A little over a year ago I opened the doors at INGunOwners.com hoping to bring Hoosier gun owners together and have some fun. When I started the board I had an idea this place would be a success but never thought we would have over 3800 members and 300,000 + posts in such a short amount of time. The growth of this site is incredible but what I am most proud of is the quality of the board and the members who call this place home.
When I started INGO I invested a lot of time and a good amount of money purchasing software licenses, graphics/design and hosting. I did not start this site with the intention of making money and the first 7 months I lost money. As the site has grown the cost of hosting has increased and I have relied on the tremendous support of our Site Supporters and Advertising Site Supporters to continue this community.
I recently made the decision to ask members who are on the forum promoting services or products and making money via the forum in a business capacity to become Advertising Site Supporters. In the early days of this forum it was a bit of a free for all and we didn't have many rules. As this site has grown I can't afford to keep it running out of my own pocket and have to treat it more like a business. I rely heavily on those who appreciate the site and support it. If I just let everyone post about their business it diminishes the value for our Advertising Site Supporters and I can't let that happen.
The bottom line is this
If you are advertising a business here on INGO (firearms related or not) I ask that you pay $1 / day to have your own forum, rotating banner, signature, avatar, user title promoting your business and the ability to sell as much stuff as you want in the classifieds. I think this is a very fair price considering the amount of traffic this site receives. If you do not want to advertise with us but want some exposure we are happy to place a link to your business website in our links area that appears on the left-hand side of the forum page (reciprocal link required) . We also provide a sticky thread in our Break Room where you are free to post your services one time:
I will never charge citizens to sell their goods in our classifieds. I will send you a PM if I think you are abusing our classifieds and running a business there. If you are in fact a business and wish to sell I ask that you pay $1 / day to advertise with us.
If you want to become a Site Supporter and receive increased PM space, a Site Supporter banner and other features the minimum donation in $10 / year at this time. That comes out to about ¼ of a cent per day. I don’t think this is much to ask. Please keep in mind a Site Supporter Membership is not a lite version of the Advertising Site Supporter!
I am happy to say at this time with the help of our advertisers and supporters INGO is now self sufficient and in good shape! In closing I want to thank all of our members for making INGO such a great place (especially our Site Supporters and Advertisers) who make this forum possible. I’m very proud of this site and look forward to doing my best to make sure INGO is around for a long time!
Thanks for your support!
Fenway