The Paywall Question

Welcome,

To be or not to be …[paywalled]

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,

William Shakespeare

I don’t think there was a need for Shakespeare, but I couldn’t resist.

Lets quickly skip to the end just in case you decide to hit the subscribe or the unsubscribe button too soon:
Until then carry on enjoying the publication, the read, the tips, videos and my pictures - for free. More importantly enjoy your day.

Ok back to the post.

Should I turn on paid subscriptions?

As the title suggests that is the dilemma but it goes deeper as it brings on all the feelings of pressure to produce quality content to sit behind the wall that I am deciding to build. I don’t particularly want to build any structures that limit my audience but need to rethink and do something. So luckily a post by

Alex Cristea

who writes The Craftsman Mindset planted the seed of thought and voila here I am. In this post he refers to other substackers who had the same dilemma and how they all handle it

I'm Turning Payments On ... But With a Twist

I like the idea from

Anne Kadet

who gives readers the option to pay but sees it more as gifting her writing to free subscribers. This feels like a nice way of easing in to the world of paid subscriptions.

Since I don't charge at all for my writing, I can view the newsletter as a little gift available to all—and gifting is more fun than selling. I also love the fact that when my readers pay to subscribe, they are giving a gift to me. So much good karma flying around!

So now I’ve explained how this wasn’t completely all my own original thought lets get stuck in to what I intend to try.

The Offer

As my subscriber base is fairly small, I do not intend to put much at all behind a paywall (a bit like Anne) although, unlike Anne I may at some point. The reality is I’m still trying to figure out what I can offer my readers and how to put the tech in place to deliver it (with all those nagging voices about failure, worthiness blah blah that I am fairly good at keeping in check)

I do get a buzz from the idea of people trying art and perhaps:

1. enjoying it

2. getting more mindfulness to help improve both physical and mental health

3. realising they may actually be okay at it

4. interacting with my art and me

5. finding Cornwall on the map

6. meeting up with like minded people, virtually or in person

So with that in mind I am contemplating live sketching or drawing sessions and chats, videos and workshops or tutorials and who knows what else, BUT… it all takes time, effort and money.

Cutting to the chase you may possibly end up coming across an odd paywall. In the early days it is highly unlikely but if there is an offer you feel is worthy of payment the chances are I probably felt the same and it may be in, beside or on top of the wall. It could just be buried under a collapsed crumbling wall too!

Or if you gain enough value from my writing already then by all means pay to subscribe, I will certainly appreciate it.

Until then carry on enjoying the publication, the read, the tips, videos and my pictures - for free. More importantly enjoy your day.