The original post was an assembly of thoughts from the fantastic team helping to keep CTH level and steady. It was accidentally published prior to my review.. /SD.
The Treehouse previously operated on the WordPress/Automattic platform without a lot of fanfare; a genuine labor of love. At first it was just a blogging platform, but as technology became more sophisticated, things got better for you, the loyal reader and the admin team. Specifically, CTH was able to monetize the site with advertising, which allowed me to spend more time doing research, writing articles and managing the direct concerns of the readers. Running ads was a checkbox, we turned it on and it just worked.
It’s safe to say that we were unaware of the amount of technical value, managing day to day technical issues, that blogging platforms like WordPress.com delivered. That all changed when CTH was deplatformed by Matt Mullenweg’s WordPress.com.
Fortunately, the software that operated the site was “open-source,” which means we had the option of moving the whole site to new servers without a lot of TECHNICAL issues. It was was really the scale of content and the goal to preserve the decades-long library (w/internal citations) that provided the greatest challenge. However, keeping the machines running is a different game when every page view now comes at a cost.
Within the migration process we also discovered the dynamic of cost driven by the commenting system; the conversation on the porch about the stories, research and analysis. As we have often repeated: it is the conversation that matters; that conversation is your comments and fellowship.
These lessons about self-hosting a website have been very expensive. It turns out the popularity of the site requires a six-digit annual budget just to maintain the technical status quo. Independent server costs, the cache system, the CDN and bandwidth allotments, the auto-leveling needs for stability, the software licenses, the email notification system and the support developers all come with an expense. Those costs do not include all of the unpaid effort by loyal moderators, tech support and volunteers that are managing these things right now.
The initial saving of CTH and the relaunch (a great accomplishment by some fantastic tech support) was also expensive. CTH was blessed and thankful to have people that care about truth reach out to offer assistance; and CTH readers were generous in offsetting those emergency costs. Many people stepped in to help save our little corner of the internet and with a core tech team (scruffy but smart) we stand on solid ground again.
My task now is to find a revenue model that works best for the important people, you; the Treehouse readers.
Advertising seems like the obvious move, but like many nowadays, we have long been suspect of things like covert tracking (3rd party cookies); and we accept the entire content delivery ecosystem is in flux at the moment. Privacy has been our CTH priority for years, and recent events -which include our own targeting- affirmed the wisdom of putting privacy at the forefront of our discussion.
As we are seeing corporations are now openly operating their businesses with the intent to influence politics, their advertising money is now a weapon they can use to generate leverage over website content. Not only is Big Tech making ideological determinations over monetization, but advertising companies are now using their budgets to align with Big Tech’s ideological goals. This is not a good outcome. Corporate fascism is on the advance.
As Scott Adams points out in the tweet below, ad revenue is now determining the type of information we can find on the internet. Many “conservative” information websites and platforms are increasingly making content determinations in the same way that MSM cowers to the almighty corporate dollar. You might be stunned to know just how prevalent this is; I know I was.
It won't be long before consumers of ad-based news media are seen as mental slaves to ridiculous narratives while the consumers of subscription-based news are the only free thinkers remaining to preserve our system. @RubinReport @ggreenwald
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) April 19, 2021
My priority with content has always been to stay steadfast to the motto: “The Truth Has No Agenda“, and CTH has declined financial offers because we never wanted to be in a position where outside elements have any influence on our content or conversation. Additionally, our crowdsourcing efforts not only produce great results, but our community credibility is our strength.
With all of the operational costs in mind, here is what we need to figure out: What is the best revenue model for the readers of the Treehouse?
I need to figure this out soon, or there is a slight risk there won’t be a Treehouse. Fortunately, software is soft, meaning we can experiment with models until we get it right.
We like the idea that we are in charge of our own destiny in that we are running our own servers and out of the reach of Big Tech, so while other “Free Speech” platforms like Substack, Locals and Minds look very attractive, it’s always going to be somebody else’s platform, making the enterprise dependent on their viability (remember MySpace?).
Additionally, from the outset I have always wanted to provide information free to everyone; that remains my priority. I do not like the idea that information comes with a cost; as a result a subscription based website was always a non starter for me. That said, I foresee coming up against pressure to find a revenue model (which pays for the expenses) before it’s too late.
