[Thunderbird]

Here's some education.

436 members at $5.32 = $2319.52/mo

assuming 400 are actual paying members and that the .32 is for tax,
then walkin with $2000/mo before paying for bandwidth, site maintenance, hosting, etc.

I dont listen to the show since the subscriptions were implemented so i dont know if there are advertisers or not so lets assume there arent....

well then we could say the show pays for itself.
but mel has said that he has a family to take care of and such. So do i.
clearly a worthwhile goal.

question is:
is the current subscription model really working?

look at camelot.
everythings free.
rent is BARELY getting paid from we have been told.

is that model really working?

id say nay to both.
one has an abundance of viewers
the other not enough....

where is the balance?

im not raggin on anyone or their models.
im simply trying to find one that will work to really make an impact and yet be self sustaining and scalable.

camelot has a newsletter. they could provide the subscribers great discounts on things they would probably get anyway, like books or DVDs and maybe even survival gear.

camelot would get a comission.

this could if done right generate around 4-10 g's as needed.

it wouldnt have to be salesy or pushy but rather...."hey we found this great deal on this book that we both love and have learned a lot from. its discounted %20 for members of camelot. enjoy"

would camelot peeps be offended? i dont think so.
would people feel turned off? maybe a couple...

would $5 bucks times 1000 people be a bad income?
certainly would pay the rent for the month.

as long as the newsletter had valuable material and news and wasnt just the same thing thats on the site....in other words if people got value out of it it could be the model that everybody is looking for.

cause whats really important here?
making money off it?
or getting people awakened?

if done well....how bout both.

looky here!
value for free!

pearls to swine?
we shall see.....

as long as it helps the world....
it helps me.

enlightened self interest

-Your Friendly (albeit irreverent) Neighborhood Thunderbird