Author Topic: Escape Artists Metacast  (Read 83725 times)

matweller

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Reply #100 on: October 17, 2013, 02:42:53 PM
I'll put my donation in the box once I hear back from Paul.
Paul answered, see PC Haring above.

Let's all breathe a minute.

Igorken is not looking to invest $10k. People that want to invest don't ask those questions through forum posts and if they did, I wouldn't want to do business with them.

Let's also understand that there is an implied insult in just asking. We're saying, "We perform this service for you like the guy on the corner with his guitar. If you consider that worth a tip, drop it in the case. If not, keep walking and we apologize for having bothered you." What's done with the money is irrelevant. The donation is a way of saying, "you already gave me this gift, that has value to me and I want to return the favor." Sure he could show you his financials, but it's an intrusion that ends up being a waste of time for him because in the end, nothing revealed in there changes the value of the gift already given.

And eytanz is a little wrong with his analogy too. Personally, I hope you do take the actual cost of an item into consideration when you purchase it and I hope you do reject it if your estimated value is not equal to or higher than the price. I don't have Comcast because the value of their service is far less than their asking price. If more people shopped that way, we would all pay much less. But I digress...

THE DIFFERENCE is that in any regular commerce situation, you are putting the money up front for a commodity you have not received and will not realize the actual value of until your money is already gone. We're giving you the apple and reminding you there is a tip jar, the proceeds of which we use to be able to bring you more free apples tomorrow.

All that said, if it puts your mind at ease at all, half of the staff is paid, half is volunteer. The ones that are paid earn enough to purchase one or two lunches for themselves every week at a modest restaurant. The rest goes into overhead. There are no rich folks here. If you created a company to do what we do, to cover your cost to an audience of <100k would be $3-$4 per episode. We're hoping you'll consider giving us $.07 per episode, and if you can't or won't we'll still give them to you as long as we can.

There is no extravagant spending, and for the reasons I mentioned in my previous post, there will be no consolidation of the shows. We stand or fall together on the quality and value of our free product.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2013, 02:46:05 PM by matweller »



chaoservices

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Reply #101 on: October 17, 2013, 03:10:11 PM
In regards to subscription options:

I would have subscribed long ago if I could have set up a direct draft from my checking account, rather than using a 3rd party. 

I can set up direct payment from my checking account to a variety of payees, all I need is the account information to send it to.

Is this an option?  Please let me know, and thanks to the entire Escape Artists team for the work you've done over the years.

Most banking institutions that offer bill pay (IE "direct payments from your checking account to a variety of payees") will allow you to create a custom payee using an address. You'll want to take that route and use the EA PO Box, and the account numbers don't matter since it is basically a check being mailed from your Bank -> Escape Artists. Now that I think about it this seems a much better option since I know that Paypal takes their pound if flesh. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think $2 ends up as $1.65 and $5 ends up as $4.56. I don't have a clue how Dwolla makes their ends meet.

Don't take this as gospel, I am only speaking from limited past experience and of course some EA accountant might need to speak up and say, "Dude, we don't want 500 $2 checks each month."

http://thefeecalculator.com/
« Last Edit: October 17, 2013, 03:17:09 PM by chaoservices »



Rain

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Reply #102 on: October 17, 2013, 03:29:18 PM
I can't subscribe since Paypal hates me, but i plan on donating next month. Escape Pod gives me great stories and and an extra dose of Norm each week, i wouldn't want to miss either.



P.C. Haring

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Reply #103 on: October 17, 2013, 03:36:09 PM
Hey guys,

I've subscribed and signal-boosted as much as I can.

Following some things that have been raised in this thread:

- I don't need a break-down of EA's costs in order to donate. The quality of the product that I've getting for the last 3 years for free, and the fact that I'm a writer receiving money for the stories they broadcast, are incentive enough for me to want to support EA.

- That said, from a fundraising-strategy perspective, it is REALLY helpful to have a clear goal to be working towards -- a solid figure to shoot for in terms of subscriber base increase, something with a gauge that we can see increasing, something to point people towards so that they can SEE the difference they're making with their donations and subscriptions. Right now, the plea is extremely urgent (EA might close by the end of the year! That's only two and a half months away!) but also extremely nebulous (how hard do we have to work and/or how much do we have to give to save it?). I know it would be easier for shameless extrovert like myself to signal boost if I could say things like "EA is halfway to their goal" etc.

