Hello. It’s David.
Normally, I show up in your inbox and tell you something you don’t know. That’s what great journalism is. Today, I’m doing the opposite. I’m going to tell you something you already know.
Paywalls don’t really work.
How do I know that you know this?
Because you got this. This email only went to FOIAball’s free subscribers. But I’m not here to shame you. Instead, I’m here to give you something my paid subscribers won’t get. I want to do is walk you through my business a bit.
I promise what follows isn’t a guilt trip. You’ll understand by the end.
Last week, I published two stories, both original, exclusive reporting.
The scoop on Colorado’s marketing deal with Depend was behind a paywall. My reporting on Notre Dame being accidentally cc’ed on the ACC’s CFP emails was free.
Which do you think drew more paid subscribers?
Just one person entered their card info to read the paywalled Sanders reporting.
For the Notre Dame piece, three ponied up.
And it highlights an interesting economic reality I’ve learned five months into running this newsletter.
Readers don’t really pay for stories.
Now, for some upfront honesty. The throughline of this post is asking you to become a paid member. If you don’t feel like reading a big earnest article about the state of FOIAball and my thoughts on subscription models, you can skip that and upgrade now. (But if you keep going, the button further down has a better deal.)
Or, you can close the tab and move on. There’s no shame in that. I’ll admit I’ve done it, too.
Building a paid subscriber base is a grind. I don’t mean that it is a drag or a pain. Just that it is a long process over time. There is no hack. I can’t publish one huge scoop that makes 200 people give me money. A good story earns two; the next story doesn’t. The scoop after that maybe gets one. The next zero.
All my work so far has netted me 165 paid subscribers. You, reading this, are part of 2,100 free subscribers. For launching back in September, I think that’s great. I knew I would run at a loss this first year. But I was doing my taxes yesterday. Compiling all my expenses was a reminder of how far I have to go to make this endeavor profitable.
There were a lot of start-up costs. Registering an LLC in New York, which has really good libel protection, is pricey. Libel insurance, so I can be as flip and crass as I like, costs a big chunk. I shelled out thousands for records.
Expenses are a reality for any business owner. Those don’t tell the full story. From sending requests, reporting out stories, writing, editing, making inane art, filming social media videos, I’m … well, I once calculated my hourly rate. I won’t share it.
It’s all work I love doing. I’ve found that love is what people really pay for.
I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about subscription media these past few months. A mentor I worked with had a great analogy for how silly the revenue strategies of most newsletters are.
Let’s say you’re a coffee drinker. And a store you love has the following business model. One day, your coffee is free. The next day, they charge you. The next day, it’s free.
Any rational person will simply go on the free days. They’ll make coffee at home the other days, or find another shop where something similar is offered.
That’s you. And that’s okay. You’d be stupid not to take the deal. That’s also why I launched a new weekly column just for paid subscribers, something that you can’t ever get without paying. Hopefully, over time, you will want it.
But forcing people to pay also means quality reporting doesn’t get seen. I do believe journalism is a service, that information should be out there as freely as possible. I want people to read this. So I wind up offering a lot without paywalls.
If you’re a free subscriber, you’ve been sent an incredible array of scoops. Stories you can’t get elsewhere. Absurd spending on balloons. In-depth investigations into NIL fraud and government surveillance. Behind-the-scenes jockeying by power conferences. Gobs of Bill Belichick drama.
Everything I put out has never been covered before. It’s all unique, it’s all original. It’s all, I sure think, deserving of every subscription dollar.
But what makes people really pay isn’t any one piece. It’s them falling in love with what they are reading. Believing in the mission. Caring about the coverage. Appreciating the voice and style and breadth. They want to ensure the publication stays afloat. Maybe even thrive.
I sincerely hope those thoughts have crossed your mind.
Before I launched, I ran an Early Bird special for those who wanted to help me get going. Those first subscriptions were essential in giving me faith this could be sustainable.
I’d like that feeling again. So I’m bringing that deal back. For every one of you. I want each of you to help me succeed just as much as those initial subscribers did.
It’s 33% off for the whole year. That’s $4.68 a month. At two newsletters a week, it’s 50 cents per email.
I’m also gonna offer you something I didn’t give those folks. If you sign up from this email and you want to renew after 12 months, forward this back to me. I’ll get you a discount on your next year, too. Let’s say 25% off. (But the deal is only valid if you subscribe today. And if you remember to send this my way in February 2027.)
There’s really no other way to put this. I need you to subscribe to keep going. But just as much as I need it, I really, genuinely, hope that you want to subscribe. That you enjoy what you are reading and want FOIAball to continue to bring you college football’s weirdest, wildest, and biggest stories.
So if you love what I’m doing, please become a paid subscriber today. Every single subscription makes a huge difference.
Plus, you get a free Sleuthy the Seal sticker.
See you tomorrow.
