Reader Question: Broken Social Links

Here’s the latest reader question, along with my reply!

Samuel asks: Hi Eric! Your email newsletter sign up and social links are broken. I’ve been trying to sign up and can’t.

My reply: Yup. The issue there is the cost. We (EPautos) had this “mail chimp” thing going for awhile; it is a kind of automated email thing. I don’t understand how it works. But I do understand how much it cost – $50/month. Too rich for me. So I unplugged it.

I am in this very Weird position of having a site that has as many readers as many medium-sized newspapers and magazines but which isn’t “monetized,” as the term styles it. The site relies almost exclusively on direct reader support – people sending in what they can via PayPal or in the mail – with a few ads picking up the rest.

It is just enough to keep the site operational. But nowhere enough to afford, say, a full-time computer person to deal with the stuff I cannot abide dealing with and just don’t have the time or the skills to deal with.

The site ought to be able to support at least 2-3 people, full-time. Me – the writer/editor. A copy editor/graphics person. And a computer person.

As it is, it is just me. Hence my occasional monkey paw appeals (see here). Hoping eventually this will improve. But for now…

So, in the meanwhile, please register as a user – you’ll get the notifications that way automatically!

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Remember: They are not “police officers” – much less peacekeepers. They are armed government workers – and they do not work for you.

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