Basically I just want to be as effective as possible in raising awareness about this. Having a TL;DR post up is helpful, anyway.

And I totally understand the idea to have a goal to work towards.  I'm not opposed to it and am working to find a way to communicate that information to you all in a practical matter.  Right now I'm looking to put something on the blog sites, but our web maven is on her honeymoon right now.  In the interim I will repeat what I said in that it costs us an average of $42,000 to keep our operations running for a year.  So, lets set that as our goal.  Keep EA alive through 2014!  

You're also correct that one does not (nor should not) need to see financial details in order to make a small donation.  If you are making a true donation, then you are doing so because you love the product and want to see us continue.  You've heard what we do with our funds, you've heard the product we create with our funds.  If you wish to donate to help us continue to move that product into your MP3 player, then please do donate. 

For those of you who might be interested in providing a significant financial INVESTMENT by providing a loan or capital (money or other physical items we could use) in exchange for a share of the company profits (IE ownership), then that is an entirely different discussion and one that does warrant the review of our finances and future plans.  That is also a one on one conversation that will eventually include myself and probably also Steve as the owner of the company and should be handled privately.  But that is an entirely different ballgame beyond what we're talking about here.


In regards to subscription options:

I would have subscribed long ago if I could have set up a direct draft from my checking account, rather than using a 3rd party.  

I can set up direct payment from my checking account to a variety of payees, all I need is the account information to send it to.

Is this an option?  Please let me know, and thanks to the entire Escape Artists team for the work you've done over the years.

Most banking institutions that offer bill pay (IE "direct payments from your checking account to a variety of payees") will allow you to create a custom payee using an address. You'll want to take that route and use the EA PO Box, and the account numbers don't matter since it is basically a check being mailed from your Bank -> Escape Artists. Now that I think about it this seems a much better option since I know that Paypal takes their pound if flesh. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think $2 ends up as $1.65 and $5 ends up as $4.56. I don't have a clue how Dwolla makes their ends meet.

Don't take this as gospel, I am only speaking from limited past experience and of course some EA accountant might need to speak up and say, "Dude, we don't want 500 $2 checks each month."

http://thefeecalculator.com/

According to Dwolla's site, they take a flat $0.25 per transaction, whether you donate $2 or $2,000 they take $0.25.  That said I did get a test donation of $1.00 from a listener who I know used Dwolla and they didn't take anything... at least not yet.  Dwolla's a new animal to me personally so I'm not entirely sure how it operates...yet.

If you would rather send a check to the PO box each month, that is perfectly acceptable as well.  If you'd like to look at other details, drop me a PM or an E-mail and we can discuss.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2013, 03:39:42 PM by P.C. Haring »

Paul Haring
Publisher and Treasurer, Escape Artists Inc.


Thunderscreech

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Reply #104 on: October 17, 2013, 05:06:13 PM
I can't subscribe since Paypal hates me, but i plan on donating next month. Escape Pod gives me great stories and and an extra dose of Norm each week, i wouldn't want to miss either.
I had the same challenge and set up a Dwolla account (the EA account number is earlier in the thread) to work around that.  Not sure if that helps or not, just throwing that out as another option.

Thanks!



wintermute

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Reply #105 on: October 17, 2013, 05:40:37 PM
your 50 year celebratory holocast.

Yeah, I don't think that would be a good way to celebrate...

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Fenrix

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Reply #106 on: October 17, 2013, 06:22:35 PM
your 50 year celebratory holocast.

Yeah, I don't think that would be a good way to celebrate...

But why? It would lead to a delightful holodeck malfunction that would result in Carnacki-involved hijinks.

Or elder gods.

Either way, it's Wesley's fault.

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Igorken

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Reply #107 on: October 17, 2013, 06:24:40 PM
Guys,

I realize now (as Matt pointed out) that part of my post can be understood as implying EA has been spending money extravagantly. That was never my intention. I've not a cell in my body that believes this is the case and I sincerely apologize to all who cooperate on these fine casts for the insult that unintented interpretation of my post implied.

