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| Post New Topic | Going for the Gold - or not? | Views: 1360 | Sep 19, 2005 2:28 am | | Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Leslie Baldwin | | I really like Ryze, but there are times I think of saving that $10.00 and down grading.
I've seen a few people do that recently. Anyone care to share why?
Just wondering.
Have a good one
Leslie in San Antonio Private Reply to Leslie Baldwin | Sep 19, 2005 9:37 am | | re: Going for the Gold - or not? | # | John Stephen Veitch | | This is a question that too often arises. Part of the problem is that the original thinking behind Ryze and how Ryze is turning out don't quite match.
There are three key benefits of being a Gold member as I see it. One; to be a network leader (a doubtful benefit). Two; to be able to see who has visited your Ryze page. (A very real benefit.) Three; your photo is displayed in large format. You also get the useless "Network with me" feature. And permission to contact 25 distant people a month.
Unless your network is valuable to you I don't see huge value in Gold membership.
I want to enlarge this discussion.
I'd like to see network leadership divorced from both Gold and Platinum membership. I think Ryze Network Leadership should be open to the people best qualified to lead the networks. Since network leadership is a lot of hard work I believe the fee should be small, like $5 a month, and that those with successful networks should be "fee free". If there are 800 networks on Ryze and "100 Best Networks" were fee free each month, that would give Ryze an enormous boost of activity. If the price was right someone would pick up all those "dead networks".
I'd like the cost of Gold membership to reduce, but compared with rival networks Gold Membership on Ryze is currently well priced. My plan is for many more people to become Gold members. Here is my list of proposed services at Gold Level.
Large size photo. (as now) 3 Links to outside URL's (As now but enhanced) Automated Contact List - Editable Rights to recall and revise messages you've posted. Ability to edit your friends list into two groups. Who has visited your page (as now) 3 Testimonial Links. Web space for 2 pages of extra material related to your homepage. Links to "My five "Best" recent Posts. No restriction on contact with any Ryze member who's page you have actually visited.
I think that's an irresistible package. (Actually you can do most of that now yourself, but if is came as standard it would be so much easier.)
I have a plan that includes an "associate membership" below Gold Membership, for a small annual fee. The idea here is to encourage large numbers to pay a the marginal cost of their being present.
I think 3-4% of Ryze members are Gold Members. There is at least another 12% that should be paying something.
Sadly 80% of all Ryze members are effectively permanently absent. That shouldn't have happened but that's real. Over the last two weeks I've contacted 120 NZ members of Ryze with a very useful message. I have had 13 replies. I'm picking that at least 80 of the letters I sent were never read, and that for those people nothing from Ryze will ever be read again, unless they happen by chance to get interested in Ryze again.
Someone said today that they have a network with 500 members. In reality 80% of those are permanently absent, so the actual group is about 100 and of those about 15 will keep your network alive. The rest may read occasionally but will never contribute.
Thoughts? John Private Reply to John Stephen Veitch | Sep 19, 2005 8:18 pm | | re: re: Going for the Gold - or not? | # | ANDREW LEOW | | Hi John, What you have written is a well thought idea/plan for Ryze Management to consider. Have a great day!
Andrew Private Reply to ANDREW LEOW | Sep 19, 2005 10:50 pm | | re: re: Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Scott Allen | | Generally I agree with all of your comments except one, John -- that the benefit of being a network leader is "doubtful". Now, I agree that it isn't "for everyone", and there should be enough other benefits of Gold membership to justify itself, and I'm not sure there currently are.
But I bet if I asked everyone here to name 20 Ryzers off the top of their head (OK, maybe 50) -- the majority of the people you name would be network leaders.
Being a network leader positions you as a thought leader on your topic and makes you the "hub" for connecting people in your field of interest/expertise. It makes you more visible, and more memorable, because of the mnemonic effect of the association with your network.
But yes -- I definitely think it's time for Ryze to reassess (and act on) whether or not the current state of Ryze is what it hoped would result from the changes last year.
Of course, I'm still here. It's certainly not because I'm bored. :-) Private Reply to Scott Allen | Sep 25, 2005 3:21 am | | re: (John) Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Susan Perkins | | John said: --Someone said today that they have a network with 500 members. In reality 80% of those are permanently absent, so the actual group is about 100 and of those about 15 will keep your network alive. The rest may read occasionally but will never contribute.--
John -
Earlier in this post, your stats were that about 80% on Ryze are absent - here you state that 80% are absent from the network forums. I would assume the networks to be more read - even though few post - as these individuals have engaged enough to join a network!!
Of those who sign up for Ryze in general - perhaps on a whim or referral from others - and never even set up their page - obviously more are absent and your statistics probably closer to the mark here.
However, I will say that the 80/20 rule does apply in most every aspect of society - not just Ryze!! :-D Right??
