Metafilter’s Ad-Model
When I read an interview like this one with Matt Haughey, I get excited. It’s rather obvious to say “he gets it”, but it’s the truth. Metafilter is an amazing community and as I study how to best build communities, I imagine I will be using MF as a case study. I never realized how MF setup its revenue model (combine it with the bit about ‘exclusivity’).
Me: Do you have streams of revenue besides the signup-fee and advertising?
Matt: That’s pretty much it…The $5 signup fee isn’t subscription revenue [since it's a one-time thing]. It’s mostly just putting a huge hurdle in front of having to deal with new users. ‘Cause it’s such a pain. The last ten years have shown that any time there’s press, like the New York Times writes something about us, 300 people sign up and then wreak havoc for a while, and then go away. [Without barriers to entry] it would just be a nightmare.So it’s really ad-based. It’s not something I ever set out to establish. I lucked into it, being in the right place at the right time.
Me: So what does your ad revenue look like?
Matt: It’s been really successful. I’m really lucky with the way Ask Metafilter works. Every question’s about a topic that’s easy to match ads to.The other weird thing is, ads aren’t even shown to members. Members asking about what kind of digital cameras they should get want honest answers. But non-members searching for digital cameras online get [to Ask Metafilter] in that search.
Tags: advertising, communities, internet