That leaves CTH with a few paths forward to consider:
- Turn on 3rd party Advertising (we’re likely going to do that for now)
- Some kind of crowd-sourced sponsorship (PBS annual drives, Reoccurring PayPal or Subscribe Star)
- Subscription with tiered content (not all content is free) [I don’t like]
- Pay-to-not-get-what-you-don’t-want (Pay to turn off ads)
- Something else (because we are considering everything)
There also might be something else I just don’t know what it is.
As I look at the landscape I see in front of us, my goal would be to establish a proprietary system for revenue via ads that allows CTH to work directly with sponsors and not with 3rd parties. In that process we would have full control and retain 100% privacy. But to achieve that goal CTH would need to have seed capital to launch a business model and at least one person to coordinate it.
The Conservative Treehouse has always been about you, not me. For me the sharing of information is a labor of love; I truly enjoy the fellowship, the research and the writing assembly. Together with tips, crowdsourcing and research we put the information together and write articles about the ‘Occam’s Razor’ conclusions. Through the years CTH assembled a network of allies in the fight who form a deep rebel alliance of information. However, staying outside the reach of Big Tech and keeping the site anti-fragile to their attacks is a little costly.
So I turn to the experts… the people who really matter… YOU !
Before any decisions are reached I want to hear what scenario makes the most sense to you. Let me know, below.
Love to all,
Sundance
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” [Isaiah 54-17]
How does Free Republic do it?
Sundance,
Your site is my daily source of news and information. Your pledge to maintain our privacy is one of the reasons I trust you.
These concerns are even more important than ever, as you can see how easy it was for a bank to turn over credit card information on people who were in the DC area on January 6th.
Maybe a combination of a biannual fundraising drive along with a reasonable subscription price. The fundraiser would be for those of us who can contribute more and would allow everyone to subscribe at a low cost.
You could have a 1 or 2 month free trial for newcomers to be able to read only.
Ads on other sites have become so annoying I have stopped reading them.
Whatever you choose to do just know we appreciate everything you and your admins, and tech crew do.
God bless you and all the Treehouse readers.
Subscriptions will not attract new users. That’s a fact.
Ads will link to the site and will make the site easier to find for more users. It all depends on how the ads are structured on the site. If they pop up in the middle of the user reading something, or make the user react to to them, that wont work either.
Ads need to be there but unobtrusive. Only way they work.
I’ve been in this business for years. Running your own servers is more expensive than WordPress, but it’s also tax deductible, especially if you have an LLC or an S-Corp. I use an S-corp for my business and the tax advantages are huge.
The site as it stands looks great. That was an exceptional job. That said, I would tweak it to have links to go straight to comments, at the bottom of the pages to get back to the main page, and to get to the top of the current page. Those are easy to do and an inexpensive tweak. People expect those. You want to make navigation as easy and painless as you can.
I’m retired (mostly) these days, but I was there at the beginning of the WWW. I know a lot about it, not only how it came about but also how it all works. I keep up with it.
In the long run, having your own servers is the cheapest way to go. You are on the right track there, just need to become more educated on the nuances of savings and eventually profits, if you want profits. If not, definitely go non profit and write the whole thing off. You only need one person on call if there are issues. Find a single person you can trust to do that. Definitely not a company. The latter get expensive quickly. More mouths to feed, etc.
Best,
JAS
Sundance, you are the only news source I trust….i would opt for a yearly subscription, it would be money well spent.
Me too.
I’m okay with ads if that’s what it takes to keep the Treehouse operational and in that black. I already make a monthly donation, and if periodic fundraising drives are implemented, I’ll gladly contribute whatever I’m able to keep the best blog on the net available for all patriots and truth seekers.
Advertising will always lead to conflicts of interest, undue influence, and unforseen controveries (see Coke, Delta, etc.) that would otherwise be completely avoidable. Even if reliable, advertisers can find themselves targeted, or inadvertently at fault, for all sorts of reasons, and CTH does not need to get dragged into potentially damaging issues affecting advertisers.
Move to Gitmo.Life
A monthly/ yearly fee seems fair to keep this Last Refuge going.
Agreed.
