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What If You Got Paid For Your Forum Posts?

Choices

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There are many useful posts around the forum and some of these posts really changed people's lives.

What if people could say "Thank You" to the poster by sending him/her a $ amount.

Each post would have a "$ay Thanks" button -> PayPal.

Something like:
Annotation 2019-09-28 211600.png

Benefits:
  • Posters get rewarded and incentivised to keep sharing life altering tips (extra to doing a good deed).
  • Readers feel good about giving back (maybe they are now busy with their fastlane to do it otherwise, or the topic they wish to contribute with is already detailed on the forum).
  • @MJ DeMarco takes a cut of X% to run forum costs and what-not, and donates Y% of that to a charity.

Downsides:
  • Possibly more landfills as aspiring entrepreneurs want to become millionaires on TFF now
  • From @Vairavan: Might remove posters' intrinsic motivation to help
  • ???

If anyone is a forum owner, you can try applying this to your own forum too.
 
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Last edited:

Vairavan

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In your heart

RazorCut

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No.It'll remove their intrinsic motivation to help.

If you've read Daniel Pink's excellent book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us , he explains how giving monetary rewards for people who are already doing something for free will remove their intrinsic motivation to do it.

Exactly this (great book by the way).

Before the last major forum update we had the ability to transfer a 'make believe' pot of money we all had called the Speed Rep that increased with each post or a milestone we made. Having that pot allowed us to transfer some to other members when we found something that resonated with us, that created exceptional value. Plus often our pot increased with our worth to the forum.

It is why you will see old posts with things like Speed++ displayed. It is not some cryptic language but just an indicator that we valued that post above a like and made a transfer. I guess the Love and Wow emoji does a similar thing now but I don't know if @MJ DeMarco has plans for reintroduction?

EDIT It was called Rep Bank not speed. Here’s a link of how it operated:

 
Last edited:

Andy Black

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There are many useful posts around the forum and some of these posts really changed people's lives.

What if people could say "Thank You" to the poster by sending him/her a $ amount.

Each post would have a "$ay Thanks" button -> PayPal.

Something like:
View attachment 27718

Benefits:
  • Posters get rewarded and incentivised to keep sharing life altering tips (extra to doing a good deed).
  • Readers feel good about giving back (maybe they are now busy with their fastlane to do it otherwise, or the topic they wish to contribute with is already detailed on the forum).
  • @MJ DeMarco takes a cut of X% to run forum costs and what-not, and donates Y% of that to a charity.

Downsides:
  • Possibly more landfills as aspiring entrepreneurs want to become millionaires on TFF now
  • From @Vairavan: Might remove posters' intrinsic motivation to help
  • ???

If anyone is a forum owner, you can try applying this to your own forum too.
That might create a very transactional “matching” environment that encourages helping folks purely for an immediate financial return.

Personally, I think the community benefits more from people helping each other because they understand/believe in the power of giving, and are encouraged to pay it forward.

Might be worth reading or listening to “Give and Take”. According to the author, some people are natural givers, some matchers, and some takers. Takers can be encouraged to become more giving if they see it happening publicly, and if they identify with a tight community.

I don’t post to make money. I post to help people. What I get in return is the feedback that I’ve helped someone (which prevents “giver burnout”), and ideas on how to help more people at scale - outside the forum.

I prefer to add value and create an inbalance. If I was paid per post then the transaction is completed. If the transaction isn’t completed then an inbalance has been created and it will come back in other ways.

TL;DR ... I already feel I get paid if I post helpful content - in ways that constantly surprise me.
 
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Dan_Cardone

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Before it shut down, I was an admin of one of the largest mens dating advice forums on the internet and we tried to implement something simular.

Every month users could vote on who gave the most helpful advice on the forum for the prior 30 days. The top two (sometimes three) would receive money. We had to quickly scrap it because of the mass influx of new users copy/pasting low quality content from shoddy blogs all over the forum. Not to mention all the horrible advice given fron guys who clearly never had even been on a date....

Like this forum, the best advice came from guys who just enjoyed helping.
 

RazorCut

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I already feel I get paid if I post helpful content - in ways that constantly surprise me.

