My Current Big Experiment
Weekly Buddhism Issue 4
The first half of the day was spent in finishing up this week’s edition of the “Weekly Buddhism” PDF Magazine. This was a big one, at 24 pages. I especially like the cover design, featuring a photo I took in Hiroshima. Anyway, the magazine’s posted now and already has several hundred downloads, so that’s done for another week.
This was also the last of the free giveaway issues, and now the grand experiment really begins… will people actually PAY for my Buddhist writings? There are plenty of subscribers to the free material, and if even 1% of them find it worth subscribing, I’ll be happy. I think it’ll work out; after eight months of free daily emails and weekly podcasts, my writing style ought to be pretty well understood. I get messages of thanks almost every day, as well as the (all-too) occasional real donation, so I know people appreciate the writing I do. After eight months of freebies though, it’s time to see if I can make a living doing this. If not, a serious job-search is likely to follow.
However, I listen to many business-related podcasts, and they all seem to agree that it’s tough “monetizing your content.” People like things for free. Well, I’ll still be doing the podcasts and the Daily Email, and those will always be free.The big question is, in this economy, are people going to be willing to pay for premium information?
The first “for pay” issue will be out next weekend. My fingers are crossed.
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