I could do that, $25/year. Didn’t event think of doing a little math; surely there would be over 4k subscribers; if that would help to keep the site open for all to come find this site without being required to pay a subscription.
p.s. Perhaps CTH 2.0 could set up a drive to get the # of people to commit, say if we can have at least 4k or even 8k (or how many are needed to cover the six figure amount, we don’t know if it’s in the low, mid or high range) that could commit to X dollars (privately so only the Admin/Sundance knows the total raised) then if that commitment will cover the needs and still keep CTH 2.0 open in the manner Sundance intended for it to be, would that work? I would gladly get rid of those two previously mentioned ones I subscribe to through Patreon for this. Gladly.
I’m a podcast “junkie” and many of them use Patreon to help defray their costs. Folks can sign up to pay a certain amount a month. There are tiers where you can pay more or very little ($1) which would fit a lot of budgets. I don’t know if something like Patreon would work for this site – I don’t know much about it, but it might be worth checking into. Anonymity could be an issue.
Another site where I hang out has a quarterly fund raiser and that seems to work out well.
Patreon is evil. https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2018/12/22/patreon-censorship-causes-heavy-losses-for-creators-as-users-flee-site/
Michael Smith News uses a direct ‘ask’, ie, ‘please deposit directly into this bank account’. (Additionally he also uses the typical ‘Donate’ via Paypal button).
He has been operating his site for over a decade now, since becoming the victim of big politics, weak management, and big business. Here is an old example….
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2012/09/funding-for-our-work.html
Ads… interesting. I remember when Gateway Pundit started using ads. They were, simply, frequently, obscene. .. “clothes” that no decent woman would have been seen in. After multiple complaints, I finally paid their annual fee to make the indecent ads go away, because I wanted to read GP. I pay you all monthly now, and intend to continue. If you start with ads, also start with a fee that I can use to skip them, please. I wouldn’t expect Menagerie to let anything on this site that would be gross; but I’d just rather opt out first thing.
I remember that with TGP. I kept getting really gross ads, toe fungus and tape worm pictures, just really sickening. Couldn’t read it while eating. I often wonder if they had much choice of what to use. Since I use an ad blocker, it doesn’t affect me now, but they do lose out on the revenue.
Could you partner with RSBN and split donations? Might not help now but when rallies start….
Something “fun” like a pic of our majestic tree or the flag that gets filled in with each donation until the pic is complete. Adam Townsend or Scott Adams may have an idea. Clearly I don’t have any brilliant ideas of my own (not yet) but we must make it work somehow. God will help us~ that’s the only thing I know for sure.
I think that you are so highly esteemed for your insights and research that a PBS-type funding drive would be very effective. No one here wants CTH to go “off the air” and people would pay when it seems it could be closed down if there were not enough funds. It would help everyone to see how much is really needed to run things, and it would also show how popular the site is and how dedicated people are to it. Ads will generally be ignored, though it would be nice to have a Conservative treehouse T-shirt…
Merch is a huge money maker. And there are companies that service this for you so no physical contact w/ merch. Just upload artwork & advertise link. They take a big cut but worth it.
I like the fund drives and definitely like the idea of swag. Doesn’t have to be tied to the fund drives. I could use a good coffee cup or two with some recurrent themes here. I like the patriot grabbing the Republican and Democrat mascots by the neck, showing them to the door all polite like. Mannerly.
Or a suspicious cat mug or many graphics and phrases we see all the time. Could make cool tshirts too.
Swag has the added benefit of advertising for the Treehouse off line.
I think keeping the content open and free is essential to the overall purpose of spreading the message. If shifted to a paywall, the ability to proselyte via Sundance will be lost. I have used the treehouse multiple times over the past two years to provide support for my positions and to help move people to join the rebel alliance. I would hate to see that go away.
Freerepublic has existed for years off of fundraising, and Freerepublic provides no content, let alone content like provided here. I think fundraising would work, but it would probably be worthwhile to also engage direct advertising. Unexpected costs arise, and it is good to have cash flow.
“Cover charge for Live Entertainment at the Green Dragon Tonight!!”
