Some folks like recognition. 🤷🏻♂️
Just trying to brainstorm additional ways to help fund CoSo. It makes me sad to think J pays so much for this awesome place every month! It way easier for 1000 people to pay $5 more per month.
And yes, I do the Pro monthly but also do the random DonorBox donations.
The benefit of an automatic $10 versus $5 here through the official system is, for folks who are already Pro, it’s just one charge from one place, $10 versus $5.
@amarand @pendrag I agree. I've wanted a higher donation for those who can swing it too. I remember J saying it would be hard to implement when asked years ago.
But every month when that thermometer at best hits 50%, I wish we could achieve break-even somehow, so J doesn't have to keep dishing out big money to keep it going.
@kay_dub @amarand @pendrag
I seem to recall that J is very wary of adding more official finanicial "tiers".
It's possible that we need to more actively promote the regular donation options of donorbox and patreon to those who wish to give more.
The truth seems to be that 99% of social media users *expect* it to be free because for the last 20+ years, that's how it's been. Breaking *that* culture is hard work.
@stueytheround @kay_dub @pendrag
I guess we’re looking at two things:
1) An automatic debit tier from $5 to $10 means that people can set it and forget it - just like they do with the $5 Pro currently. Anything that requires manual intervention is goof to be forgotten about by some people.
2) I certainly don’t mind asking/helping every month to “push the needle” toward 100% funding but those DonorBox donations are one time deals, no matter how great they are. They just help that month.
@stueytheround @kay_dub @pendrag
True…however, is there any link between Patreon and here though? You can’t be “Pro” as a Patreon exclusive person, can you?
@stueytheround @kay_dub @pendrag
I think talking about ideas never hurts.
There’s a problem. It involves money and economics and psychology.
I see that a few people in this thread are getting upset/frustrated. I’m not sure why.
In the seven years of CoSo’s existence, we’ve rarely made 100% funding.
Maybe trying (or even discussing) new ideas is a good idea? Or maybe not. I’m doing my fair share. 🤷🏻♂️
@amarand
There is no correlation between Patreon and CoSo. To do so would mean retaining more personal data about you than CoSo wants.
I had that conversation with J early in CoSo funding discussions.
@stueytheround @kay_dub
@stueytheround @kay_dub @pendrag
It’s similar to NPR in that we need to do regular fund raising events, otherwise J pays at least 50% of the -huge- bill each month.
It’s dissimilar to NPR in that we don’t receive -any- outside funding. It’s all from users. No federal arts funds. No ads. No supporting organizations.
So that means: more users pay who aren’t currently paying and/or some users who -can- afford to pay more, do.
Math and psychology.
@stueytheround @kay_dub @pendrag
The “ask” every month probably gets a little tedious. Paying an extra $5 a month automatically, if you can, doesn’t. Anyone who can afford $10 a month will just pay it, and every little bit helps. These bills come up regardless of how much J raises. And J has to pay the remainder of whatever we, the users, don’t cover.
I once did Patreon, but I heard the fees are higher than what J has here for the regular subscription users?
What are the drawbacks of tiers?
@stueytheround @kay_dub @pendrag
“Talking to J.”
J sees everything. Posting in this thread is “talking to J.” If no one likes my idea, that’s fine. Perhaps come up with your own?
@amarand @stueytheround @kay_dub @pendrag
For item 1, you can set it and forget it via a weekly or monthly ongoing donation through Donorbox. That’s what I’ve done to pay “more” for CoSo Pro because I can. Both the $5USD Pro monthly subscription & the Donorbox monthly donation are deducted automatically from my account each month. ❤️
@JGSchaeffer @stueytheround @kay_dub @pendrag
Ahh okay. Well…I guess we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. 😐
@amarand Hence Patreon which *is* set it and forget it. It predates pro subscriptions here.
@kay_dub @pendrag