Although the number of readers is WAY up, contributions aren’t.
Because of that I am considering switching to a subscription website. The cost would be minimal, maybe $5-$10 a month. Stories would not be posted to Facebook, Twitter, and other sites like they are now.
Another option is to have a premium site for people willing to pay and keep this site with minimal information for the others.
If I did switch the following would happen:
- The clowns who only comment to be obnoxious would disappear
- Only people who really care about the stories would be reading them
- The number of readers would drop, therefore the number of informed citizens would drop too.
I’m just thinking at this point, let me know what you think.
A lot of people have said we need more “Stan Nords” in government. I agree!
Illinois has TWO of them running for Congress, unfortunately not representing us. They both need financial help, running for Congress isn’t cheap. If you really believe we need new people in DC and people with the same values as Stan Nord – consider donating a few bucks!
I know both of these great patriots. These are people who will make a difference – not stay there until they die..
James Marter: https://marter4congress.us/donation/?inf_contact_key=43d177d073c2aa13c3bb5f2a2a8fbffa680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1
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Happy New Year!
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Diane you are worth your weight in gold. We would be totally ignorant without someone like you presenting the truth substantiated with facts.
Please don’t cut off people who need to hear the facts and have the potential to share with others.
My husband and I have been meaning to send you a donation. I will (finally) get it done and hope others do the same with good-sized donations to help out.
If it’s not freely accessible to everyone, then it’s not really a news site, and you are generating news. So I would tend to do a “donation drive” for a certain amount every year or something like that. Anyway, I sent a donation, I appreciate reading the news that no-one reports!
Diane I’m no longer a “resident” of this state but we still have a house and interests here.
YOU are a lone voice of sanity in this community and you need to be heard by as broad an audience as possible. I’m certainly willing to up my donations toward that end.
I don’t do subscriptions and I’m not on any of the social media so my only exposure is like it is now.
Hopefully your post will garner the reaction I’ve had from others.
Sincerely Bob Rebbec
Let the clowns be clowns. The rest of us love to read and learn with what you have to say.
Hi Diane:
My advice would be to end up somewhere in the middle of your proposals. Make your Newsletter subscriber based for $29.95 a year and see how it goes. You’ll keep more of your audience that way by retaining those that may drop off due to $60 or more per year being a little rich, and you’ll definitely get rid of the “clowns” that are nothing but a nuisance anyway. Plus you provide SpaceBook, Tweeter, and your current website with the “Newsbreak” version of your stories, and a link to get the “Full Report”. Give those people who click through to your subscriber webpage 1 complimentary “Guest Pass” per month (so they can kick the tires so to speak), and then at the end of your article ask them to become an official subscriber to support a local watchdog (more like Pitbull!) and get fulltime access to your stories, opinion columns, special reports, and archives. Such a deal!
I would start out that way and build the revenue base slowly but surely. The Paragraph continues to lose its subs while raising its subscription fees on the loyal readers that remain to the point where they will be out of business soon, and local news reporting will all but dry up and blow away. That will leave only 92.9 and WJBC (which I stopped listening to in 2008 when they lost their virginity all over Obama!) as the only real local news sources out there. And your local news reporting is 10 times better than anything JBC does!
Anyway, that’s my two cents. Whatever happens or you decide, here’s wishing you a very Happy & Prosperous 2020!
Best regards,
Eric Brown
Think about the reason you started this site, to report the news no one else did! So long as at least some of the information is made available to the public, either option would satisfy that goal. I always welcome comments from people with differing viewpoints so long as their comments do not vilify others or are not vulgar.
Your reporting is of value and should be compensated.
Thank you for your services and for the reminder to donate. I just did.
https://www.paypal.com/us/brc/article/setting-up-recurring-payments-for-business
Set up a subscription service via PayPal. As you know I do monthly payment but that can be challenging for average folks.
Do levels of donations/patreon:
Freedom Lover: $20 per month…one year…get a t-shirt, coffee mug, and make comments.
Freedom Fighter: $10 per month… one year…get a t-shirt and make comments.
Freedom Writer: $5 per month… one year… make comments.
While I do contribute regularly, I don’t find the mechanism to do that to be easily accessible. I read your posts in preview mode and have to move from that to get to a link to contribute. It is not obvious. I think you should have a BLATANT contribute notice and link in EVERY post you make and they need to appear when the post is first opened or viewed in preview mode.
Interesting
Just mailed in my donation. Here’s hoping others can do the same. Thanks so much Diane. I don’t know what we’d do without you.