hiked prices for basic parts and so it goes.
I truly love Saab, but she is like the firey French girlfriend – exotic, all class and utterly mesmerising. But the Beemer, Merc or even Audi resembles the classical wife – well dresssed for any occasion and knows how to hold her soup spoon!
It’s not Steve that needs good luck, he won’t be updating this site anyway unless Saab changes its ways. I’m sorry I’m so cyncial but I always hoped I’d buy Saabs and if fortune ever prevailed an old Porsche 911 for a bit of fun.
Note to Saab Australia – Rupert Murdoch apparently gave the Wall Street Journal editorial freedom; take over the basic costs with GM and do the same for TS. By God you need it to retain old customers!
As a relative newcomer to this site, I know I appreciate the time and effort Swade puts in to the running of things. He rapid responses to emails are amazing appreciated. As a teacher, I can appreciate your being pulled by your passion, your job, and your family. If you have to “go corporate” in order to spare your sanity, see your family, and still retain your hobby, I say, “Go for it”. Your efforts are appreciated. Thanks very much indeed for your time and efforts.
Swade
Very simply, my visiting of this site had a very positive impact on my buying a 2007 9-3 SC last year. You cannot be on the GM payroll as it will destroy the independence factor of this blog. I see your points re: a new type of site that GM could pay for, but in my view that is something they could run themselves and pay you handsomely to be a consultant to them to essentially oversee that site. Then you would have more money for this site, which without question does not need more than a post a day. In fact, last year, after the whole new
9-3 facelift coverage, I was wondering what you could possibly be writing about on a daily basis…the moral here is as long as this site continues to post new info on a regular basis (I would be happy with every other day) then it will remain relevant. If people are expecting you to entertain them on a daily basis, or several times a day, then they are expecting too much, and should find better use for their time. After all, we are talking about nuts and bolts here people, we don’t need to be fanatical about Saabs to appreciate them. I say take some time to be with your family (which you obviously realize is suffering because of TS) and just reduce your time spent here…we won’t be offended. And, this is all free anyway, so people have not right to expect any more of you than you are willing to give. Great work and hopefully you will find the right balance so we can continue to enjoy YOUR blog.
Cheers
I believe that an official Saab site like the one Swade has outlined is a good idea. And I’m certain that Swade would make a great editor of such a site. Furthermore, I believe that Trollhattan Saab is a great site. The site’s success the last couple of years is proof enough. But an official Saab site would be risky, because no one knows if it will be a hit.
I come to Trollhattan Saab to get updated on the world of Saab. But the most exciting days are when there are some new rumours out. For a Saab blog to be a place of rumours, inside information and speculations, you need to be independent. Trollhattan Saab has shown us that there is a need for such a blog.
I’m certain that the minute Trollhattan Saab becomes official, there will be a new independent blog where we can share rumours, inside information, speculations, good and bad experiences with Saab, our thoughts and hopes and so on. Both because there are several other passionate Saab lovers out there who would like to run such a site, and also because Swade has shown the rest of the world that it may be possible to make a financial profit from such a blog.
I know that an official Swade-run Saab site would be in my bookmarks right next to the independent Saab blog, but I would visit the independent Saab blog more frequently.
Most of all I want to keep Trollhattan Saab, and I want Swade to run it. So please keep Trollhattan Saab alive. If that means fewer posts, then so be it. Or take on a handful of contributors and then you can be an editor.
Like other commenters, I sometimes have trouble keeping up with the blog, and I’m not writing it! I’ve also wondered several times how you always find something to write about.
And I agree, that you could reduce your posts, if that helps. I have to admit that I sometimes “skips” a few entries, because I haven’t got the time. I think there is many like me out there.
Swade, for starters try reducing the amount of posts
Personally I am against the idea of this becoming an official site.
However, it is your creation Swade, and the ultimate decision will be yours.
However, do not let any of this get between you and your personal life and family.
Family first, everything else can be done late.
All the best.
“I sometimes have trouble keeping up with the blog” makes me laugh. Wish I had a nickel for every time I hit refresh. Can’t afford to fall behind, or I’d never catch up.
).
Anyway, like some others, I’m against the forum idea, and I don’t like the Autoblog style for TS. Too much pure noise on Autoblog.
The most important points are to keep the integrity of TS, and to make it enduring. I think official Saab involvement could make it enduring, and I think Saab could be an innovator in this area and let TS have its independent voice (if GM is kept out of the loop
Three cheers for Swade and TS.
Hi Swade
Many thoughts have been portrayed and I echo almost all of them
Becoming an official site could stifle some of your voice. It could work if you are given a relatively free reign, but what if GM/Saab release official pics of an upcoming vehicle and it is a complete stinker? Would you be forced to speak superlatives when handed these to post here?
