If you follow me on Twitter, then you are already aware of the following. You are also aware that I plan to be mentioning this many times over the next few weeks, until my goal is met. I’m also well aware that a very large percentage of my readers do not follow me on Twitter, hence the reason for this post.
In the last couple of weeks, I made the major decision of stepping away from The Force 925 and launch my own radio station. As with my Twitter followers, you may be thinking, “Wait, what?! Didn’t you just launch your radio station?” Yes, I did. And I created a handy dandy FAQ to answer that question and more.
Before I get to the FAQ and how you can help, I thought it would be a good idea to let you know what some of my mini-goals are. My first goal, to reach 10% funding in the first 24 hours, was a huge success. Thank you, yet again, to those who have contributed thus far! My next goals are as follows:
- To reach 20% funding by Midnight PDT, April 23, 2011.
- To reach 40% funding by Midnight PDT, April 30, 2011.
- To reach 55% funding by Midnight PDT, May 7, 2011.
- To reach 70% funding by Midnight PDT, May 14, 2011.
- To reach 85% funding by Midnight PDT, May 21, 2011.
- To reach 95% funding by Midnight PDT, May 28, 2011.
- To reach 100% funding by Midnight PDT, May 31, 2011.
To reach these goals, I need, on average, 6 donations a day. Considering the amount of traffic this site received, I do not think that is an unreasonable request or expectation. Aside from donating, please help spread the word. You can do this by tweeting this post and/or the ChipIn page, spreading the word on Facebook, blogging about it and emailing your friends. This fundraising effort began with such an amazing success! I hope it finishes just as successfully, or I may have made one of the worst career choices of my life. I hope the latter is not the case.
And now, the handy dandy preamble letter and FAQ. It is lengthy but I thought it important to be clear about intent and purpose. You’ll find the donate link at the bottom of this post:
Those of you who know me well enough, either in real life or by following me for any length of time in some online format, know that I’m a terrible self-promoter and feel a wee bit icky when pushing “me” centered things, as opposed to promoting others or certain causes. However, there comes a time when one has to push those feelings aside and promote themselves without apology. Now is one of those times.
It is time for me, with the partnership of Joe ‘Covenant’ Lamb (@JoeCovenant), to add another sphere to my entertainment/media offerings. After much consideration, I will be launching my own radio station. Doing so requires money that I currently do not have. This is where I must convince at least 300 of the tens of thousands of monthly visitors to my various online things to donate, on average, $10 each.
Q: Wait, what?! Didn’t you just launch your radio station? What is going on here?
A: Yes, at the end of last year/ beginning of this year, I did play a huge role in the envisioning, creating, designing and launching of a radio station. Without getting into details that are not for public consumption but also feeling as if I owe my wonderful supporters some form of explanation, things are not going according to the original agreement. These things are starting to wreak havoc on both my physical and mental health. After much thought, consideration and consulation, it is time for me to do my own thing; eliminating the causes of the stress that is not doing my body good.
Q: So how much money are you hoping to raise?
A: I need to raise $3000 USD to cover the costs of running the station for 1 year, plus throw in a couple of small equipment purchases that will be necessary to keep the station running. If 300 of you donate at least $10, this is easily accomplished. Considering I get 10s of 1000s of readers on Geeky Pleasures alone, hopefully this is an easy task.
Q: What happens in a year when you no longer have funds to keep the station going?
A: Hopefully by the end of a year, she will be monetised and not only paying for herself but paying any staff she may have. There will also be a donate button on the site, just like Geeky Pleasures has, in the event people want to donate throughout the year.
Q: Wait, don’t you have a fabulous sponsor, who goes by the name of Will Bradley (@willbradley), who provides your website hosting?
A: Yes, Will does host my sites at his cost. Those are at a great cost. Keeping my 3 personal websites up each month is not cheap. People like them so much that they suck 2 GB of bandwidth a day. May not be a terribly huge number, but it isn’t exactly a small number either. My sites get more than their fair share of visitors. However, despite Will being generous enough to pay for the hosting, preventing them from going offline last summer, he is not a charity. He will be supporting in a small way, but he cannot afford to sponsor this as well. It is both of our hope that all of this will be completey monetised soon enough.
Q: When will this new station be launching?
A: She will launch June 1, 2011.
Q: What will happen if you don’t raise $3000 by June 1, 2011?
A: Well, hopefully that doesn’t happen. There is a bit of a back-up plan if that doesn’t happen, however I’m not going to say what it is. I don’t want to discourage people from donating, thinking that they’ll still get their free entertainment if they don’t help out. There has to be an end point. No longer can I continue doing what I am doing without getting paid. As much as I love entertaining people, I cannot feed my children off of air and the warm fuzzy feelings and support you all give me.
