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Mumsnet Premium membership - please support us if you can

74 replies

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 13:17

Hi folks,

First and most importantly, I hope you and yours are safe and well, and that you all stay that way.

After 20 years of unreasonableness, rofls, wtfs, advice and support, and the odd lawsuit, it's fair to say that we are as close as we’ve ever been to existential difficulty.

Like many ad-funded businesses, the COVID-19 crisis has seen us take a big hit to our revenues. The businesses who would normally pay to advertise with us are slashing their marketing budgets, but lots of our outgoings are fixed and we so need to find new ways to keep paying the bills.

We’re doing our darndest to find every single saving we can - lots of our staff have volunteered to reduce their hours, we’ve cancelled all non-essential services, I've taken a pay holiday and we will use every scheme and loan available to us from the government and the bank to help tide us over. But we still need to find alternative revenue streams to ensure we don’t run out of funds in a few months...

To put it frankly, it’s squeaky bum time.

I know this is a very tough time for many of you and some of you are only just keeping the lights on yourselves. We’re sending you our solidarity and we most certainly don’t want anyone to stump up anything they can’t afford, but if you can help, please do subscribe now to our Premium service.

We’ve banged this out as fast as possible in response to the current crisis and it’s definitely not the finished article, but it’s free of banner advertising, so if you’ve ever been vexed by those (or use an ad-blocker) this might be right up your alley. Banner ads also tend to make pages render more slowly and take up bandwidth, so if you’re surrounded by bored kids streaming with their mates, step this way.

We’ve opted for a price point that we hope is doable for most and which covers the potential lost ad revenue for the majority of users. We hope £4.99 per month or £49.99 for a year (less than a pound a week!) feels a reasonable exchange for the value Mumsnet brings you, but in any case you can unsubscribe any time.

Over the next little while we’ll look to add some extra features: things that people have requested regularly like editing, sorting posts by the OP, and reading offline.

Rest assured we remain committed to always providing a free version of the site, as we fundamentally believe that access to the advice and support Mumsnet offers should not depend on your ability to pay.

And if you can’t spare any cash right now… then of course we get it. It would still be very helpful if you removed any ad blockers or clicked on affiliate links around the site when you shop, joined our insight panel or even shared the best Mumsnet threads on your social channels whenever you can - it all helps.

If you have any questions at all feel free to post them here and I'll get back to you. We also have a page of FAQs that might answer your question.

Hold tight everyone.

Love

Justine and the team at MNHQ

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MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 13:57

@DramaAlpaca

If it means fixing Advanced Search I'd be in.

We're on this I promise - briefly rolled out a fix today but I wasn't working right so had to roll it back - apols it shouldn't be too long now...

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 13:59

@northernlittledonkey

Can we have mumsnet swears by, back again too?

Sorry not quite sure what you mean NLD - we still do send out a weekly Mumsnet swears by email? And we have this Swears by section on the site?

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:05

@TomHardysCBBC

You normally make millions in revenue and suddenly there's none left?

Last year we had revenue of £7m and pre-tax profit of £570k. We have a a couple of loans too which were due to be paid back this autumn - we've deferred payment on those for a year. We really wouldn't be asking for help if we didn't need it. But equally we hope to make Premium something really valuable that people will be happy to choose to pay for irrespective of the situation with advertisers. Over time we plan to add features and Premium member offers so it seems like a no-brainer to subscribe and we can rely on advertising less.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:08

@LoveLongLife

I'm a bit disappointed to see you're offering functions like edit that people have asked for, for years, and not that cash is discussed it's all of a sudden possible?

Naaa. That's alright thanks.

It's a fair point Longlife - we are planning a very limited edit function - only a 15 second or so window - because to my mind it's something that could easily be abused and could make the boards inoperable. It's not a feature that I think would be wise to make standard (nb we don't expect more than 10% of Mumsnet users to subscribe).

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:09

@WhoIsBUhere

I remember paying 5 quid for the year to receive private messages. Those were the days. I understand why you're doing this but I wonder if you could have a two tier fee system. Concessions and no concessions. Is that too much, administratively?

It's definitely something we can think about for the future (thanks for the £5 way back when btw!)

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:10

@YangShanPo

*I'd also like a special username, like HQ posts but more important. Regal purple background should do.* What about the suffix "royal" after your user name.

Ahem, there's no such thing as Mumsnet Royalty as you know Wink

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:14

@DGRossetti

It's a fair point Longlife - we are planning a very limited edit function - only a 15 second or so window - because to my mind it's something that could easily be abused and could make the boards inoperable.

How do all the other forums on the internet manage ?

Not so many forums are as busy as Mumsnet and not all are anonymous and allow namechanges. But of course if we try it on Premium we can then test it out. If it's trouble free we can consider rolling out more widely (and come up with additional incentives for Premium)

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:18

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine

Can I just check - if I do subscribe will that be visible to anyone on the site? I wouldn't want this to become a two tier site, either with posters or with moderators.

It won't be visible to posters or moderators in their day to day use of the site. It would be possible for a moderator to find out if someone is a subscriber by asking the admin team but it absolutely won't make any difference to our moderation decisions. It's less than a £ a week per individual so whilst we're very grateful to everyone who subscribes it won't afford any special moderation privileges.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:19

@Ninkanink

I would suggest an edit option where posts prior to revisions are saved. That way there is still a ‘paper trail’ and people can’t abuse it.