That’s how we used to survive the world as musicians…
I am so thankful for this site. I’m a faithful reader and not only value Sundance and his research but many of the commenters have offered invaluable information as well. I like the subscription to turn off adds as well as the ability to post. That may solve some of the not needed trolling that sometimes bubbles up. I would like to see it be a family membership so that it covers both of us in our family. Many thanks to Sundance and everyone who makes this such an incredible resource.
Pay to turn off ads works for me.. It seems to be more suited to my online activities and ventures
This is our club, let’s take it private. We should pay a fee to join, and an annual renewal fee to stay on the active list and enjoy all of the club “benefits”.
Hopefully it will keep some of the trolls out as well.
“Hopefully it will keep some of the trolls out as well.”
A very valid point….I like the way you think! (And I like your user name as well!)
I would prefer starting with a monthly fundraiser. If the goal can be met it can be moved to a quarterly fundraiser. I’m not a fan of websites with too many ads and worry about the privacy angle. I think a subscription would prevent this site from reaching people we need to reach. I would hate to see people with something to contribute be excluded because they cannot afford to pay.
Sundance, investigate affiliate links. Could be a huge revenue source for you.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/affiliate-marketing.asp
OTOH, if we all just sent SD the “free money” we are getting from Joebama, the site should do just fine!
Maybe if we ask China nicely, they’ll give us $millions too. Just promise not to mention the Uighars, like the Democrats did.
The Conservative Tree House is known throughout the world for Sundance and his truth without agenda style which create such thought provoking articles. We’ve seen known authors, politicians and pundits comment here often.
I have been hanging out in the branches here a long time, almost ten years. As many other Treepers have, I discovered this site by following breadcrumbs a kind Treeper left behind on another well known conservative site. I in turn try to return the favor in my web travels or face to face in casual conversation; word of mouth is the best advertising. If in the future there is a paywall or subscription fee it may create a financial hardship for some and at same time limit access to new patrons.
For my two cents, if possible maybe look into similar commercial route as the Rush Limbaugh radio show? Only offer few advertising “slots” to certain known companies who share the similar mindset. Rush’s ratings always remained strong, his show flourished and the viewership grew year after year.
With such a well known site, I bet dollars to donuts certain popular companies would pay the CTH well above grade to have the ability to advertise and support this amazing website. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a bidding war was created in order to land one of the few coveted advertising slots.
I remember how generous conservatives were when Rush did his fundraisers. I think we’d all be surprised how much money we’d chip in to keep this site going.
Paging Mike Lindell.
First I will most probably go along with whatever you decide (yes I’ll pay).
So a totally different source of revenue. It irks me that while most email providers are free, in return your email is monitored by at least the provider and who knows who else, for who knows what purpose (beyond selling your information to advertisers). I do not know how secure (encrypted maybe even) email can be made. But it would be an honor to be [email protected] and valuable if it was secure and safe.
Out of the other options, I am opposed to paying for internet content just out of principal and would think that putting your content behind a paywall would make it less available through other sites.
I do like the idea of an annual fund raiser (or two – perhaps one online (virtual) and one like a weekend/gala/dinner).
Frankly my browser is Brave so I am not going to see any ad content on your site (yes and for all of you not using Brave – you are making a mistake).
Off the top of my head, so not thought out fully…
If ads, make it classy and not visually obnoxious. I don’t surf, but when I get pulled into a NEWS article that has more bling than text, I tend to discount the outfit running the show. For newcomers, CTH clearly standing apart from that circus should be a favorable first impression, allowing one to stay and read relatively undistracted.
Once snagged by good writing and appealing (or not obnoxious) layout, the newbie will probably come back a few times, especially when the reader comments become a known feature.
Allowing the above to occur would perhaps draw people in to paying a subscription, especially a low cost 30 day trial. Those that won’t make that leap still have access to the persuasive writing and are not turned off by visual clutter. That is a tremendous asset in this day when we need as many members of the general population pouring critical thought into their noggins. CTH is a messenger to the world; subscribers would be subsidizing that message.
For subscribers, there will be a HUGE benefit in that the commenting section will be reduced in population. That’s not a slam on the commenters; that’s an observation which merely points out that those vested in the site will have skin in the game and misbehaving risks losing genuine access to a now-secured perimeter. Quality of commenting section will return to previous levels of excellence but also have less volume. There is a wealth of opinion and information to be gleaned from commenters, but there is also a point of diminishing returns when volume takes off and quality erodes.