A lot of analogies have been thrown about and - as analogies do - I don't think either of them fully applies.
I'd still appreciate some more info on exactly what is needed to save these wonderful podcasts, but I never wanted to imply this is something EA "needs" to provide because I feel entitled to it. It would help convince me to donate again, so I asked, that is all.

Thanks



Alasdair5000

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Reply #108 on: October 17, 2013, 06:33:47 PM
That is a really classy thing of you to do, sir. Thank you. As I'm sure you can tell, everyone involved in the company is tremendously emotionally invested and, when a perceived slight like that comes in, it feels a lot like a kick to the ribs when you're already down. It pushed a couple of my major buttons and you weren't the only one to do so. You are, however, the only one to offer clarification and I'd like to thank you for that. Nicely done:)

Regarding the info, as I'm sure you can imagine, there's a lot of frantic backroom discussions going on right now. Anything that comes of that will, of course, be made public as soon as possible.



Scattercat

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Reply #109 on: October 17, 2013, 07:21:11 PM
This has been mentioned before, but I think it's worth repeating: What a podcast like ours really needs, more than anything else, is *subscribers*.  One-off donations are excellent and awesome and are always welcome, but having a subscription base means we can plan ahead with projections and budgets instead of not knowing if we'll get the same one-offs next month as this.  Refining the product and adding many of the upgrades we've mentioned relies more on knowing we've got at least X income next month, as opposed to knowing we have 2X or 4X or even 10X cash on hand right now. 

Ergo, progress bars (while I think most of us agree they would be helpful for giving folks basic info about our status and concretizing goals) are a bit misleading.  Think in terms of getting to 700-800 subscribers rather than $42K for the year, if that makes sense.  ;-)

And that is why anyone who can provide even $1 or $2 per month is great and should be pleased with themselves for helping. 



CogShoggoth

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Reply #110 on: October 17, 2013, 08:17:40 PM
I placed my offering before the pseudopods for a modicum of horrific pseudopodium and it hungrily, and gratefully, snatched it into it’s maw.  Food for disturbing thoughts. Gnaw down!



Fenrix

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Reply #111 on: October 17, 2013, 10:06:34 PM
I placed my offering before the pseudopods for a modicum of horrific pseudopodium and it hungrily, and gratefully, snatched it into it’s maw.  Food for disturbing thoughts. Gnaw down!

Horror in Clay! The shoggoths dance.

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ThothLoki

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Reply #112 on: October 18, 2013, 12:13:04 AM
hey guys,

this is my first post. I started listening to escape pod around the 3rd episode. i have always loved this podcast and have gotten into all three over the years. Steve had me at "Have Fun". When I started listening, my cash flow was in the negative (yea, love the economy). After that, i just kinda forgot. After hearing the metacast, the guilt trip kicked in again. I have started my $2 a month subscription and plan to up it when able. I hope guys get what you need to continue. I look forward to another year. 



cykranosh

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Reply #113 on: October 18, 2013, 01:45:29 AM
I have just found Pseudopod ... only to find it in financial crisis! I've been listening just over a week and have loved every minute of it. The stories are amazing and Alasdair's commentary keep me listening and wanting more. I subscribed for the $10 plan (which brings my monthly podcast subscriptions to $17.99).

For what it's worth, asking for help is a hard thing and I think this metacast came across as a group of people who love what they're doing and want to continue to do it, rather than the NPR/PBS-esque gimme gimme gimme.

I hope to see you in 2014 as I go back and devour the back catalogs of all three of the podcasts. Thank you.



InfiniteMonkey

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Reply #114 on: October 18, 2013, 02:58:56 AM
I cannot express to you the depths with which I hate PayPal.

And looking at Dwolla, it looks like IT wants an account too. There seems to be now place to put someone's number in and just send money there, you have to make an account.

I really wish there was a more direct way of sending you money electronically.



Rain

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Reply #115 on: October 18, 2013, 06:26:52 AM
your 50 year celebratory holocast.

Yeah, I don't think that would be a good way to celebrate...

I am not from the US, so Dwolla is not an option i am afraid :)



Hypatia

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Reply #116 on: October 18, 2013, 08:03:14 AM
Ok,

I even went and registered on the forums to post this.
I'm one of the ones who has been procrastinating donations, but NO MORE!
I set up an automatic check payment of $10 once every 3 months. That works out to $3.33 a month.

