A 'new economic model' is forming, and it's name is PA!
Artist members, check it out from your artist administration, from the link 'PA Program' beside your individual artists.
Users, soon, you'll be able to participate, when artist members have set up their PA programs!
W.
yee-ha!
oh, I mean, great! I'll go check it out.. I rewrote the PA introduction page and my personal artist page (for my site, not the matching linkmirror page on nowhere, I'm just going to check out the serverside myself).. I have to update the announcement page still, though the old version is there as well.. it's part of my site's news page.. and hey, there's new news! Its actually launch time. Still Beta of course.. the logo is conceptual rather than finished art, but essentially it is all there.
I'm designing brochures and registration forms ready for the State Fair in August. I hope to have a lot of people subscribe (and get one or two complementary CDs) instead of just buying a CD.. and to get a complementary copy of the long awaited new production CD when it comes out late this year. Everyone has been asking when it will come out, and unfortunately, not in time for the fair. But that is one of the main ideas in the PA model.. my real fans can guarantee themselves a copy of any and every CD as soon as it comes out without having to see me at (or wait for) the fair, or haunt my site waiting for it to be announced and buying it on line etc...many of my fans don't have internet access to do that. PA is not dependent on the internet at all, really, from the subscribers point of view.. though it makes the artist's job a lot easier.
so check it out fellow artists... This has been a plan of mine for quite some time and I'm both really thankfull and sincerely impressed that waldo has actually (out of all the sites I've talked about it with) been the one to actually mmet me half way and be the host here at nowhere. As well, early on I decided that instead of just doing it on my own, I wanted to set it up as a model other artists could use, as a system other artists could use.. and wow, its actually happening.
peace
Brian
Folksinger
www.pan.com/folksinger
last minute Qs
I've printed up a form for subscribing people
I copy your form and offer to set them up a nowhere account and ask for a prefered user name
I assume if they want a nowhere account I can fill that in with their prefered name, then e-mail them the information so they can edit thier profile to what they want
If I change the questions on the sign up form will generating a new page change the link url? I figure it will be the same but also figured it no trouble to ask.
I think that I need to keep tabs on what each memebr has, so I know what to send them.. some may have copies of the Folksinger CD, some may not.. And as I am giving out videos and CDRs with subscriptions, they will have those, and the folksinger cd, while someone who signs up on-line will need to be sent those things when I do the first mailing.
Finally, will there be a way to generate a mailing list datafile that I can load into say, word to print out mailing labels, or into my mail manager, where I can sort out addresses and prinrt labels. I can manually sort through the list as to who gets what, of course. but especially in Alaska, I may sell a lot of subscriptions to people whi have no internet access and I have to deal with totally by mail, from sending materials to renewal notices, yet I want to keep it all in one place at nowhere obviously.. So I suppose the best would be a datafile that I could import into my database, to sort and filter and print out. Even if there's not room for more entries at NW, I could create my own database with more information (loke a record of what I sent each person so far), but getting the info as a datafile might be easier and quicker than say a "printed" listing that I'd have to manually type in
Anyway, no hurry on this, firast mailing won't be for a while.. say December, just before renewal notices go out!
peace
Brian
hmm
another question!
I just got a mail order for a couple CDs off my website...
I also go on a donation basis (over cost) there as well.
well they sent me $20 fro each CD, which is what I intended to charge for subscription rates.. so I'll send them the PA package in return, not just the CDs and offer to subscribe them
the question is
if they want to join, can I give them a way to sign up on-line without having to pay (ie give them some password that allows them to singup without paying?)? Or should I e-mail them the form, have them fill it out and send it back to me, then I can add them in myself.. at which point .. uh, what happens.. will they be notified of a temporary username and password they can log on with and manage their profile with?
I figure if they sign-up on-line, they may sign up to nowhere at the same time, which is the kind of "piggyback" I am thinking of. And again, they chose to order online, by printing out a mail-order form and sending me a check, not by using one of the links to on-line sellers. So I want to include that option on my website, with the link to nowhere for those that want to pay with credit card (or paypal I assume). Again that would leave me in the same place approx as someone who signs up on the street.. I have their info on the form, and I add them in, including signing them into nowhere if they indicate they want that. I go in and add a new member,
then..... they get an auto e-mail with their temp usename and password to manage their profile (like chose a new password/usename) ?
just generally here is the form I'm using for in person sign-ups:
Please fill out the following information for your account
all information is strictly confidential and is not shared or distributed in any way
First name: ____________________________
Last name: ____________________________
E-mail: ____________________________
Mailing address: _________________________________________________
City: ____________________________State/Province : _____________________
Country: ________________________ Postal code: _____________
Expires in: 1 Year 2 Years 3 years
1) Do you wish to recieve e-mail bulletins other than the annual/bi-annual reports? yes no
2) Do you wish to be specifically notified if I am travelling through or performing in your area? yes no
3) Would you be interested in hosting house-concerts, jam sessions, or just have me visit along the way? yes no
4) VHS is more universally compatable and holds more video, but would you rather recieve digital video on SVCD, and/or (eventually) DVD disks ?
VHS SVCD DVD(when available)
5) What Folksinger recordings do you have copies of?
"Folksinger": CD / tape ; "Gypsy Road": CD / tape; Jam at Joe's: CDR ; VTJ "AK2K" SVCD / VHS
6) Do you have any suggestions, requests, or comments?