That holds true both on and offline. There is an Indian proverb that sums it up:

27720
 

ZF Lee

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There are many useful posts around the forum and some of these posts really changed people's lives.

What if people could say "Thank You" to the poster by sending him/her a $ amount.

Each post would have a "$ay Thanks" button -> PayPal.

Something like:
View attachment 27718

Benefits:
  • Posters get rewarded and incentivised to keep sharing life altering tips (extra to doing a good deed).
  • Readers feel good about giving back (maybe they are now busy with their fastlane to do it otherwise, or the topic they wish to contribute with is already detailed on the forum).
  • @MJ DeMarco takes a cut of X% to run forum costs and what-not, and donates Y% of that to a charity.

Downsides:
  • Possibly more landfills as aspiring entrepreneurs want to become millionaires on TFF now
  • From @Vairavan: Might remove posters' intrinsic motivation to help
  • ???

If anyone is a forum owner, you can try applying this to your own forum too.
I have always thought I was always 'paid' for posting, as long as I posted something good (e.g. a good question, a good gold nugget of info, a good problem for folks to solve)

So, what I find would be:

Post good post -> Get feedback -> apply it to business and life -> Get paid with REAL rewards from applying it (better business profits, better lifestyle, etc.) -> Repeat cycle

I've actually heard of that idea from some Ukrainian or East Europea programmer/hitchhiker on one of my first meetup.com forays, but it was for programming forums. Given that you need to know a good deal of the skill, to contribute decent code or theory reasonings, I guess this higher barrier to entry would reduce risk of the landfills.
 
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Entre Eyes

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There are many useful posts around the forum and some of these posts really changed people's lives.

What if people could say "Thank You" to the poster by sending him/her a $ amount.

Each post would have a "$ay Thanks" button -> PayPal.

Something like:
View attachment 27718

Benefits:
  • Posters get rewarded and incentivised to keep sharing life altering tips (extra to doing a good deed).
  • Readers feel good about giving back (maybe they are now busy with their fastlane to do it otherwise, or the topic they wish to contribute with is already detailed on the forum).
  • @MJ DeMarco takes a cut of X% to run forum costs and what-not, and donates Y% of that to a charity.

Downsides:
  • Possibly more landfills as aspiring entrepreneurs want to become millionaires on TFF now
  • From @Vairavan: Might remove posters' intrinsic motivation to help
  • ???

If anyone is a forum owner, you can try applying this to your own forum too.


You just earned $5!


I think it is a great idea but 5 mins after every great idea is people figuring out ways to exploit it. :)

For now we are the ones paying...if we have to pay for a Signature link in all our comments for example Warrior Forum.
 
D

DeletedUser0287

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Technically people that are giving good advice are already getting paid. If you know what I mean.

Like all audience aggregations, people that give good advice are inbound marketing. They are making money off their posts already.

Cough...cough... coaching program and eBook.
 

Tubs

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I think if implimented it would fill the forum with loads of useless posters who would try and exploit the system for financial gain.
 
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Tourmaline

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Well it'd kind of like reddit gold, or how people would tip people dogecoins if they found a comment valuable.

I'm totally all for tipping dogecoins. Me having a couple hundred thousand gives me no bias.
 

Here

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I’d rather buy posters’ products to support them. That way I get more of their insight.

If I want to pay to read posts, I’ll become an INSIDERS.
 

Here

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This is not about paying to read posts -> Missing the point.
You asked if posters want to get paid. I explained why I personally wouldn’t want an environment where there is an “option” to pay.
 

MJ DeMarco

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I believe in some non-monetary compensation would work, kinda like Rep Bank in the past. And then have that Rep-Bank redeemable for forum goods, discount on books, Summits, advertising, etc. A donate to user might also work.

The thing I'd want to avoid is the perception that one could get paid to post. I believe that would backfire in creating the opposite effect, creating more low value posts from folks hoping to "get paid". I visited a few communities (crypto based) where it was a "pay when you post" type of value skew and most of them seem to have a ton of spam and low engagement.
 

ZCP

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@Choices do you currently send a PM to that poster to let them know they changed your life?

