Please HELP

A word from our sponsor:

Printer-friendly version

Author: 

Blog About: 

According to Erin’s numbers about 8,000 unique visitors a day read at least one story on BC.

I’m going to assume that many, many BC users are frequent users and will guess that about 25,000 people read five to ten stories a month.

Those 25,000 readers are enjoying an immense service. About 1-3% of those are authors who also have the satisfaction of a great place to post their fiction.

Erin stated that about 100 people give an average of about $50 a month. She also stated that 2-3 people are responsible for a large share of the total amount gifted so the median is less than $50. I’m not at all surprised by the existence of the 80/20 rule in this set. Giving is subject to a bell curve, just like every other human activity.

What is surprising is that only .4% contribute
.

Around 70% of the world’s population makes a charitable contribution in any given year.

So why don’t at least 10% of the BC users contribute? I have some theories:

1.) Lack of information. I contribute because during the two decades I’ve known Erin I’ve gotten a peek at her character several times. She is what she says she is. However, if I didn’t know any better I would assume that Erin is running a very successful website and is able to monetize her millions of visitors in a way that has her rolling in high cotton.

I know that isn’t the case, but do others?

Erin, perhaps a page that gives the users a view into who you are and your challenges keeping this site functioning and supporting our community. My guess is that most users don’t read your blogs -- or any other. Maybe they wouldn’t read your bio either, but I think it would be worth a try. Maybe you need to have an overlay ad soliciting Hatbox contributions, that they would have to click through every time they open a story?

2.) Financial inability. A recent study indicated that Transgender in America are four time more likely to be living below the poverty level. That’ a fact. 15% vs. 4%. Okay, so let’s say BC is unlucky, that would mean that about 20% of the users are living below the poverty level and probably another 20% are quite close. I don’t expect people to donate rather than paying for their necessities, and neither does Erin. But that leaves 60% of 25,000 readers or 15,000 who should be making a contribution.

3.) Causes that are MORE worthy. I started a very successful foundation that has done a lot for my community. I learned early on that there is extreme competition for the charitable dollar. I challenge the users of this site to find a cause that does more to benefit their mental health than this site. I can understand if BC isn’t the only charitable contribution you make, but it should be ONE of them.

4.) Fear. I believe the single largest problem is simple fear of exposure. I believe the average user is still very much in the closet and wishes to remain there. I think Erin needs to address that problem. She needs to create a way for people to be 100% comfortable that they can send her a contribution anonymously.

What’s your opinion?

Jill

Comments

By Morning

I plan to scrape something together tonight. It won't be as much as usual, but I'll do what I can.

Gwen

It's a little more nuanced

What is also interesting to know is how many of those 8000 unique visitors come back regularly, say at least 10 times a month.

About half

erin's picture

Near as I can figure it, more than half of that 8000 visits 4 or more times a month.

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

i give

I give because I enjoy big closet. no, I'm not lgbt but I do enjoy the stories here. if big closet wasn't here I think I lot of people would miss it. I know I would. all the people who keep this site going deserve our support, both financial and comments to tell them. thank you all.
robert

001.JPG

Thanks, hon

erin's picture

Actually, we have a fairly large contingent of non-LGBT readers who enjoy good stories that are out of the mainstream.

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

Thanks Angela, You've

Thanks Angela, You've eloquently expressed what I have been saying for a year. If you the reader enjoy reading our stories, please contribute.
There is no other site like Big Closet ! When it's gone, nothing will take it's place !

Karen Lockhart

Very frequent user

I'm on this site pretty much every day, reading for at least several hours a day if I'm not working on one of my stories.

I live on a fixed income, of which about 55% goes to my rent, another 12% goes to pay internet and phone, 8% goes to PayPal to cover my online costs, and most, if not all of the rest goes to food. When I feel I can spare money for here, I donate here.

I could easily enough get enough food to see me through from day to day without paying at all, but I prefer to buy my food rather than depend on places that feed the homeless or those who have no money left after paying rent, which is pretty much how it is for anyone on welfare here. Welfare is about $500 CDN (about $375 US) a month, rents for small bachelors like mine in areas where low income people live are mostly around $650 ($487 US) to $700 CDN ($525 US) per month if not higher, and a room here usually runs $500 CDN a month or more. In many areas of the city, rents are much higher than the costs I've stated here, those costs are for areas like where I live.

