Thank you all

Wendelstedt School · #1 (**permalink**) Sun Oct 18, 2009, 11:25pm

I want to first take a moment to thank all of you for your generosity over the past couple of months on behalf of both the UmpsCare Charities and the Umpire Education Tuition Assistance Foundation. We cannot adequately express the appreciation necessary for the donations you all submitted. Thank you to whomever decided to "sticky" the post to the top of the page. This can now be taken down.

We have recently contracted with a new web company that is in the process of overhauling our school website. This new site will have a members area that will include:

Interactive quizzes
Exclusive online articles by both amateur and professional umpires
Quarterly newsletter
Instructional videos
Health, wellness, and workout tips from MLB health professionals
During the season, weekly online live chats with MLB umpires
Enrollment in a national liability and workman's compensation insurance program
Considerable discounts on umpire school products and tuition rates

In order to provide all of these wonderful features, this new area will be a paid section of the site. I am posting this to ask what you would think is a reasonable cost for a yearly membership. Please do not hesitate to offer any suggestions that you might have, that you believe would benefit the umpire community.
Again thank you all for your past and future assistance.

jkumpire · #2 (**permalink**) Mon Oct 19, 2009, 10:35am

I am not trying to be a marketing guru, but it seems to me that an answer is out there:

1. Are you trying to make a profit off the site, break even, or use it as a loss leader?
2. How much will it cost to build and run the site, and can you make enough to cover what costs you don't want to eat?
3. Are you going to market the site to a large group of customers outside people who are interested in your school?

Right now, I have too many bills to pay to buy access, though a reasonable rate in the future will get me on the site.

Wendelstedt School · #3 (**permalink**) Mon Oct 19, 2009, 10:50am

I appreciate your help, however, the only point that is really any issue to us is who we are targeting. This is to target all baseball umpires, of all levels. This will include participation by high level officials (both from the office, and what the pun includes) from all levels of baseball, including Little League, NFHS, NCAA, MiLB, and MLB.
Though cost effectiveness may be an issue we address at a later time, we currently are looking to see what a reasonable amount to potential members would be for the features listed above.
Thank you for your input.

johnnyg08 · #4 (**permalink**) Mon Oct 19, 2009, 09:32pm

My input is that if you want traffic to your site, keep it free. While your ideas are very good, a free site or a very nominal fee would be appropriate. I understand the costs associated w/ the upgrades you're making...but nearly all of us are amateur umpires, meaning we're not making the big bucks like the guys in the show, and I'm sure you're not pursuing your peers as a revenue source for your site.

InsideTheStripe · #5 (**permalink**) Thu Oct 22, 2009, 09:46pm

I have experience in online pricing models, but it would be impossible to provide price points that would be anything other than a guess with the information given in the OP.

How many interactive quizzes? What will the frequency of new quizzes be?
How often will online articles be posted? What will the ratio of amateur to professional be?
How many instructional videos? How often will new videos be published?
How many health, wellness, and workout tips? Will these be written by a trained medical professional?
Define "considerable" as is pertains to umpire school discounts?

Umpmazza · #6 (**permalink**) Thu Oct 22, 2009, 09:48pm

Simple answer....

FREE