Right Wing News Fundraiser: Not There Yet. Will We Make it?

by John Hawkins | January 27, 2011 5:51 am

As regular readers of RWN know, Right Wing News is doing a fundraiser. Here are the details and then we’ll get to the latest,

I’ve decided that I need to up the revenue that RWN is bringing in. The simplest and easiest way to do that would be to start running more obtrusive advertising. I’m referring to auto-play video ads, pop-unders, and interstitial ads. These ads are becoming more prevalent on the web — including on political websites — because they pay a really good rate per view. I have talked to firms that sell these ads and if I want, I can have them up and running on RWN within the week.

…Rather than go that route, I decided to try doing a fundraiser instead. This is not the least bit unusual on the Right. Show me a conservative think tank in this country and I’ll show you an organization that relies heavily on donors. Websites like National Review[1], Lucianne[2], and Free Republic[3] do fundraisers every year. Additionally, given that roughly 65% of RWN’s readers make more than $100,000 a year, I guarantee you there will be a number of you who will give multiple politicians $2400 for the primary and then $2400 more for the general election during this cycle — and guess what? Some of those politicians will lose, your money will be wasted, and you know that going in. Why not put your money somewhere you know it will make a difference instead?

So, here’s what I’d like to see happen: I’d like to raise enough money to cover the web design costs of RWN, the coding I’m going to need for the rest of the year, and the money I’m going to need for marketing, paying for interviews, the occasional grunt work I’m going to hire out, and a few other odds and ends.

Here’s what you get in return for helping to make that happen.

#1) A newer, cleaner, better looking, faster running Right Wing News. If you chip in money, even if it’s only $10, then every time you look at the page you can take pride in knowing that you helped make it possible.

#2) Your money assures that there aren’t going to be any auto-play video ads, pop-unders, and interstitial ads on RWN. In other words, not only are you getting the new design, you’re making sure that you’re not going to have any annoying ads on it.

#3) I’m going to contact everyone who gives $10 or more and use them as a representative group of people to consult about the page. I figure anyone who’s at least willing to give $10 must be a regular reader and care about how well the page does. Isn’t it better to consult people like that about the comments section, new features, and what they like or don’t like than the general public?

#4) I’ve had a number of requests to bring back Q&A Fridays where I answer questions posed by RWN’s readers once a month. If we raise the money, not only am I going to do that, I’m going to kick things off next week with a special Q&A Friday. Why is it special? Because the people who contribute $10 or more will be the only ones allowed to ask questions on the first Q&A Friday of 2011.

Today and tomorrow are the last two days of the fundraiser and while some money has definitely come in, we’re not quite there yet. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, things would go really well and the fundraiser would be over the top by now. Unfortunately, we’re getting towards the end, when contributions typically slow down, and while we’re definitely in range, we’re not over the hump. In fact, if things slow down enough, it’s entirely possible the fundraiser will come up short.

So, here’s an idea: Of course, a really big donation or two would be fantastic, but just for today, let’s not even worry about the amount. At this late date, let’s just shoot for 20 donations. I don’t care about the amount per donation, but if 20 people chip something in today, I’ll consider today to be a fantastic success.

Folks, I would love for the fundraiser, the only one I’ve done in 10 years, to be a triumph. I hope YOU will help make that happen.




Endnotes:
  1. National Review: http://www.nationalreview.com/
  2. Lucianne: http://lucianne.com/
  3. Free Republic: http://freerepublic.com/

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