Drop your new ideas into the Writing.Com Suggestion Box! |
I admit I don't have experience with all the other sites you mention. I have chosen to place my available financial resources in support of one site--Writing.Com. Part of my reason to do this is the variety of options available to members, Free and paid. Check out "Compare Free and Paid Membership Benefits" for a listing of features available to all members, including Free. Free members have a LOT, in my humble opinion, of features available to them. Yet they provide no visible means of financial support to the site. The options available to Free members should be enough for them to decide if WDC is right for them. I'm not sure what a FreeTester option could add. Paid members make up about 3% of the more than 98,000 members listed on the Authors page. Maybe only a couple thousand of those members visit daily. But the site is maintaining their Portfolios--free. And those paying members, along with the use of Ads, support this site and all the features provided. Early on in my WDC career, I decided a Premium membership was the best option for me, about 38 cents a day. Upgraded is about 14 cents a day, and Basic is 8 cents per day. And, I have not seen a price increase in more than 15 years. (And no, The ScaryMaster , I am NOT advocating for a price increase at the moment. ) And yes, I understand the current state of the economy, and where people need to spend their financial resources. I was self-employed for more than 30 years, raising kids and fighting against rising prices. I know well the ups and downs. I decided my passion was worth the 38 cents a day. Honestly, there's so much more I could add here, but I know the length of MY attention span. I'll just stop here for those folks like me. |