Naturally, I loved this e-mail I got from Mark Lewis, of the Mark Lewis State Farm Agency:
You really could charge for these (help wanted ads). I don't know another medium that delivers results locally like help wanted ads in The Batavian.
Yes, our help wanted ads work, and so do our "buy, sell and trade" ads. I know because Billie and I post ads ourselves and Mark isn't the first person to tell us about how well the ads work.
And they're free.
And it's my intention to keep it that way.
Our news is free, and I intend to keep it that way, too.
But that doesn't mean we don't need your assistance in helping The Batavian grow and become more sustainable.
We can't do all we could to provide you with the best news coverage possible without more help. We've pretty much grown as much as possible just with advertising.
Newspapers get by on advertising revenue and subscription revenue, but people don't want to pay for online news. Up until now that's left online news sites trying to survive on advertising alone.
I also personally believe that for a news outlet to be most effective it should reach the widest possible audience, and requiring somebody to buy a subscription (either for print or online) limits an audience for important public service news.
Rather than charge for a subscription, we're asking you to join The Batavian Club. Yes, we're asking you to pay some money to support The Batavian, but we're also giving you something of value back: Gift Certificates.
If I walked up to you on the street and said, "Here's $303 dollars, please give me $50," would you turn me down?
That's essentially the bargain here. We're asking you to support The Batavian for $50 a year (in our most popular membership tier) and giving you $303 in gift certificates to local businesses.
So help us help you, become a member of The Batavian Club.
Join before 5 p.m. today as an annual member (paying either on a recurring payment of $50 per year, or pay $60 for this year and we'll bill you again next year), and you'll receive a bonus gift from The Batavian: one of our gift certificates to a local restaurant worth either $20 or $25.
If you want to sign up for a monthly recurring payment of $5 per month through PayPal, join before noon today, and you'll also get a gift certificate. (Reminder, when you sign up for $5 per month, you're signing up for a one-year membership.)
Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.
Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.
Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.
Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.
Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.
Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.
