Reposting Incase it got lost in the comments scroll down:
First off, I commend you guys for the very fast reaction to the forum feedback on subscriptions, it tipped the scale for me and I’ve further invested to CS.
I think Brad summed up the main pain points of the Forum. I might chime in as an old forum user a few things in general and even broader community related topics.
- FB + Forum symbiosis. Is there a way to link both in some way, the Joule offshoot of CS on facebook does seem to be thriving and I’ve found myself using that more often than not. At least mine there for ideas on how to reignite the Forum format.
- REAL people. As mentioned the interaction with the faces at CS in the forum was one of the benefits + charms to it. Embrace that. Nurture it. Give CS 2.0 some depth in character. Who are the new faces? What are their specialisms and passions that they can chime in on? Don’t get too clean/polished either, I think one of the best videos you made was the ‘why CS videos don’t always have sound’.
- FB Lives or similar. An extension of the above would be to tap into what was cool about your ‘Lives’ – lifting the curtain a little, raw, real time, QnA. Honestly look into the YouTube creators community. I’m spending far too much time on some of the WhiskyYoutubers pages but they offer patreon only lives and video launches – this could be some low hanging fruit that pays into the connectivity to the community.
- Relevance.In the void of recent CS times the gang over at BonAppetit have flourished (in part BECAUSE CS was on rocky ground IMHO) Maybe figure out where you all sit with them as food media competitors or at least what are CS’s USPs and lean into them.
- Regularity/loose scheduling. Perhaps give some additional scope as to how you plan to feed the subscription, again YouTube creators launch agreed amounts of content at the same time each week, this gives the hardcore points in time and the ‘watch laters’ enough to catch up on.
- Don’t be afraid of ‘products’. Joule was and is epic. You leaned in too heavily. Helpful Apps are not a waste of time. You’re scalability of recipes by an ingredient is GENIUS – work this back into mobile devices please. The slickness of your Joule recipes should be the same level of slick when accessible on a mobile device IMHO – bring back the recipe arm of your app?
- Patreon. Tiering. Consider how to give those unprepared to fully subscribe bite sized tastes of your current content. Albeit you’ve paid your dues in with the many years prior - the adage of ‘being only as good as your last hit’ stands true. Just a thought.
Bens forearm. bring it back, if only to see if your knife needs a sharpening or not Grant
Lastly, while I might have your attention CS (Grant) I wanted to thank you all, present and past. Don’t lose your mojo.
Prime Rib is a constant holiday favorite in my house or for special dinner parties, Chicken thighs are a weeknight staple, I have more knives than I know what to do with, and I even have a (wrong model) mettler Toledo that is next to useless due to a glitch in yer reccomendations. Not salty – honest!
Better still I’m knocking out killer wings every year for the football game that barely uses its foot – all because of the confidence you have given me. For that reason I’m supporting you guys.
To the loyal few names I’ve come to know on here, its nice to see you again. - Greg
