How can TS get better?
I’m a little tired of this site. It’s still clean looking and quite fresh compared to some of the drivel out there on the web, but it’s looking its age.
I’ve been thinking for some time about making some changes here and I think I’ve got many of them nailed down. A little while ago I had a good chat with Kroum about it (he does web stuff for a living) and got some great ideas - it’s just a matter of implementation. That’s going to take a little bit of investment, but I reckon the results will be worthwhile.
The one thing I’d really like to do is create a site that’s worthy of an advertiser’s support. I limit the number of advertisements here and I do so quite deliberately. I want to provide maximum value for advertisers and the best way to do that is to 1) have lots of visitors seeing their product, and 2) limit the number of competitors products on show.
Of course, the big fish I’d like to land is some actual GM advertising. Here’s something to think about….A year or so ago, our local dealer here in Hobart had a sales target of 2 Saab sales per month. That’s 24 a year.
Now, I’ve never got anyone to actually sign on a dotted line as I don’t do that sort of thing. In terms of providing an “assist” for actual sales, however, I reckon I’m pretty close to that number in the last 12 months. Tony B was able to make a living from Saab by selling that many.
Me? Not so much.
Back in January, GM flew me to Detroit for the NAIAS. When they initially sent through the plane ticket, my eyes nearly popped out of my head as it was a business class ticket valued at around $8,000!! I rang them and said that I’m just happy to be going and that cattle class would be fine, thanks. That saved them $4,500 and my mind boggles as to how much they spend flying people who don’t work for GM around the globe. Give me just 10% of that saving I delivered for a month’s ads and I’ll shine your shoes while I’m out there selling your cars.
Here’s another thing that’s interesting. Scott Patterson is selling ad space on Saabnet for between $240 and $3,000 a month and some of those ads are only shown on selected pages. His figures haven’t been updated for a little while but he’s claiming 251,000 unique users per month, which I’d believe given that TSN’s a 20 year old site that’s well established. Those users create the majority of his content and much of it is one liners - a comment in a thread of similar comments.
Trollhattan Saab, which is only three years old, had 135,000 unique visitors last month. All of the content is created either by me, or Eggs, or the occasional guest poster. The vast majority of articles contain good, meaty information and the comments threads (which you can read all in one hit as opposed to one click per comment) are often peppered with great content, too.
My ads are seen on every page that’s served and yet I still can’t get more than a couple of sponsors at only $100 a month. Mind you, I don’t go out of my way to sell the site to anyone. I figure that if you’re any good, then people will come to you. Maybe I’m wrong.
Want more? A few years ago TS placed top 10 in a set of Australian blog awards. Another top-tenner from that list was recently featured on TV here in a piece on earning your living from blogging. She has around the same number of page views per month as TS.
Whilst a bit of this post has been, the site itself isn’t about money. It’s about the cars, first and foremost. I don’t think this site will ever be big enough to earn a living from. It’s got to provide some good pocket money, though, to keep the small parts of life when I’m not doing it interesting. Believe it or not, but with three years of writing having passed and not many changes or innovations in the last 12 months or so, it’s actually getting a little bit tired, and tiring.
The one thing I’d like to do, therefore, is create a better site. I’m not looking for sponsors just so they’ll pay for an ad at TS. I’m looking for sponsors that I can provide real value for. Ones who are really going to benefit from being on TS and want to stay in partnership with the site.
A big part of that is going to involve building a more compelling, more useful and more interesting site for Saab enthusiasts to come and visit. A site that offers not just news, but a few other things as well. A site that’s doing well enough that I can (unlike now) pay a couple of Eggs n Grits’s to be regular contributors. A site where any Saab enthusiast can come and find something useful, whether it’s news, technical tips, performance stuff, or just some background on the company or their model car in particular.
I’d like to create a site that GM and Saab in particular are happy to support, although I’m pretty sure they never will. Maybe I should shoot for doing more reviews of cars that aren’t Saabs?
