Hey there,

I added a ‘Buy Me A Coffee’ button to the website today, so now I want to explain why. It’s very important to me to be transparent. It’s simple, really: buying me a coffee helps me to keep creating the podcast.

Now, that does not mean you should feel obliged to. I am grateful for every kind of support. Chatting here, listening to the podcast, talking to me on Twitter, leaving a review… It all helps. Messages from listeners often really brighten my day, or give me that little push I needed to keep writing 😉

Then why the button?

Several people have asked me if they can contribute in some way (financially), so I chose to implement this option on the website. Full transparency demands me to tell you I always knew I would have to do something like this at some point.

You see, I am a self-employed digital marketer. Every hour I spend creating the podcast… is an hour I am not working for clients. This means I earn a lot less money these days 😉 That’s ok for now. There’s little that makes me happier than creating this podcast and interacting with listeners. It’s my choice to earn less, and be happier.

My wife and I are both very lucky to have gotten many chances in life. It means I have a little ‘wiggle room’ to try to live my dreams. And I have my family, of course.  My dad is a big fan of the podcast (or rather, of me being creative again), and he made a contribution so I had to worry less about money for a couple of months. My wife also has been very supportive  by accepting me bringing home ‘less bacon’.

At some point, though, I am going to have to make the choice to go back to the ‘money job’ full time or keep creating the podcast. Again, transparency demands me to say I always knew this as well. I was always aware I would have to start thinking about ‘monetising’ the podcast at some point.

Now, if you have gotten to know me a little by listening to the podcast or chatting here or on Twitter, you might not be surprised the word ‘monetising’ alone makes me shiver. This podcast means the world to me, and so do the listeners & fans. Even putting a ‘Buy Me A Coffee’ button on the website feels weird to me.

The button & the links

But here it is, a button, as an experiment. I chose to use this button with a ‘Buy Me A Coffee’ request because I do not want to start a ‘paid subscription’ service. It’s important to me everyone has access to the podcast. I’ve been blessed with listeners letting me know how much the podcast has come to mean to them. How it is often an escape from difficult days or circumstances.

I briefly considered creating extra productions and selling these to earn a bit of money. But to be very honest, I can’t. Creating an episode of 20+ minutes every week is so much work. It really takes all the energy I have. Extra productions would compromise the quality of the free podcast, and I’m not willing to let that happen. So, the button it is.

Note that this service is not a ‘repeat’ subscription like Patreon. This is a one time contribution, unless you come back later and choose to buy me another coffee. This too is important to me. I want to keep things as transparent and easy as possible. I don’t like my credit card being charged for a subscription I forgot to cancel. Neither do you. So I don ‘t want to use Patreon and other services.

About the ‘Ko-fi’ (Buy Me A Coffee) service itself: it is a free service that just links a button on my website to a secure page that can accept contributions to my Paypal account. The payment is processed securely through Paypal. My website is not involved once you click the button. I decided it was best to use Paypal to make sure everything is safe & user friendly. They’re the experts after all! Online safety & privacy are important.

Don’t be shy

If there’s anything on your mind after reading this, or you have some tips or advice for me, please don’t be shy to comment below or send me an email!  Or you can chat on the discussion board. Again, it’s important to me to be fully transparent, so ask and comment away! I consider this podcast and its listeners as a community, and communication is important.

Thank you again for all your support here on this website, on Twitter, in your reviews, … It really means the world to me 🙂