Integrity is everything, and is one of the many reasons many of us return here day after day.
I like the idea of having contributers around the globe, heck, I’d gladly volunteer to cover things at UK and Euro motor shows (I’m planning to go to the Geneva show this year anyway).
Another suggestion, why not give access to your news feed monitors or trollhattansaab email inbox to other editors? Eggs for example. Anything relevant could then be posted. It would alleviate the workload greatly, as I’m sure one of the most time consuming tasks would be to sift through the inbox. It would also mean one would need to separate ones personal inbox from the sites.
I would be more than happy to become a Saab road tester for the site, as I appear to get through quite a few (although there is another who the force is stronger with
, he who goes through three times the number of vehicles I do 
).
Maintaining quality is paramount, so those you choose to help (if you go this route) need to be reliable and articulate.
The site is growing at a rate that will probably not be sustainable for one person, and that is with a two model line-up. Imagine the chaos when the 9-1, 9-4X and the new 9-5 hit the road! Then, just when we think we are catching our breath, the arrival of the next 9-3 will be on the horizon.
I’m putting my hat in the ring to offer help, as will many others. Obviously, all articles will need to be vetted by your good self. Opinions may differ on some things, but the goal is a common one, to see Saab succeed. I think a little difference of opinion is all well and good, hasn’t done the likes of Top Gear any harm, and that is the type of banter I would probably expect here.
Above all, I want to thank you for providing a fabulous site, and if there was a donate button, I’d certainly be clicking
.
I think the Ad Revenue issue is one that needs to be sorted, these new ad blockers are probably doing more harm than good. I can understand pop up blockers, as they are downright annoying, and so are those flash ads that take over the page when you mouseover. What many people do not understand is that the sites they enjoy visiting more often than not only exist due to the advertising, without it, these sites will struggle to exist. If they cease to exist, where will the surfers go then? Talk about shooting oneself in the foot!
Anyway, I’m sure you will have the support of everyone here with whatever direction you take. You certainly have mine.
Regards
Kaz
I fear the problem lies in the very nature of this site.
Trollhattansaab combines a couple of things:
- a SAAB club (but you don’t need to be a member to join in).
- a site that tries to offer SAAB news faster than others.
- a site that tries to get scoops on the SAAB world.
No offence, but that is hardly something for which (many) people are willing to pay, because:
- user forums can be found elsewhere, with a better structure than what we have here. And they are free.
- clubs for car fanantics exist outside of this scope, and offer more bang for the buck.
- the exclusivity of news material is very relative. Information has a way of leeking through to other channels as well. It suffices to look at the coverage of the 9-4 x. Autoblog.com was the first to go online with their own photographs of the event in Detroit. Trollhattansaab had it one day later.
So you got to ask yourself: what is the added value of the information on this site? What does it offer that other sites do not? What can we find here that we cannot find elsewhere on the net? And is that really enough to make a living?
Swade, first of all, thanks again for all your hard work. The last several years have been tough for Saab enthusiasts out there, and it really has been a treat to visit this site on a regular basis. The news, and comments from fellow Saabers have always been interesting, but I think TS has also been a reflection of your personality and your own enthusiasm for Saab, and that’s what makes TS so appealing. I’m not sure what the solution is, but your family comes first my friend, so please do what you need to do and know that we’ll always appreciate all your efforts! If TS does carry on beyond 2008, perhaps you could model it after the Saab Soundings magazine (both in terms of content and frequency) with articles and contributions from enthusiasts, technology and company news from Saab, etc. Much of the appeal of Saab Soundings was the sense of having an inside connection to the company. TS has been the closest thing we’ve had to that in years, and it’s much appreciated, but you need to do what’s best for you and for your family. Whatever you decide to do, we’re all behind you 100%!
Swade;
I’ve got to tell you that your expression of frustration over the site left me more than a bit depressed. I was forced to think of a daily web-surf ritual without TS and I kept thinking that it would not be anywhere near as rewarding or interesting. I’m amazed at how much is here and how much I learn about my fellow Saab enthusiasts as well as about the cars. And, with that in mind, I finally figured out why I go to this site every day–it’s because this is a place where fellow Saab owners come to both praise and damn their second greatest loves (after their families). With any love affair–long term or short–there are good days and bad, but all-in-all, we’d rather be with them than without them. This is the point that BaRa may be missing: TS is where fellow Saab lovers come to bask in the warm memories of their great cars of the past, speak about their cars of the present, and hope to influence the future to make Saab even better.
