FAQ

We answer some of your most regular questions:

Do you make money from the site?

No. Since our launch in May 2004 this project has been self funded.  In that time we have paid for our hosting and received very little in return and less than what has been spent.

What’s in it for you?

We actually enjoy running this site.  When we first talked about doing this in 2003 we were driven by a perception that not everyone felt they belonged, or able to belong in a place like Balsall Common. There was a shortage of information about local clubs, groups, activities and societies, or places to go and things to see. We wanted to create something where people might feel empowered to become involved in what was a fast growing settlement like Balsall Common.  That was a big motivation when we got together – and although residential expansion has abated and local information provision improved (take the Bugle magazine for example) – continues to be so today.

The success of this site means we’ve attracted the attention of many ‘would-be’ advertisers.  During this time we’ve resisted the urge to accept ‘paid-for’ advertising although this is likely to change in the not too distant future. However, irrespective of when this occurs our intention will be to remain ‘community’ driven – to be a focal point for local news and information, to help people to forge new relationships, promote local interests (both individual and commercial) and hopefully contribute in some small way to strengthening our local community.

I’ve only just found out about this site – why don’t you publicise it more?

We have publicised the site periodically but have tended to avoid this.  We did appear regularly in Look Local magazine for a period of time (a big ‘thank you’ to Look Local for their support) and going back to 2004/5, distributed flyers from places such as the library, John Shepherds Estate Agents and Berkswell Station.  We even handed out loads of flyers at the 2004 Lions bonfire.  However we have preferred to limit publicity for a variety of reasons such as:

Cost – we weren’t generating income so it had to be free or cheap publicity only.

This has always been a spare-time project. We have day jobs – we didn’t want to advertise a site which would lay dormant for periods at a time.

We thought ‘word of mouth’ would be good enough for what we were about.

Expect to see a change of approach in 2010.  With the launch of the regenerated site in August 2010 we will be promoting BalsallCom.Com more regularly including via our Facebook group and Twitter feeds.

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