NoWhereRadio.com ("NWR") is the host of the entire Patrons of the Artists program of which this artist, Folksinger, is a member
Patron already has an account on NoWhereRadio.com yes no
if yes: NoWhere Username: ____________________________
Get address/name from NWR account yes no
Get e-mail addressfrom NWR account yes no
if no; create NWR account for user yes no
This will enable you to log in to manage your account on-line, and access other NWR services
Prefered NoWhere Username: ____________________________
----------------------
that's it, got to run
peace
Brian
[quote]I assume if they want a nowhere account I can fill that in with their prefered name, then e-mail them the information so they can edit thier profile to what they want [/quote]
They [b]must[/b] have a NoWhere account, regardless. If they do not already have an account, and you use the sign-up form, it will create the account for them, and e-mail them the details automatically, to whatever e-mail address you entered.
[quote]If I change the questions on the sign up form will generating a new page change the link url? [/quote]
The URL to the signup page will never change, however, if you change your main configuration, the page will be disabled until an administrator has reviewed the details and approved them.
If you change the questions, the data for each question will [b]NOT[/b] be changed, so if they had previously filled in info for a different question, the answer will remain as that, for the new question.
[quote]Finally, will there be a way to generate a mailing list datafile that I can load into say, word to print out mailing labels, or into my mail manager, where I can sort out addresses and prinrt labels[/quote]
Already is, [i]Download member List[/i] will download the database in CSV format, which excel, word, etc. can import, and you can do nearly anything with.
[quote]the question is
if they want to join, can I give them a way to sign up on-line without having to pay (ie give them some password that allows them to singup without paying?)? [/quote]
No, for security reasons, and expense reasons. You can add them manually if you wish.
Regardless of if they pay or not, hosting the PA program costs me money, and I would prefer that they pay so at least some expenses are covered.
[quote]will they be notified of a temporary username and password they can log on with and manage their profile with? [/quote]
Everythings automated, whatever e-mail you enter for them will be sent a message containing their username and password. If they've already got a NWR account, their existing username password/account works.
I figure I'm going to get a lot of subscriptions, maybe the bulk of them, offline, rather than online.. though I'm hoping the renewals will happen on-line so it is automatic. Still, I expect to have a lot of subscriptions, at least in Alaska, who have no internet access, probably no computer, possibly no phone! Its not that they aren't paying so much as they aren't able, or don't wish to, pay on-lone.. or the fact that like CDs, I get most of my sales not on-line but as a direct result of performance and personal meetings. This might change if I figure out a better way to promote my music on the net, but so far its been pretty dismal. Though I plan to make a new effort when the new CD comes out.
It won't be a problem to maintain my main PA database on my computer and add the NWR database to it at intervals. I can add people to the NWR database if they wish to be notified of renewals and renew on-line, but if they want to go postal (hmm is that a bad choice of words?) then I can just keep them in my database alone. That should work.
Now that I have the Van set up with the computer and printer, I shoud be able to handle the postal end easy enough, printing labels etc, and entries into the database can be done daily if I need to.
will I be notified every time someone signs up online, or should I just check the member list, maybe download it and compare it to the old one.. but though I have the computer set up constantly, internet will still be spotty, I'll get it once a month I am sure.
I just got another sign-up.. paid cash, but they weren't exactly sure what the nowhere account was about, and said they'd rather check it out first and sign up on their own. I think it is because they use the computer at work, and the high speed access there, for internet radio, which they say they do like.. the idea of me setting an account up for them seemed to stike them weird though. I'll try to explain it in terms of an account on-line renewal and payment. I think people are a little leary of geting registered to a site and getting potentially inundated with spam or pop-ups etc.. I'll have to work out an explaination that makes them comfortable with getting registered to a site on-line sight unseen (site unseen?) and not knowing what the registration/account gets them into. Though I said it was no different from registering to a forum or to any internet radio/music site. I'll have to go to NWR and copy out a description of what an account at NWR radio is for in detail.
got to run, decided to leave in the morning since I figured it was a bad idea to take off in the middle of the night with a new rig, that I don't know well yet, and has no interior lights. I may need to see, even just to check on my load shifting around as it settles.
got to get some sleep tonight though.
thanks
peace
Brian
The only reason they need an account, is because that is where their address information is stored. And if they need to modify it, change their e-mail address, anything like that, we need proof of who they are. The username + password in essence act as a 'pin' code much like on a bank card. There is also the case where a persons name is identical (I know of 45 people in the US that share my exact name), and couldn't be used as an index for a user. This way, a username cannot be duplicated, much like a hotmail account.
E-mail addresses are NOT sold, or shared with anyone. Nor is any of the other information stored in the database. I occasionally send out status e-mails, but less than 12 have been sent out in the past year. You'll also note that e-mail addresses are NOT a mandatory field in the offline signup, for those who do not have addresses. They will not have access through the internet to their account however, and will have to contact you directly to change their information.
Yes, you will be notified when members sign up through NWR, and you will also see them in the members list, right along with the date/time they signed up, making it easy for you to see who is new since you last checked.
I may also add a feature in which you can import a list from a CSV, and it will automatically check for dupes, etc., that'll come in time however, I'm pressed for finding a job to make some income right now.