Patreon: a reminder

Good morning. I wanted to remind everyone that we have a Patreon page
https://www.patreon.com/TeddyOnPolitics?ty=h
You are under no obligation to give, but I was asked recently by someone about this; they suggested I should monetize and I surprised them by telling them I've already done so.

I also am a Patron of a few other people. In particular, there are three people who make videos who I very much enjoy watching. I spend at least an hour a day watching their videos, and can easily spend over 12 hours just sitting back and watching their old videos, and have a very happy day. One of these people is not on Patreon, but the other two are. Since I enjoy them equally, I give equally, which currently means $2 to each. As you may know, I am currently on social assistance, and this $2 is about the maximum I can give right now. Due to the small fees Patreon takes from donations, a $5 donation from you guys means my Patreon account breaks even every month, and I don't need to constantly worry about ensuring I have enough money in my PayPal and in the Bank to avoid an overdraft fee. As such, up to about $25 (or $35 if the other person gets a Patreon) I would use donations to break even. Money above and beyond that would finally make it to my pocket.

However it's not always about making me rich. The peace of mind of not having to worry every month about covering the costs of my donations (this month in particular was difficult, trying to balance sending the right amount of pennies, the exchange rate, and the limit I have on bank transactions) is worth a lot to me. So much that I am willing to use that "worry time" for a more productive purpose.

As such I have rewards. Anyone who pledges $5 or more a month gets to pick a topic on which I post. I will post on ANY topic related to politics in any way. I've already filled one such request, when I had two smaller donors, who requested an Alternate History. I would be happy to do things like this in the future as well, and if I have a small number of smaller donors, may also put out a call for requests to them.

The money tells me people are interested in my work. I currently am at $0 and this is my fault as I was inactive for quite some time in terms of posting. However, after the active April we've seen, I wanted to remind people that this option exists, and that if they can afford it, and wish to, that they can donate.

Posting during 'busy' political periods, such as we are seeing now, and will continue to see until the end of June, is easy. Posting in the "quiet" periods of February and August requires a bit more effort, effort that I personally find easier to exert when I know people are reading what I have to write. Posts like the ones I've made this month are posts I'd make even with 0 readers.

Regardless, weather you are able to afford to support us monetarily or not, I wanted to thank all the readers of this blog. I am very pleased that I've been able to post quality content that looks at things in ways others may have missed. For example, I was able to accurately call the low PC showing in Keewatinook. Not because I used math, but because I dug in and did research. I didn't explain THAT it would happen, I explained WHY it would happen, and this is the sort of thing I plan to continue to do.

To those who can't give money but want to contribute, there are two things you can do. The first is to comment. Either here on the blog, or to me on twitter, facebook, or anywhere else you meet me. This lets me know I have real people who are readers and not bots. The second is to pass on the posts you like. For example, I sent this post on my personal blog: http://thenewteddy.blogspot.ca/2016/04/twin-premiers.html to the twitter for Brad Wall. It's the highest read blogpost I've made on that blog in a very long time, telling me that Wall, or people who like Wall, likely read it, enjoyed it, and passed it on. While I secretly hope all 10 premiers read it and enjoyed it, the reality is it was probably people like you who passed it on to your friends; and this is again, something that tells me what I'm doing is worthwhile.

So in summary: thank you. I will continue to share my unique insights, and knowing that human eyes are reading it is what makes it all worthwhile.