So Here's My Problem, Folks.
As you may have noticed, my blogging has slowed considerably. I want to blog more--daily, actually--and have been prevented from doing this because I have to work part-time jobs in addition to my main job to make ends meet.
A friend of mine advised, "Dude, make Butch Wonders your part-time job." I said, "That'd be great, but how?" She said, "You have 2000 readers a day! If each of them gave five bucks, Butch Wonders could be your part-time job for a year."
Dear readers, would you be willing to give a couple bucks to have a BW post every weekday? You could think of it as buying me coffee and a cookie to say, "Thanks for writing this blog, yo. I like it." That's right--excellent freakin' blog entries from yours truly. On a regular basis! What fun! And I could throw some prizes into the mix, too.
Thanks for filling these out!
Do you need to cover the cost of hosting the site, or is it more to cover the time involved with regularly posting?
It's mostly the time. I put a lot of work, and often research, into blog entries, and each usually takes me between one and three hours to write. I'm finding that my part-time jobs + my regular full-time job make it very hard for me to keep up with these *and* write BW. So I'm thinking about either quitting one of my part-time jobs or quitting BW. And I really don't want to quit. BW.
Though I am not butch (definitely identify as feminine), I thoroughly enjoy your special mix of fun and seriousness on lesbian topics you bring to this blog. It would be my pleasure to chip in a few bucks yearly!
I'm doing this on my phone and don't see a button next to each answer choice on the poll. Am I missing something here? I don't have a computer so I can't login and vote by computer.
You should also sell BW tee shirts and stuff.
I think blogging full time is interesting. My friend, Courtney from Those Graces, recently quit her job to blog full time. I'm not sure how that's going to work out for her financially, but in terms of working freelance I'd have to say that the best thing you can do is create products and services that'll help you cover the cost of blogging.
This is because relying on donations can be tricky and unreliable. I think you mentioned not being out at your job (I can't remember and thus have no idea) but maybe you can do speaking engagements or create a platform for butches or something. Additionally, a friend of mine, Rebecca T. from Kontrary.com tried out a subscription system with her blog so people can have access to her content. She eventually ended it, but it was nifty and it's something I've seen elsewhere.
Additionally Alexis Grant and Carrie Smith from Careful Cents (who runs a freelancers club) can be good resources to figure out ways to create revenue from you blog and your blog's audience.
I'd HIGHLY recommend reaching out to other bloggers if you haven't done so already on how they use their blog to generate livable income.
That's cool--maybe I will. The subscription system might be a good idea, but I don't want people to have to pay if they literally can't afford it. I also don't want to quit my day job--I *like* my day job! I just wish it paid enough that I didn't have to work part-time jobs in addition to it.
I would love it if you had a t-shirt that just said your website address alone. No bells or whistles! I would buy that and wear it proudly! The ones you have now seem too ambiguous to drive viewers to your site. Just my humble opinion.
wow, BW, I would be heartbroken if you couldn't keep the blog going! I know it's a tough economy out there. I totally would show some PayPal love, like even less than 50 cents a post, I figure that is 25 bucks a year or so well spent. I don't know about others but eating out and drinking certainly cost a lot and don't always give me the sustained pleasure I get from reading BW!
yeah sure I could chip in. Just dont make it a subscription where I am FORCED to. I can just butch up and donate.
Agreed. Plus also I'm sure this is a great resource for young butches who couldn't afford it, and frankly their lives don't need to be any harder. It would also be a lot harder to share links and thus raise readership and awareness. Donations are much better.
Money is tight for everyone. I'd like to say I have a life, alas I do not. I work and work and work and sometimes I sleep. But I'll gladly pitch in, seeing as how I don't have a life....I can always live vicariously though BW!
I would be happy to donate to continue reading what you write! If you choose to do donations through paypal you have the option of allowing people to subscribe and they'll be billed a monthly amount. I pay $2.00 a month to Shakesville.com and $5.00 a month to Greta Christina's blog, both via pay pal subscriptions that don't limit the visibility of their blogs, it's just an option they offer if readers are interested in donating for the work they do.
I really like the blog and would hate to see it go. I'd have no problem donating $5 to make blogging more sustainable for you. I'd much prefer to have this based on voluntary donations than a subscription. I think that people tend to be pretty honest when given a sliding scale--that way you'll have some people making large donations and others continuing to read the site for free.
For what it's worth, I'd also add that I would feel comfortable making a donation without being guaranteed a new entry each weekday. I trust that you'd write as much as possible if BW became like a part time job, but I'd hate for it to become so much like a job that it becomes WORK. Not the good, challenging, inspiring kind of work, but the kind that feels like a drag. My donation, small as it is, would be no strings attached--part of the effort to keep you writing, but without any expectation on my part that I'll get to read five new entries each and every week. Good luck with this endeavor!
Until I tried to write I had no idea how much time it took to create a post and follow through with it (or maybe I am just really slow). You would definitely up there with NPR on my list of cultural donations; I'd be proud to have a voluntary subscription to your site.
I concur with Whitney -- i appreciate the insight you've given me into "the dark side". You've got a take on lesbian issues and a particular sensibility and gentle quirkiness that i greatly enjoy, and you've given me an understanding of the butch perspective that i haven't found elsewhere.