The big announcement is that we have officially launched a campaign on PATREON!
What is Patreon, you ask?
Well, it’s a site that allows people who enjoy free content on the internet to contribute financially in order to receive exclusive content, and as a way to help the creator offset the cost of creating high quality content.
This is all new to me. I don’t like talking about money or asking for help and this involves both, so bear with me. Before I continue I want you to know that Discover SPRINGFORD as it currently exists (a YouTube/Facebook show, and Podcast), will always be free. Period. You do not and will not need to spend a dime to watch/listen to past or future episodes.
So why then am I starting a Patreon Page? Well, my desire is to produce the absolute best content that I can to highlight the Spring-Ford area. I want Discover SPRINGFORD to be the go-to resource for people who are interested in knowing more about Spring City, Royersford, Limerick and Upper Providence. Up to this point, I have spent many, many hours and a good amount of money getting this show off the ground, but I believe it can be better. The biggest obstacle is limited resources (time, money).
I don’t expect this show to be a full-time job or anything, but I would love to be able to provide a high quality product, which would mean possibly purchasing better equipment, and being able to afford the amount of hours spent producing the show.
Why not just make the business owners pay an appearance fee?
People have often asked me why I don’t charge a fee to the businesses and people I feature on the show. After all, I am providing exposure to a large community of people that love the Spring-Ford and want to see businesses succeed. To be honest, I’m not always sure how to answer that question but I will try my best to do so here.
I feel that the best way I can provide value to these people is to create evergreen content for them that is mutually beneficial. I also have a very specific vision and direction for how I want the shows to go and I feel that if the business was paying an appearance fee then I would be indebted to them to steer the conversation in the direction they deem most appropriate. In other words, it could basically become one long commercial for the product or service they provide.
But that is not the goal of Discover SPRINGFORD. The goal is to highlight the human element. The journey that these people have been on, and are still on, to achieve their goals in order to make the biggest impact in their community.
Why not run ads?
I’ve also had people ask me why I don’t solicit businesses that will run ads for the show. There are actually several reasons:
businesses often want to see a return on investment for dollars they spend on advertising, which means that they want to have a say in how their dollars are being spent. I am not interested in negotiating with advertisers about how or what I talk about on the show,
it could lead to an uncomfortable situation where, in order to appease a specific sponsor, I’m not able to feature competitors or similar business in their industry.
What does all this have to do with you?
Based on the overwhelmingly positive response we have received from the community, I believe that there are a handful of people out there who really want us to succeed in our mission of highlighting the area we love so much. People who would love to do their part to help the community, but up ’til now have not quite known where to start.
By becoming a Patron of Discover SPRINGFORD, you will be a key contributor to putting the Spring-Ford area on the map. There are multiple tiers for potential patrons to select from and the Entry Level is $3 a month. Less than a single trip to Starbucks.
Now, I’m not saying that the show will never have ads or sponsors, however I feel that this show is about the community at large, so who better to humbly ask for support?
Once again, I want to restate that you will NEVER have to pay to enjoy Discover SPRINGFORD as you always have, but there are a number of perks/rewards, like exclusive content/credits, that you can qualify for if you become a patron.
Take a moment and visit our Patreon Page www.patreon.com/discoverspringford and check out the various levels and rewards available.
If you have gotten this far, then thanks for reading this email. Thanks for watching the show. And thanks in advance to anyone who decides to become a patron.
Godspeed,
Geoff and the Discover SPRINGFORD team
