Making The Watch free for EVERYONE
After 700 subscribers, the newsletter will become free for everyone
Dear friends,
I have decided that once we reach 2000 paid subscribers (we are currently 700 away), The Watch will become free for everyone.
If we can do this, we will cover all our costs, and there is no sense in keeping the newsletter paid if we cover our costs.
This will mean the newsletter will become free for anyone who signs up as well as existing free users, and The Watch’s recommendations will be shared with everyone regardless of whether they paid or not.
That will be the Friday e-mail with four top picks (two on Netflix/Amazon and two elsewhere), as well as the New and Expiring e-mail on Wednesday which has recommendations based on movements on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
How this is a pandemic measure
I love what you’re doing, I’m just cutting back on my spending. Thank you for all you’ve done! — Reader’s note after unsubscribing.
I have been thinking about this idea for a long time but what made me finally send you this e-mail has something to do with the pandemic. I know that many readers are facing a difficult time economically, and it makes no sense for those readers to still pay to get recommendations.
Since the first lockdown, I have received many unsubscribe messages from readers saying “I love the newsletter, but I have to cut down on spending”. Every time I have received a message like that I gave those readers complimentary subscriptions, but I feel horrible knowing there might others still paying as they lose their jobs or face hardship because of the pandemic.
So the idea is to completely disconnect getting recommendations from paying for them. Readers who are doing well financially can, if they choose to, continue supporting the newsletter, and those who are facing economic uncertainty can unsubscribe knowing they won’t miss recommendations.
Readers from countries like my home country, Morocco, can also subscribe knowing they won’t have to pay a fee that seems small in the U.S. but is huge in Morocco. This will mean the world to me.
And if we succeed, we will do this without ads. Without taking money from corporations or investors. We will keep The Watch independent, 100% reader-supported, and make it free.
700 is a lot of people
It took us, with promotions and discounts, 1 year and 5 months to reach our first 700 subscribers.
So I know it’s a big ask, and it might take a while before we can achieve this. But if all of this sounds good to you and you wish to help us reach this goal, we are offering a limited-time forever discount on all new subscription plans: 20% off as long as you remain a subscriber.
If we can do this, have an ad-free and free newsletter, one that takes money from no one except readers, then I believe we will be offering a viable alternative to algorithms. And we will be doing it together.