Q: What will this new station be called?
A: That is the question of the day! I don’t have the faintest of ideas what to call her. I fear I gave away my best idea to the other place. Joe cannot think of one either. So we thought it would be groovy to hold a contest! You have a shot at naming the station. If you have a good idea for a name, email it to jules@juliasherred.com with the subject: Name That Station. Joe and I may pick which one we feel is the best or we may have a poll, allowing you to decide. I want to send something physical to the person who’s idea is chosen. Exactly what, I haven’t decided upon yet.
Q: If you don’t have a name, how will you build the website and host it and junk?
A: Trust me, I have that already figured out. The site will be a subdomain of juliasherred.com, however I’ll be YOURL’ing all the pages, giving it whatever name is chosen. At least that is the plan for now. It may change slightly over the next week or so.
Q: So, say 300 people donate at least $10 dollars each in the next month. Aside from feeling awesome because we helped out in some tangible way, instead of offering our emotional support (which is really awesome, BTW), what else is in it for us?
A: Great entertainment and music, of course! Not only from myself, but from others as well. Through both incarnations of the Geeky Pleasures Radio Show, I’ve been able to create and distribute just over 25 hours of interviews with some of your favourite geeks, including: Wil Wheaton, Phil Plait, Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, Len Peralta, Shane Nickerson, Jeff MacDougall, Steve Hockensmith, John Anealio and so much more. I have an interview with Battlestar Galactica’s Richard Hatch and an interview with Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon lined up, plus more, which are yet to be announced. Since relaunching the Geeky Pleasure Radio Show in January of this year, I’ve produced and made available, for free and without asking for donations, 828 minutes worth of interviews. This will come to an end at the end of May, unless I raise the necessary funds. Also, I’ll be allowing others to have a place to produce their own live shows (music and talk), if they so want. I’ll provide them with all the necessary software and training if they provide their time, helping others to entertain the world, if this is something that they want to do.
Q: Okay, that sounds more than fair. But what if I want more?
A: I’m planning to create a special thank you list on the station’s website, naming all of those who contributed in a non-anonymous fashion.
Q: Why don’t you just do a Geeky Pleasures podcast?
A: Because that requires time, money and equipment that I do not have at the moment. It also comes back to I can no longer do this without some type of monetary compensation. Maybe part of this is my fault because I never point out the donate button on the Geeky Pleasures website, however I’m never sure how to do it without feeling icky in a way that I shouldn’t. For every 1 hour of interview that you hear, it requires at least 5 hours of work to make them available as a podcast. Never mind the cost of software that I do not have to do such a podcast, online storage, bandwidth, etc. These things are not free to produce and make available. Plus, my shows are not only interviews. I also do music shows. Those I cannot do via podcast without breaking a load of copyright laws and getting sued by some record company. For every 1 hour of my music shows you hear, it requires at least 2 hours of preparation. Also, this isn’t only about my shows. There will be other shows. Finally, I do not like the static nature of podcasts. The thing I love about any of my radio shows is that they are live and I get to interact with my audience, in real time. My audience plays a huge role in shaping my shows. They would not be what they are without having audience participation. And do not forget, you’d lose out on the opportunity to interact live with the person I am interviewing, asking them your own questions and giving feedback on the spot. You may interject that there are ways of doing podcasts live, but again it boils down to equipment, hosting and money I do not have to make it possible. Doing any thing of that nature, I cannot justify funding out of my own pocket, even if I could afford to do so. As it is, I spend 4-6 hours a day maintaining Geeky Pleasures with the only monetary compensation occuring if someone makes a purchase through one of my affiliates. I love giving. But there is only so much I can give without it taking away from what I need to support my children and myself.
Q: Okay, you’ve convinced me to give you $10 dollars because I know you will ensure that both yourself and others will provide me with awesome entertainment. How do I donate?
A: Easy, there should be a handy dandy ChipIn on this page, which also shows progess. Just click that button and choose payment method.
Q: I’ve donated. Is there any other way I can help?
A: Yes! You can help by spreading the word and spamming the life out of this thing!
Q: I’d love to donate but things are tight for me at the moment. Is there any way that I can help?
A: Yes! You too can spread the word. Also, if at any time you can spare even $10, there will be a ChipIn link on the station’s site, enabling one to donate at any time, helping to ensure she stays online after the first year.
Q: Wait! I want to donate but am using an iDevice and flash doesn’t work on it. Is there a different link that I can use to donate?
A: Yes. By clicking this link: http://www.chipin.com/contribute/id/617ae460b83bf179
Thank you all for your support! I hope you can help make this want/need/wish/dream become a reality.
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