Hello and happy Saturday from the US eastern seaboard! If you’re a regular reader of the site, please consider supporting my efforts so I can continue running one of the best independent blogs out there. You can choose from three levels of annually recurring support.
† Alternatively, you can support the site for $3/mo, $10/mo, or $120/yr.
What is this membership thing all about?
If you’d like more information about how memberships work and why I’m doing this, please read this post, this follow-up, and a more recent explanation. TL;DR: kottke.org is my full-time job and member support keeps the site free, open, and available to everyone on an internet that is increasingly paywalled.
What if I have a question or need some help with my membership?
You may direct them to my inbox.
Is my payment secure?
All payments are by credit card through Memberful with Stripe as a payment processor. Both services and kottke.org use secure connections (HTTPS) to protect your information. You can read more about security at Memberful and Stripe.
How do I cancel or otherwise modify my membership?
You can sign in to your account to cancel, change your password, modify your membership level, change your credit card, and the like. Refunds available upon request, you don't even need a reason. Please please please do not call your credit card company to reverse the charge...it hurts small businesses like mine and it's nearly impossible to undo — and if I challenge it, it can hurt your standing with your bank or CC company. (Thankfully this has only happened twice and it's not fun! Just email me instead!)
Are there other ways to contribute?
If you're unable to use a credit card or would like to pay some other way, you can send a one-time payment via PayPal or Stripe. (You can also do a one-time payment via Memberful by signing up for a membership and then immediately cancelling it, i.e. turning off auto-renew) If you'd like to send along startup stock options, a personal check, magic beans, or fresh-baked cookies, email me and we’ll figure something out.
Do you support Apple Pay?
Sure do...it's built in to the Memberful checkout process. It takes less than 20 seconds to sign up for a membership using Apple Pay — it's so easy.
Are there gift subscriptions?
Yes, you can gift kottke.org memberships to friends and loved ones. Here are the links for the yearly memberships: $30/yr, $60/yr, $120/yr, or $600/yr. Once the gift giver has paid for the membership, the gift recipient will receive an email inviting them to sign up for free. The gift recipient will be responsible for adding a payment method before the next renewal period if they'd like keep the membership going past the initial year.
The membership links aren't working. What am I doing wrong?
Try disabling any ad blockers or extensions that you have installed...sometimes they can interfere with the payment links. Having Javascript enabled also makes it easier. If it's still not working, let me know and we'll figure it out.
Hey now, what are you going to do with my email address?
Very little. You'll receive some email from Memberful regarding your payment — invoices, renewal notices, etc. Your email address and personal information will never be given to anyone for any purpose (other than for scheduled payments and the aforementioned mailings).
Which membership option is the most popular?
In terms of dollar amount, the revenue from the Patron and Superstar levels are about equal. A not-insignificant number of people do monthly memberships. I threw The Crazy Ones option in there almost as a lark, but I've been pleasantly surprised that more than a few people have supported at that level.
Can you share any more stats?
About 45% of those who have been a member of kottke.org are currently not active paying members. That's a lot of churn! If even half of those folks would re-up, I could do some additional cool shit around here, I think. That said, the number of active members has remained relatively steady over time, which I'm thankful for.
