Fall AW fund-drive

[AW Admin]

I'm bumping this thread.

Moving the server, and more importantly, moving and importing the database is going to require paid help.

I'm able to do a lot via my iPhone, but that's not something I want to even think about doing.

We're also going to have to pay substantially more for hosting; we'll be starting a new contract rather than having an established contract.

We're already paying more in terms of security and scanning software.

We have over 69 thousand members.

On a given day we average over 5000 unique members logging in, never mind the ones who aren't logged in but are on the site.

Less than 5% of our active members have ever subscribed, at any level.

A cup of barista coffee is around $3.00. A cup of brewed coffee at a chain is around $1.00.

What is AW worth to you?

We understand not everyone can help with cash, and that's fine. We really do understand.

But there are a lot of ways you can help.



What does Community Mean to YOU?



AW is Free to Members

But that’s because someone else is paying.

Like any online community, AW has costs. We have server and hosting costs, bandwidth costs, software licensing costs (the forum software as well as tools for making sure we’re malware free, for instance).

AW is a community of writers. We support each other. Why not support the community too?

• The DDOS attacks on the server, and continuing attacks now, have been expensive. We've had to pay for additional software with increased monthly costs.
• Right now, Mac and I pick up the pills that ads and subscriptions don't cover. That's not going to be possible indefinitely.
• We stopped running Google ads, and we really do appreciate our wonderful members who have voluntary subscriptions.
  
• Subscriptions don’t come close to paying the monthly server costs.
  
• Less than 5% of the people who have logged in during the last year are Kind Benefactors; that means that some time after they joined they subscribed at any level; it might have been $1.00. Members who subscribe at any point at any amount, retain their benefits.
• We’re facing the same problems faced by other large communities, some of which have simply had to pack up and close down.
• We run our own “local” ads as much as we can, but we turn down advertisers who don’t have ethical privacy policies or which otherwise strike us as not appropriate for our members.

In other words, advertising alone isn’t enough.

How Can You Help?

• Continue being an active member. Being an active, engaged member of the community is the most important kind of support. That includes people who rarely post but engage a lot via PMs, Crits, and Rep comments
• Use our affiliate links (see below) or Subscribe to AW via PayPal or sending a check.

Voluntary Subscriptions to Absolute Write

There’s an FAQ: AW Voluntary Subscriptions.

Subscribing, at any amount, gives you a permanently larger PM box and the ability to use a larger Avatar.

You also get the warm and fuzzy feeling of helping a community of writers.
You can use the Benefactor Member User title.
You don't need to have a PayPal account.
You can use a debit or credit card.
You can subscribe for another member (PM AW Admin or MacAllister with the member’s Username).
You can use the large blue AW Subscription button on the bottom of any forum page.
You can use this special link: paypal.me/AbsoluteWrite
You can even mail a check made out to Absolute Write (be sure to include your Username if want to have the Benefactor Member benefits):

Absolute Write
8911 Vernon Road
PMB 165
Lake Stevens WA 98258


Absolute Write Affiliate Links

• When you purchase something from an affiliate, Absolute Write receives a small percentage (generally between 2% and 10%) of the purchase price.
• We don’t know who bought it, or what individual shoppers bought.
• It doesn’ affect your price.
• If you’re buying something anyway, why not use an affiliate link?

Here are some of our affiliates.

Book Stores

Amazon.com

Amazon wants you to know that “As an Amazon Associate [AW earns] from qualifying purchases.”

Anything you buy after clicking this link to Amazon.com will send a percentage of the purchase price to AW. It won’t affect what you pay.

We won’t know that you bought anything, by the way. We’ll know someone bought a particular item, but not who.

Here’s a link for Amazon UK.