Note to Subscribers & Readers
What’s ahead for The Journeyman
With the summer is behind us and about two months until the election, I want to update you on my plans for The Journeyman — and the role your continued support plays in its success.
First and foremost, I’d like to thank each of you for your support and encouragement. It gives me a lift to see this project strike a chord with readers.
When I launched The Journeyman at the beginning of the summer, I expected a few of my Facebook friends and relatives to sign up. To my surprise, we’ve enjoyed modest success over our first three months.
Here’s an overview of our current status:
As of today, The Journeyman has grown to almost 500 subscribers. Although all content is all-access for now, nearly a dozen of you paid for subscriptions, including one Founding Member (thank you!). This is much appreciated, as paid subscriptions help to cover the costs of various services to provide The Journeyman’s content.
The Journeyman also has a presence on social media. Our Facebook page has 151 likes, and our LinkedIn page has nearly 100 followers. My goal is to reach 1000 subscribers by year-end. To make this happen, I need your help. One way to help is by inviting like-minded colleagues and friends to sign up. Sharing on social media also helps get the word out.
What’s next?
For the next couple of months, all subscribers will continue to have full access to The Journeyman. Hopefully, this update will convince free readers to convert to paid subscribers.
I started The Journeyman to provide an engaging, well-sourced perspective on the economy, the political landscape, and inequality — without relying on investors or ads. The next step for the publication is to scale up the number of total subscribers, the number of paid subscribers, and add additional content. In addition to written content, be on the lookout for these additions in the not-too-distant future:
Audio commentary: Spoken word versions of select stories in audio format, with updated information.
Ask Me Anything (AMA): A bi-weekly discussion thread that solicits your questions on almost anything — from the economy to the best place for fish tacos on Topsail Island. I’ll provide answers to a selection of items in an audio post.
True Stories: You’ve probably noticed the personal backstories woven into some of my posts. I use these reflections to provide context, using my own experiences. Look for stand-alone versions of these stories in the future.
The Journeyman podcast: I know, I know — everyone and their brother has a podcast! That said, this is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. This is still in the works, but I’ll keep you posted.
Here’s how access to The Journeyman will change, Once the free window closes:
Free subscription: Think of this as a test drive, hopefully leading to a paid subscription. Once the free period ends, free subscriber access will be limited to some (but not all) written posts. Free subscribers will not have access to audio content.
Monthly subscription, $5.00: Access to all written posts, audio updates, and archives.
Annual subscription, $50: Access to all written posts, audio updates, archives, and the podcast when it arrives. All at a discounted fee. That’s two months free — $10 off the annual fee.
Founding Member subscription, $150: An annual premium subscription providing an increased level of financial support. The suggested amount is $150, but there’s an option to insert a higher amount if desired. In addition to all written and audio content, Founding Members also receive occasional exclusive content.
Thank you so much for supporting this effort. I know times are tough, and not everyone can convert to a paid subscription. For that reason, there will always be a certain level of content available at no charge. For those of you that can subscribe, I hope you will give this publication your consideration.
Best regards and stay safe,
Marlon