I’m hoping that I can put that site together by 2009 and kick off the new year with a bang. I’ve got a lot invested here at Trollhattan Saab already and I’d like to see it become a success. I think there’s plenty of room for growth there and with the growth of a site like TS, I hope Saab can benefit as well.
So I’d like your ideas. If you’ve got some suggestions on how TS can be better organised, better presented, or any old way it can be better, then shoot. Comments are all yours.
There is no standing still on the web. If you’re doing that then you’re going backwards.
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Swade,
I don’t think that the big fish is GM. You would do much better landing advertising from non-automotive premium brands such as Apple, HP, Panasonic, Sony, monster.com, LG, hotels, airlines, etc…
GM would be preaching to the choir here (unless they display Cadillac ads), but I think that the brands listed above would love to get access to your demographic.
Swade,
Bernard sounds like he is talking sense to me.
What do you reckon - other premium thinking stuff?
Qantas really ought to be plugging their new premium economy and revised business class here then!
Suggest you contact their advert people in SYD
Whatever happens, I still want the TS blog. Something “useful” is fine, and there has been plenty of that here over the years - maybe not just in the more organized way Swade talks about. But at the end of the day, I still want Swades personal blog, because somehow that is what TS is all about for me. The rumors, the stories of his cars, his excellent way with the words, his ranting, his love for Cadillac and Hummer…
Bernard’s got a great point. The demographic here has to be similar to the demographic of Saab owners: young, educated, financially comfortable. That’s the prime demographic for many companies to advertise to.
I don’t know anything about web design, but your problem raising money with this site sure isn’t about content. Everyone loves the content, visits frequently, and returns. It’s got to be about the design of the site. Maybe you can get that other top-10 Australian blogger to help you out in that respect!
:I think if you could incorporate a weekly or bi-weekly podcast to the segment would be pretty special. For those of us that are on the go and would like an update on everything that is Saab but can’t get to the computer.
:Maybe some kind of “news ticker tape” of the most recent articles so if people see an entry they haven’t read before they could just click and check it out.
:Maybe make the site a little more multimedia, with videos, pictures and wallpapers available for download. This extra content would be available similar to IGN members for a small “insiders” membership fee. This would at least help cover some overhead costs.
:Maybe u could even get together with a Saab dealership in your area to host a first time drive segment. Where u and your camera man go on this excursion to find random people (non Saab owners) and find out what they know about the brand and if they are willing to take a test drive and tape the whole experience. Even to have a car their available would be a plus. The fact of the matter is, most people don’t know much about Saab, but when they try one they buy one..
ck1x: while your ideas are all good, TS isn’t Swade’s sole job. He has a “day job” and probably wouldn’t have the time to dedicate to getting such ideas off the ground. Also, he has a family.
If TS were to generate enough in advertising revenue to allow Swade to “retire” from his day job, then I can see him being able to do such things.
Yeah I know, but I figured I would through them out there anyways… Good luck Swade, I’m sure whatever it is that you decide to do, will only be an improvement.
If GM paid for your site, would you be allowed to bash them?
I think it would be better if GM sent you to more car shows and even sent cars to review. It would even be better if GM handed you information first hand about upcoming releases and concepts. That way you can always maintain your jump on the competition.
Are you listening GM?
I would have to agree with Bernard that GM is not your big fish here- its those other brands.
What about places like Columbia, L.L. Bean (even though they have a deal with Subaru), or the North Face? I think those brands would love to get the attention of Saab’s demographics.
jchan2: you’re on the right track. Add local (to me) company Patagonia to your list.
Is there any way to get a little sample of what the demographic of visitors to this site is? I’d suggest running a private poll for your own use for when you approach prospective advertisers. The more info you can show up armed with the better.
I’m not just talking about the regular commenters, I think the casual visitor should be counted as well, which I think might be tough to calculate as they wouldn’t be as likely to be willing to take the time and give up the privacy of answering questions which would be demographically-relevant.
Sorry, that last second paragraph was aimed at Swade, not jchan2 as it appears.
