A new site sponsorship deal for Gy8
When we first launched Gy8, as both a facility and as a website, it was to provide manufacturers and the people buying their products with the sort of in-depth, independent coverage that is so lacking these days. It was launched without advertising and supported entirely by the sale of articles in PDF form to those manufacturers who chose to buy them. Direct readership of the site was always a secondary goal. However, as is so often the case, sometimes secondary goals can rise to prominence. Although we have made no effort at all to publicise or promote the site, it has attracted a steadily growing and extremely loyal readership – a readership whose thirst for information and broader coverage has created unexpected pressure to produce more articles on a wider range of products and subjects. That pressure comes from the readers who value the process and manufacturers who want in.
Now, after four years and hundreds of separate articles, we have taken the decision to accept site sponsorship, from manufacturers, distributors and dealers who value what we do and how we do it. This will allow us to increase the writing staff, publish more coverage on more subjects, more often. It will broaden the views, insights and expertise on offer. Gy8 has always been about informed opinion, rather than making any pretence to absolute judgement. Opinion is of course personal and, as the saying goes, everybody has one. Bringing more writers on board incorporates more varied opinions and preferences: it opens access to direct experience and appreciation of different systems and equipment; it allows us to cover a wider range of techniques and approaches, from system matching to set-up. It allows the site to offer more of the same – or, the same but more of it.
While site sponsorship does alter the appearance of the site, with banners gently reminding you, the reader, that each page has to be supported at some point, by somebody, somewhere, it doesn’t really change the economic model that drastically. The site was always paid for by the sale of content in PDF form. Sponsors no longer have to pay for PDFs. It really is that simple. Along the way, it evens out the cashflow and allows a broader based support that reflects our wider approach rather than just monetising specific articles. The sponsorship is brand related, rather than advertorial or product specific. It’s also pretty low-key in terms of cost and paid annually, up-front. So, sponsor leverage over site content? Not so much. Sponsor Gy8 and you get our attention. It doesn’t guarantee a review and it doesn’t guarantee the outcome of any review. That, as always, is down to the product.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the journey thus far. It’s only going to get more interesting from here.
