Randy Cassingham's Blog

I got quite a few letters from readers after I published the whine from "Tim in New Hampshire", who told me he'd never upgrade to Premium because I'd just use his money to provide employment to others, namely my new part-time assistant. I pointed out that True is about stupid people doing stupid things, and thanked him for providing more content toward that mission.

Indeed, many newsletters long ago switched to HTML so they could put in flashing, obnoxious ads. Such ads drive me nuts, so I'm definitely not going to put something like that in True -- not in the mailings nor on my web sites. True serves the readers first, and advertisers second. That's why we're still here after more than 10 years; so many of the sellouts, who catered to the advertisers first, have gone out of business. I prefer my way, thanks.

• Doug in Virginia: "It's funny what inspires us sometimes. For me, it was the rant from Tim in New Hampshire. The sheer audacity of someone whining so much about a free publication, that hiring an assistant is not reasonable use of the funds you collect from Premium subscriptions, was enough for me. Thanks to Tim's rant, I just upgraded! I hope it really irks him and I look forward to more stories about just how nonsensical people can be."

While there was no huge surge in upgrades last week, several people who did upgrade said it was in response to Tim. Oh, and I just checked: he is still on the distribution list.

• Joey in Arizona: "Wow, when I read the garbage from Tim, I wondered why you even printed it. Then, when you took the time to respond, I thought, why would Randy choose to get into a battle of wits with an unarmed man? Of course I took the time to read your response as I do everything you write, and realized that, as usual, you had a reason for responding: to teach. Your newsletters are a learning experience for all who seek to learn."
• Tim in Idaho: "He is only indignant because you make a decent living doing something unique and hilarious that he doesn't have the talent to do. I am certain that he doesn't go to the movies because the actors don't need his $7 when they can buy Jaguars. I know he doesn't go to sporting events because the athletes don't need his $35 when they can afford to own car dealerships. Or.... The list goes on and on. You must have been in a very charitable mood to even reply to the message."

Oh heck no! I was laughing the whole way! That was fun! But not everyone gets it. Read on....

• Jordan in New York: "Wow, talk about not being able to take criticism!! I was appalled at your nasty reply to Tim's letter. I have never even allowed my children to use the words 'hate' and 'stupid' when talking about each other or another human being."

Huh: apparently Jordan thought I was one of his children. As for the word "hate", I mentioned that there was an alternative if Tim was the sort to "hate all ads", the Premium edition, which doesn't have any. And "stupid"? I didn't call Tim stupid; I said that I wouldn't let him dictate what I spent my money on (my assistant) "even if you were stupid enough to agree to let YOUR employer do that." Jordan doesn't seem to understand the concept of "if". And it's unlikely he will: he unsubscribed, running in terror from the idea of "hating ads" and the concept that someone, somewhere, just might actually be stupid. Can't have that in a stupid news publication now, can we?

My conclusion: In the Good Ol' Days, when there was a lot of foolish money behind dotcom start-ups, True brought in a very nice ad revenue. That was then, this is now. Ads in True now cost about a third of what they did then, and such is life. It was because I didn't sell out, and because I had a diverse income stream, that True survived; the Premium subscriptions made it possible. Even if I was able to sell every ad for full price (hah!), the income wouldn't cover expenses. Yet I've always said that I am happy for people to stay on the free distribution as long as they wish. I know not everyone can afford $24, in part because I've been there -- in debt up to my ears and laid off from my job. Can't afford to upgrade? No worries! Don't like True enough to pay for it? Even that's fine. But as Tim found out, I'm not going to sit and take whining that I shouldn't pitch the upgrades that make True possible in the first place, nor will I let him dictate where I spend my money. I'm damned proud that True is self-sustaining, and that I can actually provide employment for others. If you want to support True, I'd appreciate your upgrade. If you support True but can't afford an upgrade, I'm happy with your efforts to help True grow by recommending it to your friends, putting links on your web site, or using the True-a-Day service to host a new story every day on your site. I've got some other neat services in the works too that my web programmer is working on (and yes, True's revenues pay him, too!) Stay tuned....