Didn’t the last site update make Google choke, and hurt ad revenue for wanted of “missing” page hits?
I’d think twice about change for the sake of change.
I would like to see some forums added to this site. Something that is very similar to saabnet but without that fascist dictatorship. I would be the first to switch over.
Swade
The simplicity of this blog is not in the layout it is the content.
An uncluttered news feed.
I’ve mentioned before this is a very fast moving blog, if fact too fast sometimes. However that’s one of the reasons why you probably get so many page loads. I’m not sure I could count the amount of times I have visited TS in the past 4 days with fantastic threads such as ‘How many doors on the Saab 9-1?’, ‘TS vs AN’, ‘Identity?’, ‘Saab 9-4x Engine specs posted in comments’ and ‘MY2010 Saab 9-5 engine specs posted in comments’. This a long list but they don’t even represent a quarter of the total amount of posts made over this time. Just to add strength to your views and others here, Trollhattansaab’s content is built on facts and not blatant sensationalism to invoke emotions. People’s comments add to that and although we often disagree we each other, opinions are respected. This is what makes people come back to TS not just once but 3, 5 even 10 times a day to catch up on what makes this site such a compelling read.
As they say “If it’s not broke don’t try to fix it”
I know you have many ideas but your time is limited. Videos and podcasts would be welcome but don’t sacrifice the almost up to the hour news feeds.
I think the idea of advertising products that will appeal to like minded people is a good one. Apple, Movie On Demand sites and Video-Games. Or sports equipment for golf, cycling or how about sending an email to Salomon. Even if Saab won’t directly sponsor the site they maybe interested in offering a Ice-Experience once a year?
What ever you do keep it raw, keep it simple.
I am also in agreement. A GM sponsorship may give you the appearance of being their lackey. Not good.
The demographic is your target. Plus an Ikea or VisitSweden.com might be good. Anybody here work for a company with some ad dollars to spend at a nice, home-grown targeted market?
Thanks for the thoughts, gents. I know what you’re saying about the GM bit but I’d just like them to pay for what they receive from this site, which is a whole bunch of free promotion.
9-2x - getting to car show is fun - occasionally. I wouldn’t want to go o/s for that more than once a year though. As mentioned, I have a day job and the time off takes time away from any family trips. And also, flying 20+ hours for a three day turnaround is an absolute PITA. It takes the lustre off, believe me.
That’s why I much prefer to spread the love. Gripen’s done an event for TS. Eggs did the Turbo X a few weeks ago. I’ve had guys do Boston, New York, Geneva and Frankfurt. It gives those guys a chance to experience it first-hand, which is much better for them, and it’s better than hearing the same old perspective from me every time, too.
ck1x - thanks for the thought, but I don’t want to ever introduce paid content. I’d just rather everything be free for all comers.
Now, how to attract some of those companies mentioned (good thoughts there - thanks)
Swade: since you don’t have your own demographics data, I’m sure you could approach those potential advertisers with Saab’s own demographic data. That would logically apply to your site as well.
maybe have a forum area where we can all ask eachother questions about saabs or maybe get to know eachother a bit better and turn it into a bit more of a saab community where we can all help one another?
Swade I really appreciate what your doing here and I hope this change all goes well and I hope you find sponsors for the site, from my experience of talking to you you’ve seemed really helpful and interested (even if you weren’t) with what I was doing. That won’t make much sense to the rest of you I know
Trollhattansaab is second to none on Saab info and stories- its contributers know what they are talking about and 99% of the time the commenters do to- the other 1% is me and if I’m going to make Saab a bit of a speciality then I’d really like to be able to learn more from this blog so more info on Saab would be nice.
Maybe some indorsment from top Saab people would help get sponsorship?
hope these are helpful
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this blog. But there is a few things that I, personally anyway, think could make it better.
1. I would like it if different parts of the page were “framed” a bit. Around the links column, etc.
2. The “buttons” in the left column look pretty cool! I like the idea! But I think maybe it would make it cleaner if you just had the text there, without the images.