Warmest, Susan Private Reply to Susan Perkins | Sep 25, 2005 6:09 am | | re: re: (John) Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Brian Baldwin | | I can tell you that my interest level went down when the changes took place. I still check into Ryze from time to time but the amount of time is down. I really hope that Ryze will return to the level it was when I joined.
Namaste, Brian Private Reply to Brian Baldwin | Oct 25, 2005 8:48 pm | | re: re: re: (John) Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Sue T. | | You know. They say you get out of Ryze what you put into it. Perhaps as a new moderator myself I may have missed something... perhaps I was using Ryze incorrectly...
At the same time before I went gold I still was able to post where I wanted to and within the networks that I wanted to post... I didn't feel stiffled by it.
I think you get out of it what you put in... you can imagine my surprise when I asked a question about a month ago and people like... came out of the woodwork to talk about whatever it was... ???? wow I thought! People really are listening and watching and reading!
That was cool...
I think. For myself. I'd prefer more participation? At the same time... quality participation is terrific you know?
People get busy... life changes... prosperity abounds LOL
Sue T. Life & Relationship Coach
Moderator Comfortable In Your Own Shell Private Reply to Sue T. | Oct 28, 2005 6:18 am | | re: Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Jerrilynn Thomas, Founder WomenPartner Int'l | | Hi Leslie,
I'm still getting the hang of Ryze. It's a lot of work to mine. Being a gold member has paid off for me. I made back my first year's investment a few times over. I just wish that it was easier to search for women owned companies on Ryze.
Jerrilynn Private Reply to Jerrilynn Thomas, Founder WomenPartner Int'l | Oct 28, 2005 11:46 am | | re: re: Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Amit Agrawal | | John I believe, online networking is still a area where people still need to accept it. They still do not trust it so much. For example - I might registed to some networking forum but may not be able to leverage it. The reason for this is simple, people still do not have the full trust on this system.
The members still believe in the physical or face-to-face meeeting then online networking. But, as the world is shrinking everybody want to become online, in this race they become register member of it but never utilise it in 100% way. This is the main reason for the people to become dormant for months on the networking group because either they might be really busy or not checking there emails on which the information about the new post is subscribed.
Any thoughts on this?
Regards Amit
Private Reply to Amit Agrawal | Nov 01, 2005 8:10 am | | re: Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Marilyn Jenett | |
There is one important element to being a Gold member that most people miss. We have gone over this many times before, but I will state my case again.
Consciousness. Perceived Image. Perceived Value.
If you are here to do business then you should project yourself in a way that will attract business. Success breeds success. Meaning that if you project yourself as successful, you will attract clients/customers to you and you will be successful.
So what does that have to do with the gold? Well, first, the cost of Gold membership is so miniscule that it would seem obvious for anyone conducting business to invest in that teeny amount of money for exposure to a potential of 200,000 people. What a deal!
And the way we know if someone is investing in that teeny amount of money is...
By their photo! The photo places you, whether consciously or subliminally, in a different catagory. With the larger photo, you are right there, on stage, letting others know who you are with confidence. The larger photos attracts. Period. The smaller photo is shy and retiring. Whether you are or not, that's the signal it gives off.
And with that teeny photo, others unconsciously get the impression that you cannot afford that teeny amount of money to go Gold, so you are not sending out "success" vibes.
Success breeds success. A consciousness of success attracts success. The feeling of wealth produces wealth. I believe that if you invest in the Gold and the larger photo, you "feel" more successful and will attract more success, whether through Ryze or various other channels. It doesn't matter where it comes from, you are sending those vibes out to the Universe. "Here I am ready for business".
It's that feeling of success that you go for. I just can't imagine feeling successful when you are concerned about $120 a year - and others knowing it.
I say go for the feeling. Go for the Gold. I believe that is a nominal investment that will return many times over. It has returned to me thousands of times over - okay, maybe I'm a little more learned when it comes to this consciousness stuff - but I know it will return to anyone who treats it like an investment in success instead of a detriment.
Marilyn
Feel Free to Prosper http://FeelFreetoProsper.com http://prosper-network.ryze.com
Private Reply to Marilyn Jenett | Nov 01, 2005 4:35 pm | | re: re: Going for the Gold - or not? | # | Dean H. | |
>>>By their photo! The photo places you, whether consciously or subliminally, in a different catagory. With the larger photo, you are right there, on stage, letting others know who you are with confidence. The larger photos attracts. Period. The smaller photo is shy and retiring. Whether you are or not, that's the signal it gives off.
By George, I think she's got it. I must admit that I never thought of it from that standpoint, but I think your point about subliminal messages may be on the mark.
But more importantly, the larger photo does attract. Looking upon my own experience, I think I clicked on the profiles of Gold members more than I would click on someone who wasn't a gold member. No doubt in part because their smaller photo is "shy" and "retiring".
You should work for Ryze :)
Dean
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