I'm sticking with Substack, but...
Announcement
Hey everyone, this is an announcement to let everyone know that I have created a website for The Kansas Constitutional which you will be able to find at ksconstitutional.com. This decision has been made for a few different reasons that I want to explain.
In 2019, I actually had a bit of a following in Branson, Missouri where my articles regularly made the front page of the local newspaper. Moving back to Kansas in 2020, I had basically lost all name recognition. I tried working for other news sources, but the majority were extremely far-left and the few that were on the right seemed to me to be very far-right. So, I approached Substack in April of last year with optimism and the goal to build something that was uniquely me that provided a more conservative voice while also not shilling for Republicans the whole time. Though I’m still small, one year later, I have found myself being followed by politicians, political organizations, other news sources, and every day citizens with differing political ideologies (some way different than mine, and I, honestly, find that extremely awesome). So, why the heck have I created a completely new website?
1. A need to grow and make more money
Substack has been a great medium to start out and has provided me a way to earn extra income through paid subscriptions. Paid subscribers receive an extra article/opinion piece each week on Friday, press releases, information from the governor (as long as it isn’t government propaganda), and other announcements. While I do see the majority of the money from the subscriptions, Substack takes a significant percentage of the money I earn (about 15-20 percent). Due to this, I have added a buy me a coffee to the end of my articles where anyone can provide a “tip” for me through a one time donation if you are enjoying my work and are able to help fund it.
In the wake of giant news sources like Buzzfeed News and Vice collapsing or going bankrupt, it is apparent to me that we are entering a new era of news media. Creators like myself are increasingly finding that to make a living, we have to provide content people are willing to pay for and find other ways to diversify our income. By creating my own website, I will have more options available to diversify content and income streams that I otherwise cannot do on Substack. I appreciate all my subscribers and those who support my work financially and it is because of you guys that I will be continuing my work on Substack so that you can always receive some of my latest articles.
For the rest of May, all content I upload to my new website will be free. However, in June, I will be switching to a subscriber system. Content that is free here will also be free on my website. However, I will be producing more paid subscriber content than what I can currently do on Substack. Due to this, the paid subscription there will be $7/month or $75/year. If you bought a yearly subscription or had yours renewed within the past three months (March, April, May) and you would like to move to the paid subscription on the website and cancel the paid subscription on Substack, please contact me at ksconstitutional@gmail.com.
2. There is so much to cover!
Kansas is not as boring as people think it is, especially in politics. In fact, The Kansas Constitutional has readers across nine different states! I love reporting on things no other news source in Kansas is talking about, or, at the very least, covering things from a unique perspective. However, I have gotten complaints in the past about sending out too many emails. This is something I totally understand as it can feel kind of spammy, especially since I do cover a wide variety of topics that are not going to interest everyone. Due to this feed back, I have made the conscious decision to only send one article out in a day with the exception of certain things for paid subscribers and announcements like this one.
What the website allows me to do is to post multiple articles in a day without constantly sending emails to subscribers. Instead, I will be sending out a weekly email to subscribers every Sunday morning with links to the stories I have been looking at that week. Think of it as a digital Sunday morning paper right to your inbox. This will cut down the number of emails received from me in a week. Again, for those that don’t mind multiple emails a week, I will still be publishing on Substack, allowing you to get my articles the moment they’re published right in your mailbox.
3. Being at the mercy of Substack
The final nail in the coffin for me on my decision to create a website is the fact that I am at the mercy of Substack. A few weeks ago, Substack created a new feature called “notes.” Essentially, it acts like Twitter for Substack users. That’s completely fine, but Twitter—allegedly looking to protect their own business—disabled the embedding of tweets into Substack articles and stopped allowing the sharing of Substack articles on Twitter—both of which I do. I respect the decisions of both companies as they are simply looking out for their best interests. However, I want to continue embedding tweets as I believe that’s a great way to provide information to my readers, and I would like to share my articles on Twitter to allow my platform to grow.
In Closing…
I appreciate all my readers that have found my Substack and have allowed me to experiment and grow with it. I plan on continuing to experiment and grow The Kansas Constitutional a lot more in the future, including possibly bringing on another journalist with more conservative-libertarian views similar to mine who will also help push back against both the left and the right.
Again, if you want to check out the new website, you can go to ksconstitutional.com. Fair warning: It’s still a work in progress, so if you think something is a little off on it, please let me know and I appreciate your patience as I figure out what I’m doing managing the website.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. To help support independent journalism in Kansas, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/kscon.