I’m not surprised that Saab corporate and Saab USA send you information or even help you travel half-way around the world. You, Swade,–and the TS contributors–represent the people who have been the buyers and supporters of the Saab brand for years and, hopefully, will be for years to come. There is nothing artificial about this forum–these are the divergent, rambling, and passionate thoughts of the core of the brand.
I hope that TS remains independent in its content and viewpoints. Maybe, just maybe, Saab itself can see value in supporting an independent voice.
We’re with you Swade, whatever you choose!
Swade, I understood “going corporate” was to be seen as a chance to create something unique in the car-industry/internet/blog area, and if that is the driving force in such a change of TS I think it’s an idea worth considering.
I think you are just too productive as a writer, so reducing posting could prove very difficult for you I guess. Don’t be worried to “go corporate” if such a deal still gives you freedom to air your thoughts.
Sounds like we need a Pollhattan. I have read through all of the comments and would like to summarise my thoughts as:
1. Swade needs to restore the work/life/blog balance by slowing down the postings.
2. Why not take more of a newspaper approach with an editorial contributed by Swade. Articles can be contributed by “staff” writers, Gripen1985, eggsngrits and others. Guest writers can submit stuff ** for the good of the community ** for review and publishing – if the editor agrees.
3. Swade’s input and insight is the most valuable thing on this site and for it to remain that way, we all need to help out. I am happy to contribute with my own work and perhaps we could organise a regional correspondent who contributes on a regular basis.
4. Getting Saab/GM involved throttles creativity and kills free speech. We’d all like the freebies, but selling out to Detroit isn’t the way.
5. Home grown stuff like the t-shirts, etc are valuable additions and are good for the bank balance – maybe we could use it for an annual convention – sponsored by Saab?
Anyway, we’ve all got great ideas, but to summarise my reading of all of this: Swade – your loyal readers are keen to help and help lift the burden – just tell us what you need.
Well I’ve been thinking long and hard about this. I’ve been coming to this blog almost since it first hit the interweb and I think I have clicked this way everyday since. I love the variety of subjects covered. I enjoy the history and I enjoy the breaking news. I love to read about the car runs and other peoples car build. Its great to see Saabs in their original state, as the day they left the factory and it’s also good to read the stories from people who have done a bit of customizing. When I read an article I can hear Swade’s voice telling the story. I believe that Swade has done a lot of good for Saab and I truly believe Saab know that. It’s the Saab division of GM who read the blog and it’s the same people who send him around the world to shows etc. I think Swade has a lot to offer Saab and I believe he could still give the Saab community what they like to hear. I also believe he could get more people interested in Saab with his unique style of journalism. But I also think he should still be able to do it his way. Swade is TS, TS is Swade.
TS has grown to be more than a blog. To me it is like a favorite TV show that you cannot miss. I’d still visit if it went back to one entry a day but it’s been proven that there is a lot of stuff to cover.
I’m all for Saab employing him as their new blog/newsletter/information person. This way he gets to do what he loves to do and still be with his family and home life and he can still do it from his house in Tasmania. And we must remember that no other company has done this as yet.
But the end decision is with you Swade, it’s your life we are talking about.
My 2 pennies worth. Robin.
“saab9x // Jan 20, 2008 at 7:06 pm
1. please don’t do anything rash until we see the 9-1. if it’s botched like the 9-4x, then cut bait and get the heck out of here; shut it down, re-introduce yourself to your family and don’t look back. saab’s future will be doomed by making cars look “american.” don’t spend another minute on such kitsch. even if there were no family or job constraints on your time, you need saab to have worthy products.”
I agree with that, reporting on the brand will be much less important if the upcoming “important” models for the brand are nothing to write home about. If GM finally gives saab good cars, then you’re in a royal pickle, if they don’t however, just pull back and turn this into an enthusiast site, maybe join up with one of the saab club websites.
Otherwise, my advice would be to look at http://www.swedespeed.com and follow their lead. Combine an extensive database of saab photographs with the best saab insider news and maybe even a limited forum. Make it a “one stop shop” for all things saab online, and try to get the support and ad revenue of the aftermarket suppliers as well as dealerships, etc.
But don’t try to do it all yourself, divvy up the work to other people, I’m sure there are plenty of folks who would be interested in helping to run a site like this. Still keep your Swade posts, but intersperse them with deals and new products from suppliers, etc, so that we still have interesting news to read while you don’t have to spend so much time writing.
I’d even go so far as to contact vortexmedia and make them an offer to integrate with the rest of their excellent enthusiast sites. The extra crossover traffic from swedespeed, fourtitude and most importantly, VWvortex (one of the biggest enthusiast sites around) would do nothing but help you.