I get a good many PM's from people saying something similar. Makes it awesome for me and often leads to a conversation or me trying to help them out. It does make me smile.

Pay people for posts ..... sure, just make it $1k minimum. AND plan to pay the mods for the onslaught of horseshit posts.

Most of the people that make a post that is that awesome probably would rather the money go to your business or maybe sponsor an INSIDERS subscription for someone getting started.

Personally, when i help someone and they want to repay me, I ask them to 'send me a check one year from today for what you think it was worth' or most of the time i say 'when you have the opportunity, i want you to help someone in a similar manner to pay it forward'.
 
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foodiepersecond

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I can only see this work if there was a final approval point where the admins get involved and vote the upvoted content if its legit or just rubbish. I also was always curious what these speed points were. I get notices here and there about them.
 

Choices

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@Choices do you currently send a PM to that poster to let them know they changed your life?

This isn't about me @ZCP , it's just an idea that I thought might help grow the forum overall.

@Choices
AND plan to pay the mods for the onslaught of horseshit posts.

My intention here wasn't to say "Hey mods here's some more work", if that's what you understood. I know you guys work hard and I appreciate your efforts to keep the forum clean.
Low quality posts is something I mentioned in the first post as a concern too.
As the forum grows the need for more mods will probably arise.

@Choices
Personally, when i help someone and they want to repay me, I ask them to 'send me a check one year from today for what you think it was worth' or most of the time i say 'when you have the opportunity, i want you to help someone in a similar manner to pay it forward'.

That sounds great! :smile2:
 

Frank H.

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Paid posts are a good idea because they will increase interaction throughout the thread and lead to higher quality posts. For instance, the OP usually has a good first post, however, the replies are usually mediocre. The replies throughout the thread will be better if there is a possible reward.

Also, many people are externally motivated compared to intrinsically. Many studies show that the majority of people are intrinsically motivated, however, around 35% are still externally motivated.
 

Azure

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I've toured a handful of pay to post forums - coincidentally they all happen to revolve around making money online in some way or another, which gives you some insight into the types of people who will be attracted to the concept.

Not one of them has been memorable or valuable enough to warrant more than a few minutes of browsing.

Take the lowest common denominator on Warrior Forum and BlackHatWorld - add in a few copy/pastes from the usual "AAA FRESH CVV DUMPS FULLS SIN ZIP CODE" adverts for skimmed creditcard info and the odd porn reupload/cam girl redirecting tutorial and that sums up the type of people you'll get once the Fastlane Forum gets posted around in those circles.
 

Genius01

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I believe in some non-monetary compensation would work, kinda like Rep Bank in the past. And then have that Rep-Bank redeemable for forum goods, discount on books, Summits, advertising, etc. A donate to user might also work.

The thing I'd want to avoid is the perception that one could get paid to post. I believe that would backfire in creating the opposite effect, creating more low value posts from folks hoping to "get paid". I visited a few communities (crypto based) where it was a "pay when you post" type of value skew and most of them seem to have a ton of spam and low engagement.
I think just having the Rep Bank back exactly the way it was previously would be fine.
The reps don't have to be converted into discounts or advertising or anything, it just acts as tangible evidence of the value you are giving to the forum.
Just the satisfaction of helping people, coupled with seeing your fat Rep bank as tangible proof that you've been delivering a lot of value, is enough for most people on the forum (me inclusive).

That's because you've created a fantastic community that thrives on giving selflessly.
In fact, I know one particular funny guy that was always giving out his reps as fast as it accumulated, so he always had a rep bank close to 0.

I think making the Rep bank transferable into discounts and adverts will indirectly encourage and ultimately generate the kind of low quality posts you suspect it will, as people try to gather reps for the purpose of accessing discounts or free advertising.

Its best you bring it back exactly as it was before and nothing else- a visible proof of the amount of value delivered to the community.

EDIT:
MJ, What exactly does the "Reaction score" and "Points" on a user's profile in this post-update forum stand for? Or maybe..., like how are they calculated?
I've been meaning to ask but haven't gotten to it.
Is there a thread where this is explained?
Thanks.
 
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Last edited:

Ismail941

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In other words, let's become consultants and get paid for giving advice
LoL
 

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