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Since we live in a world of transparency, I'm going to be upfront with you about Baekdal Plus. I'm not making enough money to cover the cost, and it is causing me many sleepless nights.
I need your help to get 600437 extra subscribers!
UPDATE: Read what people say about Baekdal Plus.
Don't get me wrong. I have no plans to stop doing what I do. If I have to go broke and live in a camper van somewhere, I would still do it. This is what I'm good at. This is my purpose!
And almost every day, I receive comments or emails from Plus subscribers saying how great Baekdal Plus is. The Plus articles are statistically the most liked content of all. I know this because I'm measuring readers and sentiments instead of unique visitors and page views. The Plus content is always at the top in terms of read-rate, and the sharing rate is much higher than with the free content.
Creating these Plus reports for you is the best thing I have ever done content-wise. Sure it attracts less traffic because it is behind a paygate, but the value is so much higher. In March 2011, Baekdal Plus exceeded my advertising income.
However, Baekdal Plus has now been in operation for a year, but I'm still running at a loss ...and my cash reserves are running low.
You might ask, how did I make a living in 2011? The answer is that I didn't. I lost money every single month, except one. Before launching Baekdal Plus I had a regular 9-5 job and I had been saving up to buy a house. I have always been an entrepreneur by heart, so one day I looked at myself in the mirror and asked, "What would I rather do? Continue having a 9-5 job making average products for average people ...or risk it all, including my savings, to do something that really matters! Not just for me, but also for you."
To me this is not really a question. I don't know how to do an average job. I can't have a job just to have a job. I want to create something for you, and I want that it to be based on value and a purpose. Taking a risk and creating Baekdal Plus was the right thing to do.
And it is going well. This is the graph for subscribers to Baekdal Plus.
As you can see, it has been steadily growing all year, and cancellations are miniscule. Almost all the people who decide to subscribe also stick around afterwards. This, to me, indicates that I'm doing the right thing.
The problem is the green bar. It is very hard to convince people to convert into subscribers. People are used to thinking that everything should be free on the web, and it takes a lot of effort to change that culture.
The fact is that if I extrapolate this graph into the future, I will run our of money before I reach my goal - and that just frustrates the hell out of me.
I know of nothing worse than to see a graph indicating that I'm doing the right thing, but I cannot make it to the end. It is like being a race driver and you are well on your way to winning the championship, but then you realize that you don't have enough money to cover the cost of the last pitstop.
So ...I need your help.
It isn't much. I just need 600437 more subscribers. That's it. If I had that, everything would be fine.
UPDATE: Read what people say about Baekdal Plus.
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If you are new to this site, have a look around. Take a look at "One Year of Baekdal Plus: What did you get?" to see what it is all about. And sign-up for a free trial.
To get you started, here is my latest Plus report about changing passive advertising into a direct sale.
If you are already a reader, but you just haven't decided to subscribe yet, please subscribe. It is not expensive. Baekdal Plus is just $5 a month ...it's like a cup of coffee.
I don't care about the money. I just care about not going broke.
Be a subscriber. It's worth it!
If you are already a subscriber, thank you very much! But please tell your friends and colleagues to get a subscription as well.
And share the content. Sharing is really important! And as you know all Plus reports are fully sharable for subscribers. There are no restrictions, not "walls", just open sharing. It is really important that you share, because that is ultimately what leads to new subscribers.
Encourage those you know to subscribe!
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Thank you! /Thomas
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Founder, media analyst, author, and publisher. Follow on Twitter
"Thomas Baekdal is one of Scandinavia's most sought-after experts in the digitization of media companies. He has made himself known for his analysis of how digitization has changed the way we consume media."
Swedish business magazine, Resumé
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