Advertiser Playground- what would you like?

There are a few great deals that our advertisers are offering over on the "Advertiser Playground" forum.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/advertiser-playground/

Do you guys check the Ad Playground forum? Are there other things you would like to see over there? It is an open forum dedicated to those companies that work with us regularly.

Any advice for these guys? What would make that forum more interesting / useful for you?

any input is appreciated--- thanks!

I only check latest topics. If it is not recent enough to show up there, I won't see it. (Likewise, I don't check the front page of the website)

Joe Gearin wrote: Any advice for these guys?

Yes. The advice would be "know your products and your customer base"

I was saddened by a call I made recently to Black Dragon. (....who I called because they advertise datsun products in GRM.) I wanted to know if they sold header flanges for L24 engines, and if not, who did. The customer rep said they didn't have them, didn't know anyone who did, didn't know anyone who drove a datsun.....

Joe Gearin wrote: What would make that forum more interesting / useful for you?

I would like a way to link to specific user posts; e.g. a button next to the post that will display a URL that is specific for the post. Of course, that's the entire site, not just the advertisers playground.

More to the point of your post: If, after finding out that Black Dragon were clueless, I could go to the advertiser's playground and search for Datsun suppliers I would have been very happy.

There is no 'Jump to' link at the bottom of the usual forum page to the Ad Playground. I almost forgot there was such a forum.

Never knew there was such a place.

With respect to Joey's experience - maybe you got the new guy. Call back, ask to speak to someone who's been there awhile. It's quite difficult to find staff with the sort of deep knowledge people expect from a specialist like Black Dragon. I've never dealt with the company, but I doubt they're all clueless and there's probably at least one Datsun in a home garage.

I came across this with one of the big Miata suppliers recently when trying to resolve a problem one of our customers had. The "tech" who was answering questions didn't know the history of the parts his company sold or why a 10-year-old part would be different than what was on the shelf. I went to the guys who had been there for quite a while and the problem was sorted out. I know that at FM, there are some guys who aren't much help dealing with the old turbo kits because those were gone by the time they joined the company. But there are some of us who know the details, and we'll try to put you through to them.

I actually check the AP section probably once a week. My car doesnt get that much attention from a GRM perspective, and I dont auto-x (yet) so a lot of the generic gear isnt to germane to my interests, but I check it all the same.

+1 on "Only check latest topics"

When I look in that forum it looks like spam. DIY Autotune puts some useful info up there now and again but everyone else is just announcing sales. I only browse stuff like that when I am looking for something specific so an index with who, what (like a magazine advertiser index) with links fixed at the top might be handy so one can find them by what they sell. Working search for keywords maybe? Otherwise... it is just noise.

I agree with GPS that when you open that forum it looks like a lot spam. I don't like anything printed on my T-shirts; if I see a bunch of threads on the first page trying to sell me clothes I'm just going to walk way.

I would like to at least see it segregated into "car parts" and "everything else," but the might just be me.

I agree - its more of a "Our online sale of the week is..." listing, rather than retailers looking to discuss their wares and whats on the horizon.

Same here, pretty much just Latest Topics.

I don't know whether it's worth it to the advertisers, but posting a bit of info/tech/answers to FAQs seems like it would be a good way to get my eyeballs on an introduction to their business and make a good impression as more than a stocker of part numbers.

I don't know how much of their market the forum makes up and thus whether we merit the time spent, but we are a pretty thirsty-for-knowledge kinda crowd...

4cylndrfury wrote: ... rather than retailers looking to discuss their wares and whats on the horizon.

For you Advertisers reading this... ^That would be swell.

How about you guys hook me in with a build thread of your latest project and make me want to buy your stuff? I buy things from the companies that sponsor club racing and support mags I like. Regale me with tales of your season. Answer questions. Be real people.

Its a forum, not a bullhorn.

I'll add one other thing - and this may be different than the average reader - but 1/3 to 1/2 of my browsing is via a kindle. When I do, I'm looking at the mobile version of the site, and usually doing so with the images turned off. If you want to reach me, the ads must include text.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

4cylndrfury wrote: ... rather than retailers looking to discuss their wares and whats on the horizon.

For you Advertisers reading this... ^That would be swell. How about you guys hook me in with a build thread of your latest project and make me want to buy your stuff? I buy things from the companies that sponsor club racing and support mags I like. Regale me with tales of your season. Answer questions. Be real people. Its a forum, not a bullhorn.

Interesting idea. Do you think that would make more sense in the AP than in, say, the GRM forum? I could easily do a build thread on something like one of our V8 cars or one of the racers.

I really only check latest topics. I'm on a phone all day so I don't browse the site much. I'm also at work, so in on and off constantly.

A link at the bottom would probably get me visiting some.

I check it every now and then.

In reply to Keith:

I suppose it wouldn't matter unless there were rules GRM needed to maintain for who can reply or comment. I could see where it could become a negative experience for advertisers or too much work for moderators if someone with a grudge were to go spamming.

In any case - I'd like to see builds or write-ups by real, actual professionals who are interactive. If I can see you use your products to stuff eleventy-billion HP into a Miata or show me how to install something that might be a little daunting for a beginner - I'm feeling pretty good about spending my money. If you can drive it from to links to your own site or see stats on clicks/replies from GRM I think you would know pretty quickly if it was generating enough traffic to make it worth the effort. In your case - you are probably going to post here and/or answer anyway. Might as well get some public ad time out of it ;)

Keith wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

4cylndrfury wrote: ... rather than retailers looking to discuss their wares and whats on the horizon.