Go back to basics, there’s more and more stuff here that I dont read at all.
Focus ONLY on major news and rumours, day by day this else “filling” material is growing here and I’m starting to miss things that might actually interest me.
If you go by this “visitor rate, money, time spend” whatever equation, you end up like certain USA Saab site runner and it aint pretty sight, having own imagination world and banning people for not looking your ever increasing ad’s.
GM should not get its hands on this side. Please.
Just run the side as a hobby. Until now, all the news have been published on this side in time. Only some Swedish sides are a bit faster. But that´s ok.
Don’t we all know SWADE enough to trust his integrity to write the truth no matter who is paying the bill?
I doubt Saab would pay that much – perhaps enough to defray some costs…but enough to change the integrity of someone we trust?
I agree with others:
1. Reduce the #posts – its an insane number that no one person can maintain even if they are getting paid.
2. Look at the root cause of revenue decreasing or expenses increasing and fix it – ex. re-work ad positioning to increase reloads and visibility.
3. Think about new kinds of content – a forum or perhaps a wiki space. A wiki is interesting since then content “branches” could be owned by individuals and yet the site as a whole could hand together.
beren
beren
We can all help by making it a habit to click on the adds sometimes. If you want to order something through Elkparts, use the TS link.
Even if you don’t live in the UK or the US have a look at the SAAB dealers on the TS site. It all helps!
Hello
I think it boils down to this. Either take a step forward into the unknown or back to the familiar. If you step back you will always wonder what could I have contributed to the Saab community. Remember the quote from the movie raging bull “I could have been a contender”
Thanks
John G Walnut Creek CA.
Wow.
I’m finally back from the holiday and it’s taken a full hour or so to read through the comments to this post.
First up, I want to thank everyone for their interest in the site and keeping it going. Your viewpoints are all valid and appreciated.
With regard to posting less – it’s actually pretty difficult. Maybe I have an obsessive disorder or something. When I discover or receive something, be it news or an article of interest, it’s really hard to not get it up there straight away. I want everyone here to know what I know and I want to the sender to know that their contribution was important and appreciated. Doesn’t always happen, but I try nonetheless.
This compulsion is one reason why it’s going to be very difficult to keep this site as a hobby. Blogging by itself is somewhat of an addictive behaviour, never mind blogging about something that you love. The growth in this site and the posting rate has been very organic, rather than a deliberate ploy. The site’s always had at least 2 new articles a day, but that grew to 6 or 7 a day in mid 2007.
I hear you all on the forum idea. It’s just one possible area of expansion, though it’s not my favourite one. First, there’s a lot of moderation time involved, and second, there’s already an excellent forum or two out there already.
With regards to getting more contributors, I’m pretty picky and need to be quite familiar with the person prior to inviting them to contribute regularly. Hence there’s only one active regular contributor in Eggs at the moment. He got the gig by always making insightful and level-headed contributions in comments, which prompted us to get in touch and it all just happened from there. His work has been invaluable, as has the work of various others that’s appeared here.
One commenter above noted that there might already be a deal with GM in the works and that this post was testing the waters for how it’d play out. Absolutely not the case. This has been playing on my mind for some time now and two events from Detroit triggered the writing of it. First was my chat with Gunilla Gustavs from the Saab Brand Center, where we got on to the topic. Second was the fact that the 9-1 concept will be showing in Geneva, and I won’t be able to go to it. They were the catalysts that got me to put my thoughts on ‘paper’.
One model I’ve floated in my own mind is that of a monthly donations button. The button would always be there but a post at the start of the month would invite people to contribute if they felt the previous month’s content was worthwhile. Say $5 for the month. A subscription model is definitely not worth considering, but the voluntary method may be a way to go.
Anyway, thanks again to all. We’ll see how this plays out. The next platform change will be a few months from now and that’ll give a good insight as to whether or not the site can continue on its own.
I have not yet commented here, but I have been enjoying the great information on this site for half a year now. I appreciate the passion that is clearly shown in the posts, and my own passion for the Saab brand has really taken hold in the past year, partially thanks to this blog. I have to admit, I do not own a Saab, and I am still in college, but it is an affliction that I know everyone here is victim.
I do not have specific advise to offer, but I wanted to share my appreciation for what it’s worth.
Also, I was reminded today of the reason why we are all posting/reading/commenting…while setting up to watch a movie, I was flipping through some channels and was stopped at the Wheel of Fortune. One of the cars sitting proudly behind Pat Sajak, was lo and behold a beautiful Parchment Silver 9-3, 2008. For some reason it is just so heartening to see something like that!