Sounds like a good idea - txs will pass on

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:22

@TomHardysCBBC

So that pre tax profit last year of a half a million is gone?

Yes - we have lots of fixed costs - mostly staff and server/hosting/Saas products. Our monthly staff bill is 350k so any dip in revenues hits the bottom line pretty quicky. Put simply if we don't cut costs/ generate sufficient revenue we will soon run out of cash.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:24

@OVienna

I actually don't mind the banner ads. Happy to chip in, though. Sorry this is a tricky time *@JustineMumsnet*.

thank you kindly OV - we'll be adding other stuff and hopefully some really good offers soon that will save you more than it costs to subscribe...

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:26

@nicerainyweather

Can you do something so that when you search for something, the most recent posts come up first? Eg today I searched for an online typing course for children. A lot of the recommendations that came up first dated from 10 or so years ago, and were probably no longer relevant.

Search is on our list of things to fix up for sure - it could be loads better. It may take a little while because we need to re-platform first. But obviously this is something that needs to work well for all - not just Premium members.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:27

@EmpressLangClegInChair

What would happen if a subscriber got suspended - for instance someone on the FWR boards using correct sexes, or asking one too many questions on a webchat?

If we ban someone then subs will be cancelled - no future payments will be taken. (If anyone's worried about being banned then I'd go for the monthly option!)

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:29

@QuaffthisKindNepenthe

I will pay if you add a "parking diagram generator" and an "auto-froth" button.
Confused
MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:32

@willowhazel

Yes - we have lots of fixed costs - mostly staff and server/hosting/Saas products

Profit is after you've paid your expenses:

profit
/ˈprɒfɪt/

noun
noun: profit; plural noun: profits
1 1. 
a financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.

Indeed and when revenues are falling and you can't cover your fixed costs you make a loss.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:36

@morriseysquif

Where did the £2 million profit go that you're on your arses after just a few weeks? Confused

That profit was in FY 2018 and was used to buy out some founding shareholders. We have also invested a lot in people and systems since. Sadly we really didn't see the pandemic coming.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 14:48

@Lordfrontpaw

Do you get your sub back if you get put on the naughty seat or banished? (asking for a friend)

No - we can't refund payments but we will cancel any future payments (so if you're on.a monthly subscription if won't take any future payments) Hope that's clear?

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 15:00

@Sleepingboy

I don't understand. Surely your hit rate has gone through the roof since everyone is at hone. More people going on Mumsnet for longer as some people have nothing else to do.

That must mean you can charge more for your advertising. Why don't you do that? Advertisers are still advertising.

Sadly not - several advertisers have pulled their previously booked campaigns. Demand throughout the industry is down and that's driving prices down. Entire industries have stopped their marketing spend completely (Travel, Hospitality, Cars). Some sectors that are doing really well - eg supermarkets - are either suffering supply chain issues or don't really need to advertise. You can read more here.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 15:03

@BoreOfWhabylon

Empress I just signed up. Looks like it goes through to a secure 3rd party , rather than MNHQ holding details.

@JustineMumsnet can you confirm?

Yes we're using Stripe which is a very big and reputable payments provider. You can see who else uses them here

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 15:11

[quote Puzzledandpissedoff]Oh dear ...

uk.trustpilot.com/review/stripe.com[/quote]

I really don't think Deliveroo, Booking.com and Made.com would use them if they were unreliable Puzzled...

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 15:13

@thegcatsmother

What happens when the need for financial support from members stops? When the pandemic has hopefully died down and advertisers are back to their normal spend, will the 'Premium' service be suspended? I would subscribe on that basis.

No the idea is to keep it, as said, we're hoping to roll out features and offers that will mean that folks will actively want to subscribe to Premium irrespective of the economic climate and Mumsnet's financial health because they'll see the value in it.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 15:22

@ifeellikeanidiot

I'm finding Covid Mumsnset quite difficult so I'm trying to keep off it. I'm paying though cause of everything I've got from the site in the last twelve years: this place has been has an invaluable resource for me when raising my kids.
Thank you and sorry MN isn't helping right now. Hopefully this will all seem like a bad dream in six months. Stay well xx
MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 15:27

@FortunesFave

So the free version WILL be less valuable. Of course it will or people wouldn't pay for the better version.

It will be the middle class site it started out as.

We could have put a paywall up years ago Fortunes - we've chosen not to because as I've always said we don't want to preclude access to those who really can't afford it and that stands as a philosophy and principle.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 15:28

@PennyNotSoWise

I'm worried that those who pay may use it as a stick to beat others who don't. I've seen how nasty it can get on here sometimes, and I can just imagine someone who pays for Premium thinking it gives them a right to be an arse to others.
As said, our moderation will not be any different. If someone's being an arse then they'll get a warning and if they continue doing so, eventually they'll be banned. Premium or no premium membership.
MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/04/2020 15:36

@EnPassant

Have I got this right? I could subscribe and pay for a year. As a feminist I say something that misogynists on twitter don’t like. Theyre not members or subscribers but their reports are listened to. I’m banned a week later and not given my money back for the rest of the year? That’s doesn’t sound fair really so this isn’t for me. And I already don’t see ads with an ad blocker.

Well, yes, but put another way... by using an ad blocker you're basically not really paying your way for a website that quite unusually has not shut down gender critical comment, despite considerable cost in terms of lost advertisers over the last 18 months. (And at most you'd lose £4.99 of value if you subscribed monthly).

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