We’re in the news a lot, at The Good Men Project. Often it’s because we’re seen as the leader in the conversation about manhood. Other times we’re in the news because of provocative subjects we tackle. Not everyone agrees with our approach. We’re ok with that. You can’t talk about subjects that are difficult to talk about without them being…er, difficult to talk about. To say the least. And no one else is having this conversation. No one else has the scope and the breadth and the engagement of and audience our size about what it means to be a man in the 21st century.
So we were excited that even our business model is news. Because it highlights how we work. Our commitment to our community. How we plan to grow. As Advertising Age describes what we are doing in a recent article:
The Good Men Project, a site that ponders the nature of manhood with posts like “The Measure of a Man in the Digital Age,” asked its readers what they’d want in return for a paid subscription. There was one answer that stood out: no ads.
In the week after offering a premium membership that costs $20 per year or $2 per month, hundreds of people signed up, according to Ms. Hickey. For their money, they’ll receive invitations to an annual webinar and monthly video chats, a book and DVD, and an ad-free site experience.
Along with The Good Men Project, Ad Age reporter Matt Creamer talked to Andrew Sullivan, whose blog, The Dish, is also experimenting with new business models. Both The Good Men Project and The Dish are looking for ways to grow where we leverage our best asset – our community. And we’re trying to do it in an era when publishing models are…difficult. To say the least.
This is web publishing in 2013, when declining ad rates and the sense that each buck is harder to get than the last is leading increasing numbers of publishers to strip out the ads and ask readers to pony up. Even The New York Times has at least contemplated the idea of an ad-free version, asking readers about it in a recent survey about potential new products. Its sibling The Boston Globe already operates two websites, the free Boston.com, which is packed with all kinds of traditional ads, and the subscriber-only BostonGlobe.com, with far fewer, and much less intrusive, ads.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeBut ad-free experiments are taking root faster among smaller publishers and blogs, for whom the economics of digital advertising can be particularly punishing. You wouldn’t call it a sea change, but there is a lot of splashing in the waves.
As we’ve talked about before on these pages – we’re not just leading the way in the conversation. We’re leading the way in the business model. We’re figuring it out together, with you, to give you the choice of the type of experience you’d like best.
Ready to sign up? It’s just a couple of steps to register below. Or find out more about our Premium Membership benefits here.