Additional fundraising ideas:
A pay for extra content option via iTunes etc? maybe some 2-3 hour length stories?
Try out some occasional adverts for Audible or something? Hulu has been advertising with a couple of my other regular podcasts. One of my favorite podcasts started advertising a few months ago and promised it's listeners that if a certain percentage would subscribe, they would kill the adverts.

And one fundraising demand plead:
Please, pretty please? can you sell some t-shirts?

Thank you.



wossName

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Reply #117 on: October 18, 2013, 11:13:46 AM
I am not from the US, so Dwolla is not an option i am afraid :)

Same problem here. I bought an Escape Pod collection from Pod Disc, which accepts payments through Google, and consider that my support until December. But a non-Paypal way to send recurring donations would be great.

@Hypatia T-Shirts are available from Pod Disc!



Varda

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Reply #118 on: October 18, 2013, 11:34:04 AM

@Hypatia T-Shirts are available from Pod Disc!
HOLY CRAP. By Cthulhu, you're right! And more importantly, those t-shirt designs are really nice!

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Cynandre

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Reply #119 on: October 18, 2013, 02:30:29 PM
Back in August I 'Passive Aggressively' sent in a $20 Donations each to all three Podcasts because I was getting sick of Bills and Collection agencies. I wanted to send my money my way for once. So I donated to Escape Artists, Mur Lafferty, and The Ministry Initiative Kickstarter. It seems it was a good choice even though now it is crunch time. And even though this is true I will try my damndest to pay it Forward again. I do not think I could last a Bus trip without being able to listen to any of you. 

Insanity takes it's toll. Please have exact change.


Fenrix

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Reply #120 on: October 18, 2013, 02:49:57 PM

@Hypatia T-Shirts are available from Pod Disc!
HOLY CRAP. By Cthulhu, you're right! And more importantly, those t-shirt designs are really nice!

Awesome, they're restocked. My PseudoPod shirt is starting to develop holes.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


Fenrix

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Reply #121 on: October 18, 2013, 02:59:14 PM
I cannot express to you the depths with which I hate PayPal.

And looking at Dwolla, it looks like IT wants an account too. There seems to be now place to put someone's number in and just send money there, you have to make an account.

I really wish there was a more direct way of sending you money electronically.

If you want to be as off the grid as possible, I think you can send a stack of non-sequential legal tender notes to their P O Box. Or have your electronic billpay send it to the P O Box. Or mail a check. I think my first donation was a check to a P O Box.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


DreadPirate

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Reply #122 on: October 18, 2013, 04:22:52 PM
I have been a listener of Escape Pod almost since the very beginning, and I just saw Boing Boing's post about EP's financial difficulties. I just subscribed and donated an extra amount to help them through this tough time. I will be doing so again after payday - Escape Pod is too great a resource for finding new and classic authors to lose!



Hypatia

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Reply #123 on: October 18, 2013, 05:30:52 PM

@Hypatia T-Shirts are available from Pod Disc!
HOLY CRAP. By Cthulhu, you're right! And more importantly, those t-shirt designs are really nice!

D'oh!  I see them now!  Right there in the middle of the page, I completely missed them before. $16 is a pretty excellent price too. (maybe draw more attention to them on the Pod Disk page?)
Is there any chance I missed stickers or window decals on the page too?  ;D Need more merchandising!
« Last Edit: October 18, 2013, 05:38:27 PM by Hypatia »



garlic

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Reply #124 on: October 18, 2013, 08:13:04 PM
Ergo, progress bars (while I think most of us agree they would be helpful for giving folks basic info about our status and concretizing goals) are a bit misleading.  Think in terms of getting to 700-800 subscribers rather than $42K for the year, if that makes sense.  ;-)

And that is why anyone who can provide even $1 or $2 per month is great and should be pleased with themselves for helping. 

that's exactly the thing my local public radio station pushes for when it's doing their drives, subscribers they want to get, not the number of dollars they want to get. Seeing the reasons why you guys like the subscribers over the one time donations makes their reasoning a lot clearer to me as well, so thanks!