Good news! BOINCstats webmaster (Willy de Zutter) has agreed to carry our banner for three weeks, at a price of 375 euros. We could have also purchased a full month, at a price of 550 euros, but 375 euros is closer to our usual BOINCstats expenses, so I hope it will gain more support through the Foundation vote (which I have just created). 

BOINCstats is one the most popular websites in the whole BOINC world. Averaging 350-400k impressions per week (according to Google), it's the place where BOINC enthusiasts go to check their rankings and stats, comparing their performance with the performance of other crunchers. Gridcoin banner will be placed at the top, where GAP clothing ad is on this screenshot (one of our many competitors in the AdWords realm).

Q&A

Q: Why this new advertising deal now? Aren't we advertising on BOINCstats through Google AdWords?

A: We are, but AdWords is easily blocked by AdBlocker and many users potentially interested in Gridcoin never get a chance to see our ad. This direct deal will get us past AdBlocker and increase our advertising reach considerably. Of course, during that 3 weeks, I'll disable AdWords on BOINCstats - single banner is more than enough for our purposes, especially when it's so visible. You can read more about the differences between AdWords and "direct deals" in Gridcoin Advertising (1).

Q: How come the price is now 550 euros per month? Didn't we pay only 300 euros last time?

A: That's right. 300 euros was the original price, since late 2015. However, I suppose that BOINCstats traffic has somewhat increased in the meantime (along with the hosting costs). Also, I have checked our AdWords statistics: we spend 10-20 USD per week on BOINCstats ads. That's 40-80 USD per month, just from us and there are plenty of other advertisers. Taking all that into account, 550 euros per month does seem like an attainable total income for a top banner (which is of course most prominent and therefore yielding highest income). 

 

Q: Still, isn't 375 euros too much?

A: We need to expand. There are hundreds of thousands BOINC users out there who have never heard of Gridcoin. They are not following crypto-sites (like Steemit here), so we need some old-fashioned advertising to reach them. And we haven't had a direct advertising deal with BOINCstats for almost a full year now (last such campaign ended in July 2016). Many of us were recruited through BOINCstats and recruiting just one dedicated volunteer is already worth much more than 375 euros. Since only Gridcoin is rewarding BOINC computations, every BOINC enthusiast somewhat familiar with crypto will immediately recognize it as something unique. Other cryptos don't have that advantage, therefore we have to make the best use of it while we can.

Q: What about recent mandatory releases? Are we ready for a potential inrush of new users?

A: I informed Willy about our recent issues and told him we will probably be ready by the end of the next week. So, we have enough time to check how the new mandatory release is panning out. If necessary, we can postpone this campaign even further.

Q: What banners will be used?

A: Banners used so far are available here. I'll create some new ones also, for maximum impact. For 375 euros, we don't want anyone to think "ah, Gridcoin ad again, seen it before, move along". Got some ideas for catchy new slogans? Post them in the comments.

Q: How is this financed then?

A: If there's enough support through the Foundation vote, I intend to pay 375 euros to BOINCstats via PayPal (total price will be around 390 euros, PayPal fees included). With your support, I hope to get refunded from the Gridcoin Foundation in due time (in GRC). I don't sell my Gridcoins, so there is no selling pressure because of this.

Q: How do I vote?

A: If your Gridcoin wallet is encrypted, fully unlock the wallet (not just for 'staking only'). Click "Advanced", then click "Foundation" to launch the voting menu. Right-click on "new campaign boincstats". Click "Vote" and choose Approve or Deny. 

Thank you for your support.