Wow, CoasterBuzz is closing in on six years. It's weird because people that don't know me assume it's like the center of my life, but honestly I feel like I don't pay enough attention to it. That's not to say I don't like it, but I don't give it the time it's due.
I've been thinking about how I can improve it and change it, but there are two roadblocks I need to overcome. The first is that I need to finish the new forum version. Ugh. That's been haunting me too long. The second thing is that I'm cautious to spend a ton of time thinking about such things because I think the return on investment is limited. The coaster enthusiast and amusement industry audience is limited. That's not to say I'm not seeing a steady rise in traffic (up about 15% year-over-year), but with ad revenue not being great, I have to pick my projects carefully.
And that's the other thing. The ad revenue model I think is a double edged sword. Using a mix of ad formats (including the pop ups which annoy the shit out of everyone), I've been seeing anywhere from .60 to .80 effective CPM. That's not great at all. The CoasterBuzz Club memberships only offset the shortcomings to a certain degree. But the flip side of this is that it is at least revenue. I just don't like having to rely on third parties to secure income.
If I could get back to $1 CPM with one banner, like in the old days, I'd do it a heartbeat. Sadly, I just don't see it happening with the crap that the ad agencies are selling.
I guess in the end, it's nice to have the community. I'm still very pleased that it's a good group of people that act like adults for the most part. The content is still what matters, but I need to figure out how to monetize it.