Going Paid

I started publishing my work in late-2019 and have continued to do so for nearly four years without succumbing to the temptation of putting up a paywall. I’ve met some great people, had amazing engagement with readers, and generally had a lot of fun along the way. Today, there are ~2,600 subscribers to The 10th Man, and I appreciate every single one of you.

As it stands, I’m at a bit of a crossroads. Publishing a deep dive once a month sucks up a lot of time. So does engaging with subscribers and debating a thesis. I really want to keep doing this for the next ten years - or more - but it’s not sustainable unless I can monetize all that time. Which brings me to the purpose of this post.

It’s time that I put up a paywall.

After publishing free pieces for so long, it almost feels dirty to do this. I’ve enjoyed the “growth without goals” journey, but even so, I think monetization is the appropriate next step. I’ve settled on US$300/year for annual subscriptions, and my hope is that subscribers realize orders of magnitude more value than this. I plant to continue publishing at least one deep dive per month with full Excel models, and as I find my footing, I’ll look to add additional content. Most of the archived content will end up behind the paywall, but I’ll leave a few of the more popular pieces free.

My goal, whether it’s in 12 months or 8 years, is to find 1,000 True Fans for The 10th Man. As I look at some of the publication analytics it strikes me that many of those True Fans might already be subscribers, and your continued support would mean the world to me. You can become a paying subscriber by clicking the link below.

My first paid piece will be published tomorrow on Canada Goose, and I’m looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Sincerely,

The 10th Man