Happy 9th Birthday to this blog!
I know, I know. You’re so busy you didn’t even have time to buy it a card or a gift.
I can help. See, the blog and I are very close. I know what it likes and will be happy to funnel your gift to where it can do the most good.
For $25, I can snag a scrumptious birthday cake with lots of purple frosted roses. The blog loves purple frosted roses.
It also enjoys a good stiff shot of Wild Turkey bourbon; $4.
How about a draft beer for $2? Or a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate for a $1.
Or let your imagination run wild. Do you think the blog would look good tooling around town in a Mini Cooper? They’re $20,950.
Make all checks out to:
Chris Rodell, 874 Solomon Temple Rd., Latrobe, Pa. 15650. Or just click the PayPal (storyteller@chrisrodell.com) donate button.
The blog will soon be 10. It’s time it started earning money.
I ask now because I believe we’ve reached a critical mass where people like you understand the blog adds value to your life and are ready to support it with cash donations.
There are now — finally — credible platforms that will erect pay walls between you and your enjoyment of this blog. It’s one erection I’d prefer to suppress.
One is Patreon. Here’s a NYTimes piece about it. Readers who once felt welcome to consume everything on the internet for free are now understanding there is a benefit to supporting creative websites they enjoy for news and entertainment.
Readers keep telling me my blog is among those elements deserving of investment.
“If I’m having a bad day, I now out of habit click on Eight Days To Amish,” is how one Harrisburg meeting planner introduced me to his group of 50 associates. “It always makes a bad day better. It’s always funny and it always has heart. Always.”
“There are always at least three or four lines in every post that make me laugh out loud and keep me smiling throughout the day,” said another reader. “I’ll burst out laughing at my desk and one of my co-workers will say, ‘You’re reading Eight Days To Amish again, aren’t you?’”
Or as a buddy said, “You’ve become so self-deprecating you no longer have any idea about what a difference your blog is making in people’s lives. You and your blog are making the world a better place.”
Best thing about those three quotes? They’re authentic. I didn’t make ‘em up. Honest!
The numbers bear out readers around the world agree. I’m now averaging 10,000 unique readers a month with heavy traffic from places as diverse as Russia, France, Ireland and South Korea, to name just a few. I’d be hard pressed to name a single nation that hasn’t checked in at least a few times.
How much has posting 1,852 times over 8 years earned me?
Basically squat. Sure, many of you have bought my books, some have been generous with cash donations and in-kind trade — all of it much appreciated. But for nearly 2,000 posts over nearly 10 years?
It’s less than a peanut a post.
Part of it is my fault. True, I self-deprecate to my everlasting detriment. I make fun of what I do here because I understand it’s on its face wholly frivolous.
But I’m gratefully beginning to realize I’ve created with your cheer and encouragement something of tremendous value, something that will be lamented by many if it ever goes away.
We’ve created a bona fide happy place!
I now ask you to contribute to give us both peace of mind. Studies shows donating to support something you count on for enjoyment leads to a palpable decrease in stress, extends life expectancy, promotes mental health and it just feels good.
So does getting loot!
So please consider donating either by check to the above address or paypal. Pool your office mates. No amount is too small or too large. I’m grateful for every gesture. If you’re too pinched (I know the feeling) please urge five friends to begin reading the blog.
Consider the list above as guidelines:
A $25 “cake” donation is a one-timer. But if reading the blog four or five times a week is the convivial equivalent to having one weekly drink with me then consider a Wild Turkey donation of $200 ($100 if you prefer beer). If you equate reading my blog to a weekly candy bar fix then consider $50.
I chose the $20,950 Mini Cooper because me in a $53,000 Mercedes E350 would clash with the blog’s pure Amish ethos.
And because a one-hit plea may be missed or ignored, I’ve decided to go all PBS on you. This is the first of at least three consecutive posts about why you ought to generously donate. I thought about following up with one month of blog darkness to dramatize what’s at stake, but I believe it’s better to persuade than punish.
So at some point next week we’ll get back to the silly business of being busy staying silly.
I’ll never run out of ideas because I care so much about forever keeping this blog fresh and fun. About this blog, I truly give a damn.
It’s why I’m asking you to give now, too.
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1 comment:
Donation done. May many follow.
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