Keep up the good work, and I’m sure all of us would like to be of service in whatever way necessary.
I have to agree with what robin said, it’s your life and your decision. Thanks to this site I have become a very faithful fan to the brand and honestly speaking I don’t think I will revert back to any other brand than SAAB. My journey with SAAB started in May when I was told I will be selling them. I didn’t know much about SAAB apart from the fact that they are Swedish and very good cars.
After starting to read some literature on the net I came across trollhattansaab.net and I just got hooked. I flew to Sweden and met up with Swade. I was seriously impressed as to how much a single person could impact a whole community through a common passion. It was a great honor to meet Swade and since I came back from Sweden I have been fixated on SAAB. I log on to the site religiously, at least 4 to 5 times a day waiting for new posts to read. Just like Robin, I can hear Swade’s down under accent narrating the story
I have great respect for you Swade and the huge amount of work and effort you put into this site and would be more than happy to contribute to the site through donations. You said that you might feel bad cause you have no way of compensating readers if they donate, but the thing is that you already do and have been doing so for years through your articles, not to mention the competitions.
Getting a partnership with SAAB would probably be ideal cause as you mentioned you would get much more access to more information, as long as you control the shots on your site. As far as not being able to take the mickey out of Caddy, don’t worry, you can leave that to us in comments
we won’t be on the payroll….
“On today’s top 100 countdown, checking in at number 92, Eggsngrits with “Yet Another Comment”.
Seriously, I purposely put off reading this post and the comments until yesterday evening, wanting to take it in at once.
Swade: Hat’s off to you for the site, the leadership, the great banter. Thanks for letting me guest comment every now and again. Truly a privilige that I do NOT take for granted.
To all commenters: Great suggestions, and thanks for not holding back. You guys are a bunch of outspoken folks, and that’s good by me.
To Saab9x: I’m keeping my eye on you, pal. You are right on — Swade and I live on opposite sides of the planet, have completely different backgrounds and have a lot of different opinions. Plus, we had NEVER SPOKEN to each other until last week while Swade was here in the US! Quite perceptive.
To Andy Rupert: Your comments are rejected on the grounds that you are no longer a Saab owner.
Chaaalie has it right: It’s up to us (whatever grouping that is) to sell this site to others. Whether it is to advertisers, Google, Saab or other media outlets, the revenue must be found. It’s out there, we simply haven’t tapped into it yet.
Here’s to a new chapter at TS.
y not have a selected commentor on each continent, like swade in australia etc….
the setup of the website would have to change to accomodate this but im sure it would work. Then the work load would be passed out round the clock, with each of the commentors having a selection of selected topics to choose from…
only a thought…..
Steve,
You do an amazing job and this site + the people I’ve met from it definitely maintain my interest in SAAB. However, given all your thoughts about, heres my 2 c worth ( most of which you’ve heard before…)
1) Put family & personal life first
2) Look for opportunities to empower others and bring their contributions into the game
3)Look outside GM & the car biz for sponsorship & ads. Why not Salomon? Thule? Michelin?
4)The day job & the blog could be combined somewhere else. Advertising agencies need accountants too……..Your blog is your resume.
5)One reflection on the speed of postings – I often can’t keep up. I know that its your blog and you can post as often as you like but I hope you don’t do it out of pressure to maintain currency
6) Walk away a few times a year. Right away. Leave it to Eggs & Gripen or some of us other clowns for a week or more.
Don’t forget to move your mind.
Swade,
I just had now the time to read this topic. Serious stuff.
I won’t be the person to give you correct advice what to do or what not, Already a lot of sensible things are written down in comments, i see. You will make your mind up independetly and choose your route.
Your personal & family life certainly shouldn’t suffer from your saab (-hobby) which in the TS-case has grown in so great and magnificant proportions. I allways tried to figure out how you divided your time, how can this site be run in combination with your job & your private life ? Does the man have a life outside of this blog ? When does the man even have the time to drive a saab ?
PT’s advice not to forget moving your mind is crucial.
Of course i hope both you and your blog will survive. If the metal is being bended and stressed to long it will crack at a certain point, even if it is strong swedish steel. And that counts for Tasmanians too, i guess.
Whatever route you will take (hope it is going to be an independend one) mind you if you ‘go corporate’ some trolls will cross your paths if you dare to be less critical …
The donate button might be fine, but some strong help from the automotive industrie in form of ad isn’t that more efficient in the long run ?
I can’t remember when i first crossed your blogs path, but if it is going to be shut down (?), i certainly will miss it. As it is said before in comments, trollhattansaab is one of the best blogs in its kind. Thanks already for what you’ve done till now.