To take it one step further (add a dash of salt here), maybe there are two tiers of membership: general admission and loge–if only to aid in hearing hushed conversation around smaller tables. It can’t be too small a crowd, but somewhere there is a happy medium. Who knows, maybe it turns into a continuous pricing mechanism in which the loge members vote with their wallets to regulate the appropriate size of that community as outsiders bid for access, driving the insiders to pay to stay. Nothing prevents them from stepping into either forum.
Oh, and I actually prefer writing a check and sticking it in the mail. I’m not too keen on digital transactions even if they are easy.
If you opt for monthly/yearly/whatever subscription how about this: option to add a few extra bucks for others who can’t afford the entire fee. I rarely turn down OT but my employer is covid crazy and who knows what will happen in the future. I’d hate to think I couldn’t access this site cause I was 10 bucks short and a charitable treeper was willing to pitch in.
I think that happens organically already. I may be wrong. I’d like to think not, but my reckoning has been off by orders of magnitude before. Scale is not easy. Keep it simple.
Also, you could have one day a week open to public! “Treehouse Tuesday” where all the previous week’s stuff is accessible for reading free. This could be marketed & pushed for new people who are curious or on a budget.
What about teaming up with Mike Lindell on Frankspeech.com?
Annual paid subscription. Donated a little just now. Thank you for providing a great service!
#1, #2, and #4 seem to be the best solutions to me.
Wait! I just figured it out. We’ll stop paying taxes to an illegitimate government and send the money to CTH instead ☺️
I could do an annual subscription. Also, what about offering some Trump merchandise. Other sites do it.
And what does the annual budget need to be without ads (unless that is confidential)
Dividing the budget by the number of regular visitors would provide a starting point for determining the practicality of dumping the ads.
As so many have already said, whatever it takes, Sundance.
Don’t like I ads, but I can deal.
At least one commenter mentioned “pay to comment” which is a good idea, as long as enough of us do so. Read for free, but pay monthly or annual subscription for comment privileges (which still allows the truth to get out there and potential Treepers to explore the site before engaging).
Also don’t mind a subscription, CTH is most certainly worth it. I’d like to think “pay what you can” could work, as I would hate to lose Treepers who cannot afford the subscription. Probably a way around that.
I believe that “pay to comment” will create the echo chamber many of us wish to avoid.
Snail mail PO Box address to send cash. And promise to burn shred my note confirming who I am. And yes, add a few bucks for a stash build up for maybe adventurous folks who may want to get off their current plantation.
Or cash buildup for folks who can’t afford. A sort of “round up” to the next $5 or something.
How many folks currently read the place? What’s the word I’m looking for?
And any ad folks would have to be secure in their not being targeted for retaliation (I hate that other word).
Having donated randomly over the last few years I went to setup an offical monthly donation. However that requires a paypal acct and I’m sick of having to deal with more and more internet accounts. I’m trying to simplify not complicate my life.
There is also a real risk of any CC processor defunding you.
Rather than a monthly payment with it’s overhead I wrote you an email asking where I can mail a check.
Thanks
Michael
A P.O. Box for checks or cash is so old school and awesome. Talk about manna from Heaven.
I’m in SW Florida. We could meet in a parking lot and hand over an envelope.
Just like CONgress does LOL
If a revenue model is needed, IMO subscription would be best. Since the site is set up as a blog format and no member can start topics of discussion, only comment on existing ones, IMO that would be best. I took a quick look at stats for March..
Total Visits 2.29M +9.96%
Avg. Visit Duration 00:03:02
Pages per Visit 2.26
Bounce Rate 51.35%
Though down by nearly half from the election high of around 4MM, still solid numbers and the bounce rate indicates people stick around once they’re engaged on the page. That’s an encouraging sign for a subscription model.
CTH prides itself on community and IME subscriptions keep a lot of the casual rifraf out. Serious infiltrators have no issue paying to infiltrate, part of the cost of the job.
Anyway, that’s my .02 from owning a site and moderating a large, open, forum, think vBulletin-style. We used the pay for ad removal model plus extra perks like more PM’s, profile hosting, etc, etc. That worked pretty well but that’s a forum model, not a blog model.
