There are many good reasons to run a website like Public Address, and money isn't one of them. Sure, the site does bring in some revenue through advertising, but nothing commensurate with the time and space the site takes up in my life. And lately, returns have been very modest. Most of the ads you see are cheap or gratis for people we want to help out. Which is fine.
Or would be, if I hadn't spent money on the site. I still owe about $10,000 from last year's revamp and a handful of smaller jobs since. It was always the intention that the bill would be paid over time, and I am assured of CactusLab's infinite patience in this matter, but there are a few improvements and tweaks that I'd like to do, and I don't think I can ask for any more work from the guys until I pay some more.
Over the years, readers have repeatedly suggested they'd be happy to contribute directly to Public Address, but I've always been resistant to that. Our audience demographic, as measured by Nielsen, is pretty tasty, and my view has been that the site should be able to pay its own way on advertising revenue. But it isn't right now, and upon consultation with my darling -- for it is she who pays the bills and the taxes -- I've decided to extend a once-only offer for you to send us money.
There is in no sense an expectation for anyone to do so. The site will continue to be free, of course. And should you decide to help us out this time, you can chip in as little (or as much) as you like. The PayPal button below says "Donate", because that's the default, but I think "Contribute" would be a better word. We're not a charity, and we can't offer you a tax deduction.
But all of it will go into improving the site and making those tweaks. I have a number of small jobs in mind -- from updating the built-in Flash player in the forums to sorting out the way featured posts display on the home page -- and you should feel free to suggest other improvements in the discussion for this post.
You may also wish to advertise here. With the assistance of Scoop Cartel, who handle our ad-serving and agency sales, we can do some reasonably sophisticated things these days, including geotargeting. Contact details for potential advertisers are here, and you can find out more about our sexy demographics at the Scoop Media Cartel website.
But for now, here's that PayPal donate button. You can use your existing PayPal account or credit card:
If you don't like the PayPal, you can also make a payment to the Dubwise Arrangements bank account: 030255 0166635 00
Thanks.