While I accept the exposure argument

Angharad's picture

there are also, I suspect, a significant number who don't believe in paying for anything, possibly they believe that everything on the net is free. They also probably believe in fairies and father Christmas, or are simply parasites. How we get through to either is a total conundrum and it wouldn't surprise me if the facts of life were explained they'd shrug and simply go elsewhere.

Large numbers of people seem to be ignorant, selfish morons and worryingly the trend appears to be increasing.

Angharad

I Agree With Most

However, I reject the idea that people are fundamentally changing. The amount of money being contributed to charities is on the rise and is out stripping GDP. I think it is gross to have to think that we live in a world where people go hungry and don't have a roof over their heads. What BC brings to people is just as necessary. BC should be funded through grants, but that just isn't going to happen anytime soon. My guess is that it will happen within fifteen years. There will be grant funded sites to encourage people to write about TG experiences and TG fiction.

Back in the thirties one of the large programs that helped us through the Great Depression was the Federal Writers' Project. About seven thousand people were employed under that program. There is a precedent.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

The increasing need for charities is worrying in itself

With the increasing automation, this will only get worse as people who are employed will only remain so if their job can't be automated. Witness the threats fast food chains make if minimum wages get raised to replace all workers with machinery.

Even those barely disguised slaves who work at Amazon warehouses will one day be replaced by machinery.

A charity based setup is not how we want the world to progress to as it shows a fundamental shift in defining our very justification for existence.

What will the proles do then?

when all the low pay jobs are automated?
There is talk in some societies about a universal wage for everyone. I think that Switzerland has voted on it. Finland will be trialling it this year.
To be blunt, we have far to many people alive for society as we know it if there is mass automation of low paid/low skilled jobs?
What about skilled workers getting replaced?
If you know your history then you will know about Ned Ludd and his fellow Luddites. The reasons why the protested are often misunderstood.
There could be a backlash against the companies who engage in the mass Automation.
Charities will be needed even more. Read the tales of hardship during the Dustbowl period in the Midwest USA or in Ireland during the Potato famine.

Samantha

Angela and Erin work together

This seems to be a recurring blog. Angela making sound business suggestions. Erin continueing to run the site her way. I'm all for letting people be themselves, but I tire of this ineffective hand waving. Erin let Angella tell your story, and produce add campaings for BC. Angela quit urging Erin to self promote, when she clearly is not inclined to do that. And proceed with your own proposals, with Erin's permission. Erin give both permission and encouragement.

I have come to like both theese people very much. I think it would be great if they could work together to make this site even better. I see Erin as the CEO pursuing her vision of a friendly, safe, inclusive site. I see Angela as the promotions manager, with the business sence to make the site self funding.

You got one thing right :)

erin's picture

Business sense is not my strongpoint. :)

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

The answer to fear

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

I know that many people don't seem to like PayPal, I'm not sure why, but I like it. I use it when ever I do online purchases if it's available. The reason I like it is because the only information the site gets is my email address. PayPal doesn't care what email address you use to set up the account, so set up a web based email such as Hotmail or Yahoo and use it to set up a PayPal account then make your donation though PayPal.

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt

I'm in

I am trying to commit to $10.00 per month and I mail it to Janglewood , I enjoy this site some much and I feel I can not be hurt by $10.00 and can afford to help out if only some more would donate $ 5.00 every month it would be a wind fall for big closet

Bingo!

laika's picture

A little each month from a lot more people would be ideal. You and I both hit on an amount we could safely afford to donate each month, I promised to mail it $20 per month starting in January... and then I DIDN'T SEND IT

The lines at the Walmart service desk where I buy money orders was insane, I told myself I'd do it later, and then I ran out of money for the month. I still owe that, so it'll be $40 and I should probably fine myself a $10 late fee; and hope I don't bust a tooth or have a pipe freeze up and explode or something in Feb.