That’s just a few ideas from Norway, there might be a lot of people disagreeing
But thanks for a great site!
Came upon TS a while back, regular reader for a few months now. This is one of the few sites I regularly visit and it’s because of the obvious attachment to the marque combined with darn good writing that makes the difference.
Like others above, I’d caution about changing TS just to have a change. The relatively clean layout, high contrast reading area, etc. make for uncluttered and easy reading.
I only go to TSN when other sites fail to provide the information I need for a specific repair job or advice. The interface there is, in my opinion, not only clunky and difficulty, but painfully so. Try not to compare TS to TSN too much!
A couple of suggestions:
1. I don’t know if it’s my browser but I cannot determine the author of a TS post easily. It’s indicated in my Google Reader feed, but not when I’m visiting the TS site. Sometimes I can tell by the writing style if it’s Swade or Eggs if the post is long enough, but not always. Usually you guys are pretty good about defining where “here” is when you use it in an entry but if you don’t, we’re left guessing where “here” is. Knowing who wrote an entry would be a big help.
2. Above ideas for “out of the box” sponsors are excellent. I think you already have a site that’s worthy of an advertiser’s support.
3. “It’s” is a contraction of “it is” while “its” is the possessive of “it” — you know this I’m sure yet it slips through fairly regularly. Ok, bad grammar cop, no donut for me!
If GM came aboard you’d just have to tell them that they are an advertiser only, not editors in any way. Magazines like CAR and Top Gear consistently blast GM, but they are still full of Vauxhall and even Saab ads.
Good points on non-car advertising. Saab itself may be relatively low volume, but it’s customer base and the visitors to this site buy plenty of other high end products.
Swade - I think people are really offering some good advice.
1.) First, you should NOT be affiliated with GM by any means. Once you are, you lose all credibility as an unbiased journalist, whether you are or are not.
2.) You have to increase your user base, AND your advertisers. Let me explain: Not only do you need to bring in sponsors that parallel your demographic, like Apple, North Face, VitaWater, etc, but to reel in the big fish you need users. And by that I mean Registered Users, not posters.
3.) To bring the user numbers up, you need to offer more content. You are a one-man show with a full-time job, you can’t do that. You need registers users who can start threads and admins to monitor what’s going on for you (Think SaabCentral). If TS had a forum component, I barely even be on the SC site.
4.) The more threads, the more posts, the more page hits, the larger you grow. Then you’ll start attracting even more new users. The word will spread. With numbers come advertisers, plain and simple. Your goal should be to be the #1 Saab site. Period.
Don’t get me wrong, Swade. I love your site the way it is. I’m on it several times a day. You do a tremendous job, but I think we all see your frustration. You have a core base of loyal posters, but it’s not enough. It’s time to expand. Work smarter, not harder.
Now is the time. People aren’t listening to the radio, or watching TV as much. They are online, and it’s only going to grow. That’s where the advertisers will go too. New media to bring in new money from new, potential buyers.
I’ll help you out any way I can.
Agree with most people above.
Just one thought. To sell advertising space you need to see the advertising…. Right now I am writing this comment and I do not see any advertising. On my wide screen monitor, the entire left column is blank and so is the right…
Your demographics are great for high end stuff so that should work. Maybe you should do a survey among the visitors about income, location etc? Not sure how advertising space is sold but still.
If you can get a few $ from GM you should take it. I do not see anything wrong it that. The car companies are bribing journos all the time for short stories so if you can get a benefit for all the time you are puting into it good for you!
Lastly, would google pick the site up better if it was a .com?
Good luck!
What I ment with the advertising point is that the advertising needs to continue down during all the site, not just being something that you see at the very top.
cj is right, the ads are only at the top of the page, and I scroll past them pretty quickly. The solution is not to have more ads so they reach further down the page, it is to have the ads scroll with the page so they are always on screen. Unfortunately, that’s really really annoying if the ad scrolling is jerky, so if you decide to do that, make sure you find software or code or whatever that does it right.
