Mike,
I don't know how WetCanvas covers their costs.
Beth,
All good and true information. Thank you. However, I think Lisa meant the Internet information was free to the consumer and you're talking about costs to the provider of the site.
Everyone,
Several people have suggested that I take on advertising to cover costs.
1. A lot of what appears to be advertising on sites is either:
- link exchanges
- affilate programs where a percentage of sales is paid
2. A few months ago, I put up the Dick Blick banner on the Forum pages. I thought the Forum would be a perfect place since so many artists visit here. I've gotten very little from it. No advertiser would be willing to continue to pay for the little bit that banner has generated.
3. Marketing to advertisers is a whole project in itself. There's figuring out what it's worth and that's based on statistics and from what I've read, some of them I don't have access to. Then there's all the communication to potential advertisers, followup calls - it's a huge project in itself.
4. Part of the reason to charge a fee is to discourage:
- people who apply, are approved and never participate
- people whose work doesn't fall within our focus