Thanks for the comment
Having the first 3-5 things someone sees on the website talking about making players "wealthy" and why you should pay is NOT going to change the perception of pool players. If anything the casual fan is going to think its just another scam by people trying to make money.
First thing I thought when I saw this is "why are they trying to convince me to spend money so fast?"
Obviously you need to make money but you need to use better marketing than "pay me so we can make other people wealthy."
You don't see the MLB, NFL, NBA, etc plastering reasons to pay for something on their site. Also your points are quite a bit off, all of the above mentioned sports went through a time when their players didn't make a lot of money and most of them had other jobs. Their success didn't hinge on making players "wealthy", the success came from people wanting to watch and ticket sales didn't have to be justified, not being convinced to pay to "make players wealthy."
First, I want to thank you for the comments. I will try to explain my reasoning.
The first thing is that I have heard a few people say that it isn't the way to do this. The fact is that there is no way to do this. If you had a way, you would have told me. All you do is tell me what not to do. So, how do I do it? When you think about it, no one knows how to deal with pool players. They don't respond to anything but free. And that is the problem and that has always been the problem.
Your comment about other pro athletes is kind of half right. Maybe in the 20's they were working other jobs, but I can tell you that in 1950, becoming a baseball player and making $150,000 a year was the dream of every kid and their families. In the 50's pro pool players were making less than people who worked in J C Penny's and now 60 years later, they are making less than someone who works at Walmart's. Pool hasn't progressed one bit since then. So if you are waiting for someone to figure out some cute trick to make you spend your money, you're going to wait a long time.
I have been trying to just be honest with everyone and say that there is no help coming from the outside. It, in my opinion, must come from the inside. People who play and have their sites on playing for a living. I don't believe the casual observer will ever help pool. It isn't interesting enough to people who don't play. All it would take right now for a good start is that 1,000 serious players understand the concept and put down a small amount of money and it could work.
But I'm afraid that counting on someone who revels in the fact that someone will rip off other players for their skills and show the videos for nothing has not been a great way to go. What I have said all along is that if the players don't understand this concept and feel that I'm doing something underhanded, it will not work.
My other point, which I have said all along is that this will not become a big audience sport which has been true for ever and will be true in the future, so the future is up to you.
There is no way to get you to spend $9.95 or $2.50 with the AZB coupon code if you are waiting for someone to come in and spend millions on something you want and give it to you for nothing. Those people all go out of business. In fact, almost everything in pool is not doing well anymore. Production costs are too high to produce something for you if you don't care to support it. I was willing to work for an end that would be good for everyone.
If you want to wait till someone comes along and figures out exactly how to talk to you guys so you feel comfortable spending that beer money, I think you'll be waiting a long time. Maybe another 50 years. I don't think any of you can wait that long.
In conclusion, you're right, I don't know how to talk to you. I'm telling you what needs to be done, in my opinion, how I am going to do it, and what I will do to make it work. If it doesn't hit you right, I just don't know what else I can do.
Thanks,
Jim