I agree with what others are saying: don’t go for Saab/GM ads. They will pull their advertising the second you say something bad about either of them, and you might feel obligated to hold your tongue. Go for other companies who might want to sell stuff to the Saab demographic. Side note, someone mentioned North Face. They’re pretty hip right now with most of my friends.
Definitely don’t change the blog part of this site. Any other information should have its own section and be seperate. Maybe have a weekly update on the blog about what’s changed with the non-blog section.
DanC brought up something I’ve brought up before - You can’t see the author of a post unless you’re on the main page. It’s very annoying. There has to be a way for the author’s name to show up on the post page. He also brought up the notion that you should not compare yourself to TSN, and boy is he right. That’s like comparing a 9-3 to a Yugo, it’s just not fair.
User registration would be very handy. Also, I’ve said before that a forum would be great, and it would bring in even more users. However, Swade has said that a forum is “not gonna happen” because it would take up way too much of his time to run. Short answer, have someone else do it. I would be very surprised if no one on here had the spare time to moderate a forum.
TS is already great. Additional content can only make it better, but only if it’s not at the expense of what makes TS what it is.
Thanks again. This has been a great exercise and it’s truly touching (for want of a less feminine word) that you folks care so much about the site.
I’ve spent a reasonable amount of my time today sourcing some design help and have a few things to put on trial.
The next thing will be to suss out how to lure those blue chip advertisers. I love the idea of lifestyle related companies showing their wares in the sidebar. It’s just a matter of how to lure them.
I’m feeling quite optomistic about the whole thing, though. Thanks again.
Regarding ads, the people reading your blog come from all over the world. Would’t be a good thing if the could change regarding to what countr the visitor is coming from. For instace could smaller company that sells Saab have an ad!
Also I like the idea with non-saab stuff but be smart and say no to stuff that you don’t like.
Some kind of memberchip would give very good data to use when you promote youre site.
And finally you probably have to do some “selling” of the site to start bring in the cash every month.
Hey Swade, greetings from the other side of the planet… wan’a say germany.
First of all: I love your site. It’s fantastic as it is. Still some thoughts I have:
- First of all the Forum thing: Maybe it would be nice, but the main problem I see is that you loose this nice focus your site now has. There is only ONE place where the information is. If there would be a forum, the informations would be spread across the blog and the forum and your site would loose the possability of finding informations fast and easy. And I think many people would be luring in the forum and not on the blog?! But maybe that’s me. Also build up a forum parallel to established forums like TSN and SC…a very hard thing.
- Find some “amabassadors” (spelling?! Oh man… I have to write more in english. hahah). Why not try to build a TS international ambassador network. Those ambassadors are located in different places all around the world and also have the possability to post on the blog. So that you get a bit mor time for other stuff as you don’t have to agregate and filter all the stuff you get. Also you get some kind of international flare and more infomrations sources. Well… you know what I mean.
- Maybe you can do something else User-generated-content stuff despite a forum. How a about a “Saab Diary” Thing. Users who are registerd can write a diary about their Saab(s) like milage, fuel consumption, faults, joy, cools things etc.. So that other Saab Fans or future Saab Owners have the chance to research who a modell behaves. You know… I want to buy a Turbo-X (*dream*
) and I don’t know id there are known problems etc.. so I visit the Diary Site and select Model Turbo-X / Category Problems and get Reports from others. Or I can find other Saab (and specialy TS-) Fans in my area so that I can contact them for a group visit at the next IAA in Frankfurt. You know… a little bit “social network style”.
- Regarding Ads: As other mentioned above: Try to find sponsores outside of Saab/GM. Find some international companys as your blog is visited from all around the world. Those companys also have more Budget in the PR sector.
- That’s if for now. If I have some more ideas I will be getting back to you.
Keep up the good work!
I’m not 100% sure a forum is the way to go. Saabnet and Saab Central seem to have that tied up pretty well. I use them both. TS is unique and interesting partly because it’s not a forum.