Feeling the pinch
I didn’t plan on writing this until September or October.
As most of you know, I started this newsletter after getting released by one of my paying outlets. I’ve always tried to keep myself covered by working for multiple sites. That way, when the inevitable happens, you’re not stranded with monthly bills and no work.
My usual response is to quickly find a new outlet to work for. I didn’t do that this time. This time, I started a newsletter. I began building something of my own. I’m under no illusion that this is going to be a process that takes years.
However, I’m stupid enough to believe making this work isn’t only possible, it’s inevitable.
Unfortunately, the plan has hit a speed bump. The English Pound is taking a hammering, which means I’m earning less than usual due to exchange rates. I’m covering bills, but there’s no wiggle room. So, I have two choices. I either nix this newsletter, find an outlet that can take me, and focus on working for the machine. Or, I do the one thing I didn’t want to do yet — turn on paid subscriptions.
Over the past 2 weeks, some of you have pledged future subscriptions to the newsletter. To me, that means the world. It’s proof of concept. It’s a way of knowing I’m on the right track. It’s also why I don’t want to walk away from something I’m growing to love.
This leaves me with little choice other than to launch the paid subscriber version of this newsletter. Which kinda sucks, because as far as i’m concerned, we’re still in the growth stage. I say “we” because you’re all part of this journey with me; you chose to come along for the ride, and I cherish that.
Here’s the important part. If you have pledged a subscription, it will become active once I turn on the paid feature. So, if you don’t want that to happen — which is totally fine, by the way. I get it. — Then you will need to unpledge before that happens. If you choose to do this, you can find instructions on how to remove a pledge by following this link.
If you choose to keep the paid subscription, know that I’ll do my utmost to make it worth your while — which leads me to my next point.
As I said, I still believe we’re in the growth phase. That means there must be a healthy amount of free content each week to entice new signups. But I also need to serve those of you that are paying. So, let’s talk about it. I’m open to ideas on how this should look and what you all think is a fair way of doing this. The plan is to go 7 days per week from the moment paid subs are turned on — with a few exceptions for Birthdays, Holidays and eventually vacations. Of course, offseason content would likely slow down slightly, too.
To give everyone time to read this and decide on their pledge, I’m not turning on the paid features until Monday. Between now and then, I would love a dialogue with all of you on how you would like to see this work and the ideas you have for segments, specified days, etc.
Please accept my apologies for sending this email so soon into the newsletter’s inception. It wasn’t my plan. Unfortunately, plans have to be fluid and are subject to change. It’s either this, or I walk away, and as I wrote in the article below, quitting isn’t an option for me. Not now. Not this time.
Finally, if you’re not a pledged but would consider becoming a paid subscriber, you can pledge now — which will automatically become active on Monday — by clicking on the below link and selecting “pledge your support.'“
This sucks. But I’m choosing to be optimistic about everything, no matter how hard things are right now. Again, hit me up. I’m always down to chat — just remember the time difference if I don’t reply straight away.