For you Advertisers reading this... ^That would be swell. How about you guys hook me in with a build thread of your latest project and make me want to buy your stuff? I buy things from the companies that sponsor club racing and support mags I like. Regale me with tales of your season. Answer questions. Be real people. Its a forum, not a bullhorn.

Interesting idea. Do you think that would make more sense in the AP than in, say, the GRM forum? I could easily do a build thread on something like one of our V8 cars or one of the racers.

Keith, you are active member of this community. We will watch what you and your company are doing regardless of where on the forum you put it. You offer good advice when you are NOT trying to sell us stuff

Flying Miata gets it and are doing things the right way

"Where's the beef?" I'd like to see more deals on parts I can actually use, not just tee shirts and that type of thing.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

4cylndrfury wrote: ... rather than retailers looking to discuss their wares and whats on the horizon.

For you Advertisers reading this... ^That would be swell. How about you guys hook me in with a build thread of your latest project and make me want to buy your stuff? I buy things from the companies that sponsor club racing and support mags I like. Regale me with tales of your season. Answer questions. Be real people. Its a forum, not a bullhorn.

All of these things.

I'm also another user of the "Latest Topics" button exclusively. On every forum i frequent. I skip over ads that are just announcing sales for parts i can't use on any of my cars.

To clarify, i'm not requesting that people start making things for my odd choice in vehicles. However, i WOULD be more likely to try to find a use for said parts if i could see more info on them within the post itself.

I like to read. I tend to skip over posts like "10% off things on our site through Friday!"

That pretty much does nothing to make me want to click on your site link.

The only forum advertiser i've bought things from so far is Gearhead Tees, because he's got the advertising down, has a nice product i can actually use.

Next will be DIYAutotune for the same reasons. Less space advertising, more space explaining and giving excellent info.

I suppose it helps that these same people are actually active on the forums.

Keith wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

4cylndrfury wrote: ... rather than retailers looking to discuss their wares and whats on the horizon.

For you Advertisers reading this... ^That would be swell. How about you guys hook me in with a build thread of your latest project and make me want to buy your stuff? I buy things from the companies that sponsor club racing and support mags I like. Regale me with tales of your season. Answer questions. Be real people. Its a forum, not a bullhorn.

Interesting idea. Do you think that would make more sense in the AP than in, say, the GRM forum? I could easily do a build thread on something like one of our V8 cars or one of the racers.

Build thread or ban...

And yes, this is exactly what I mean - put a build thread in the AP if its showcasing your V8 swap kit. If its a thread about how you used duct tape and a rusty switchblade to fix the rear diff that you dont sell, then it goes in the regular GRM forum.

A thread that SHOWS me how you used your wizbang widget is more likely to get me to open my wallet than a post offering me 10% off thru friday (excluding the fact that I am currently Miataless...I mean this statement rhetorically). Or a thread that says "Our Hairless raccoon adds 12% power over the stock sunroof raccoon. Flyin' Miata wants to know how we can make our hairless raccoon even more wizbang. Give me your ideas, potential customer base!"

Open up some dialogue - get me interested. No doubt price sells, but it has to sell me something I want. Tell me why I want it...

I'll go along with the idea of build and install threads. I don't remember the last time I looked at the ad forum because the info I typically need - opinions of people who have actually used a product - is usually more common in the GRM (and even off-topic) forums.

+1 on FM & Keith's style of interaction, but i have the feeling he'd probably be here doing the same thing if he'd never sold a car part in his life.

Great input so far guys! Thanks, keep it coming. The more info we give these advertisers, the better that part of the forum will become.

** I've been pushing for more links to YouTube video for project builds / in car footage / informative walk arounds of product. I think all of these would be useful, and entertaining.

Excellent feedback guys! We'll try to keep bringing the informative posts, and will continue to gather feedback from you guys when new products are on the horizon and we need to know where to keep the focus. We can't build what you want unless we know what it is, and the Advertiser Playground is a key way we do that. Another place where we gather input and discuss upcoming goodies is our Facebook page, check us out if you do the Facebook thing.

Thanks for all your support, and if there's ever anything we can assist with, let us know!

Another "New Topics" browser. So if it isn't new or bumped, I don't see it.

Things that make it more valuable than a list of sales:
- Tech
- Build Threads
- Installation info
- Testing info (dyno, skidpad, etc.)
- Seeking forum input on new product development.

IMO, YMMV, $.02

JoeyM wrote: I only check latest topics. If it is not recent enough to show up there, I won't see it. (Likewise, I don't check the front page of the website)

Joe Gearin wrote: Any advice for these guys?

Yes. The advice would be "know your products and your customer base" I was saddened by a call I made recently to Black Dragon. (....who I called because they advertise datsun products in GRM.) I wanted to know if they sold header flanges for L24 engines, and if not, who did. The customer rep said they didn't have them, didn't know anyone who did, didn't know anyone who drove a datsun.....

Joe Gearin wrote: What would make that forum more interesting / useful for you?

I would like a way to link to specific user posts; e.g. a button next to the post that will display a URL that is specific for the post. Of course, that's the entire site, not just the advertisers playground. More to the point of your post: If, after finding out that Black Dragon were clueless, I could go to the advertiser's playground and search for Datsun suppliers I would have been very happy.

With a company the size of Black Dragon/LMC Truck/Vicky Brits, it's a bit naive to assume every one of their sales people are going to be "car guys". That's slightly difficult.