Good luck with the decision.
Adds and pay for no adds which is a subscription. Also augmented by Semi annual or periodic fund raising. While I’m fine with a subscription I’m concerned that if that were the primary method it would make it difficult attracting newcomers and could lose some long term followers with financial constraints.
Is it possible to do a “pay to comment?”
I’m not sure of the legal ramifications, and I’m also not sure how deep into that six figures you need, but we still have a LOT of folks commenting.
If you get 1000 commenters to sign up and pay $10/mo for the privilege to comment, you’ll raise the money fast enough, cut down on spam, etc. I don’t know, it might not be feasible, and people might not be willing to pay that. Maybe you won’t have any commenters and will make no revenue.
Donation drives are probably a necessity no matter what is chosen. I think a regular subscription cost is a lot better than trying to limp along with advertising and all the crap that comes with it.
“Privilege to comment” ends fellowship.
Bingo. Please, do not throttle the fellowship.
Sundance This is my fave go to site for several years. I have donated & will gladly agree to a subscription $$ Whatever it takes to keep this wonderful site going forward
Whatever the cost I will gladly pay CTH site has been my savior for couple years This website is priceless
Paid subscription provides ad-free content.
Only paid subscribers can post comments. (Imagine the time and effort that would save the volunteers).
Non-subscribers can read all content but with ads (i.e. must disable adblockers). Otherwise, site is disabled.
Pay to turn off ads. Whatever you do, I’ll be here.
I would try a fundraiser first and see how well that does. Use a graph bar to show how far you are from your goal.
Some form of subscription sounds good. Maybe…
Free with ads
Fee to turn off ads
Fee to get to comment
Whatever gets the job done with the least amount of hassle for Sundance.
You might consider your own on-line store. Or selling your own merchandise. Several sites used to do so. I’m sure it was a lot of extra work for them, and I never knew how successful they were. And now especially since Amazon, YouTube, PayPal, etc. have been black-listing people.
Someone here might know one of them personally and maybe get some feed bacK.
I can only recall a couple, and never met any of them.
Liberty Doll: https://www.thelibertydoll.com/
Skinny Medic: https://medicalgearoutfitters.com/
Edit: Also Survival Blog: https://survivalblog.com/
Edit again: I only know one person who sold on-line from his own site, but he now has a full-time job and is more interested in other things.
I just looked at the Survival Blog on the browser that blocks ads and theirs do no show up.
Affiliate program with Mystore. CTH merchandise. Help support PDJTs’ “Buy American” initiative but compiling a clickable list of made in America products (any and all) and offer the manufacturer add space on the side bar. Display each manufacturer as a clickable “Badge” and initiate an affiliate program with them as well. You get a percentage of each click and sale.
I would gladly buy CTH merc! .Two CTH coffee mugs and a CTH T-shirt to go, please! I hop ya’ll have copyrighted and/or trademarked “The Truth has No Agenda”.
I will contribute however you feel is best. I’ve given to FR in the hardest times but the quarterly fundraising brings out the trolls. I’ll admit that I haven’t donated as regularly here as I should have. I don’t read the comments as I used to so I guess donating isn’t on my mind as much when I click for a quick education.
I’m not sure how much money you would make off of it but a lot of privacy and security aware people use the Brave browser. I always turn on the Brave rewards to send tokens to the sites that I visit. You should sign up the conservative tree house at Brave Rewards https://publishers.basicattentiontoken.org/. It doesn’t cost anything and you might get some funds from it.
The cleanest and simplest course is to institute a modest subscription fee. Better that then running ads or any sort,
methinks.
-D Morrisseau 2LT USArmy retired
I’ll pay, monthly or annually for ad free. This is the only site I truly rely on for truth and comment. No one does it better.
It occurs to me that checks may ultimately be necessary as credit card use might be/already is weoponized.
Do what you have to do to keep the site going.
This site is my daily dose of sanity and I would miss it if it went away. I would support whatever route you choose to take be it adverising, annual or quarterly appeals, subscription plans etc. You’ve done so much work/research over the years related to our corrupt government, I’m wondering (seriously) if you could put it in a book form and get a deal like ACB just did.