Last year I started a NPR style pledge drive to allow my regulars readers who value my work to make a donation as a token of thanks. Since it was the first year, I wasn’t sure how successful it would be. It was gratifying to see the show of support and I’m very grateful to those who donated. Starting tomorrow, I’ll do it again. We’ve talked ad nauseam about the free vs. fee business models here. I think free has proven successful for many features, but that model doesn’t work well for a news blog that has no books, t-shirts and other knick-knacks to offset the costs of producing the news. So I’m left with two other options: a donation drive or begin charging a subscription. The latter has been seriously considered. While traffic would drop significantly, so too would other things I have to do (baby-sit the comments for example). In the end, a NPR style fundraiser seemed the most fair. It allows me to keep posting content for the masses and still be compensated for said efforts.
I hope you’ll consider making a donation this week.
you could have one of those donate buttons that seem to be so popular. that way people could donate at any time.
and if i find a dollar, i will definitely send it your way.
Donated!
I really appreciate the work you do for the community, Alan. Thank you!
–Howard
I’m always interested in how marketing works.
In your case, Alan, if you’re not making enough from ads, I think a fee-based setup would work. I’m not a regular reader, but I think you offer enough important news, not mentioned in other sources, that it makes sense that people would pay for it. People pay for good businesses that help them with their business.
Or they should.