Money...
Here is a topic over which much invisible blood ink has been spilt... we sit hovering with pens poised as we think, and think, and think... and very many reflections come of it... just not ready solutions that seem to fit!!
And that is of course the target, how to hit the modest jackpot. Perhaps something will still result from this crude write... the belief being that Innovation requires analysis and insight into the everyday obstructions, and to this end all sorts of feedback can prove helpful... even this meager bit.
So how to make money doing what you Love? ...a wretched question posed to someone like me who has peered behind the mask of business... and found that in peddling what I Love, I love it less... In my circles, we've spent our time running fast from commercial "manufacture," only to return beaten low in the realization that we will have to treat Ourselves as line-workers and QC's —cranking out our "artwork," cheap and mechanically; for volume, for turnover, for making ends meet.
While at the same time desperately trying to embue that production with Life and Philosophy. That is perhaps the trouble inherent in the situation: the artist does not compartmentalize "work" from his/her reality (fantasy/physicality). That takes it's toll; this is a creative website and I've no doubt all of us know more or less the drama in this effort... it is doubly/ triply exhausting! Especially if family responsibilities compound need.... When my artist friends (motivationally?) exclaim, "Assembly Line Baby!!" I know what they mean, and though we might crack a smile, it's bittersweet.
What then money making advice can I out of this wilderness, jaded as such, give to a site like Prose ? Only the most general of guides that I have come across that ring with a certain sense of "truism," regardless of whether I myself have been able to implement them or not... For example:
—one needs to offer something that people didn't know that they were in need of, like bottled water, metaphorically! tapping into a deeply rooted thirst that only human handicraft can satisfy, as an Experience, not an activity or a thingamajig.
—as such, writers would seem to have an advantage. The effective salesman is always selling a "story" or an "image;" one which the prospective buyer-in-to somehow feel enriched by; in part becoming "insiders." Regardless to what extent, they feel they have something valuable, rare, to now share, that raises their regard first in their own eyes, and then in the eyes of their peers. A club mentality... but most of us are pack animals after all, and not lone wolves.
—it's still not obvious: Where IS the Money?!! and how is it to be had!? Again my pen bleeds invisibly.... the money is... everywhere dammit. It's a question of tapping into it with the right touch. In a large pool a small but steady trickle will do to provide a "living." The smaller the source, the greater of course the pressure on the spigot. Yet we also know that all it takes really (like in good-old-fashioned Feudal times) is one "good" patron :p... And detestable as that is, how one also hates focusing creative energy on wondering who will fund the next project or just contribute the next dollar....
—all too often the artist ends up straddling two or more horses, at which point the art, the artist and the steed suffer; until the reins break and the driver is leveled to the ground left to travel more "conventional" routes at least during the convalescence. That is about where I am "finding" myself... for the moment.
So advice! advice! I do not feel in a position to give despite 20+ years of "experience." I can offer these slightly more specific site-related observations, for some potential insight on the other side of the screen, in the hope that some of it might be of use in triggering ideas for the growth of the website:
+ despite not having much capital myself, I feel quite happy to create challenges in Prose with monetary rewards... even ones in which the site would take a portion of this money for hosting... that seems fair and reasonable; but I have been frustrated in carrying through with such contests due to errors in final payout; hence I stopped :(
+ I am happy to participate in a variety of challenges (free and with modest fee)... a combination is good; free if no prize; small entry if reward is offered... again reasonable.
+ I am put off by the membership fee— generally speaking! I.E. if I were "new" I would bypass the site entirely as being not for "me" (as a beginner, amateur, stranger, whatever excuse would do it). But being already part of the site and Prose part of me, I feel a sincere interest in maintaining it active as I perceive a real value... a motivational creative spirit that money cannot buy; but I note that this is inevitably a composite of what one pours-in and gets-back :)
- For growth this is not good enough! a base cannot be only "maintained," it needs to be expanded, of course... this not necessarily all "good" because a larger community tends to result eventually in profound feelings of isolation and anonymity that make the initial desired personal outreach difficult to offer/ preserve :{ but some kind of balance can probably be reached...
- The advertisement, if extracted from the write portion, would be no big deal appearing on the bottom or side bar. I believe this is but a nuisance part of the problem... as profit I believe is garnered from how many visits, or more likely how many clicks on the actual advertisements? am I right? So there is a need to solicit more "foot traffic." I confess I do not know how these things work as I have never supplemented my own prior websites with ads. But I suspect that clicking does make a difference in income, and if it does then I am willing in support to make a habit of clicking on these while going about my writing on Prose, if that will be of help to the site... and I hope that every Proser would.
- But that kind of advertising is peripheral... if word of mouth would help spread the word to dedicated groups to adopt the website as a "home base," that would be beneficial. I'm thinking of the kind of groups at local civic centers and libraries. These enthusiasts would make great use of a platform like Prose to share their drafts between their regular vis-a-vis monthly meetings :)
- Colleges too...
- The idea mentioned elsewhere of having some publishing component is "burdensome" but appealing. People do like to share their creativity with their offline peoples with mementos like tshirts, cards, cups, and other trinkets; as well as journals, booklets, etc.
- Anthologies are risky, but if offered for groups, such as those self-interested parties aforementioned, then perhaps it would gain considerable meaning and traction...
+ Liaisons with Publishers a real plus... is rightly or wrongly stimulating to see partnerships with reputable known companies :)
- The concept of "juice" is perhaps lost on reading "visitors;" though the recognition of "street art" is not... people I note do like to support talent, especially when they perceive that someone is really pouring their heart out... I mean specifically that they are willing to pay for enjoyment already received and not for some future commission...
Goodness! this write is lengthy and very vague... I do hope that there is some help to be found in these reflections, and not just another face staring into the chasm.