Subscription update, 2022
Four years ago, I launched the Homesick Texan subscription program. At the time, a decline in ad revenue had me using my savings to keep the site afloat, and I was at a crossroads—either shut down Homesick Texan or come up with a new income stream. Offering paid content on a food blog was unusual in 2018, but many of you offered your support, and I’ve been very grateful.
While there are several ways to shape a paid subscription program, my idea was to offer exclusive recipes for paying members. Some of these have included:
Here’s the full delicious list, which now includes 100 recipes that have never been published before, either on the site or in my books. A new recipe comes out every two weeks.
The program has been a success, as its revenue brings in half of what is needed to maintain the blog. Likewise, the price has stayed the same since I began, and as we enter the fourth year, I will not be raising those rates.
The subscriptions start at $25 for one year (about the cost of lunch for two), and for that price, you get access to all prior premium posts as well as all new ones coming up in the year. A new subscriber-only post is published every other week, and each one has never been published.
For $100, there is a family plan, which is a bargain as it allows 5 people to be on one subscription. There are also partner and patron levels, which are there for those who wanted to give more as they have deeper pockets. A subscription also makes a fine gift.
For all, however, there is the satisfaction and joy of supporting independent publishing. Many aren’t aware of this, but when you write for other publications, you no longer retain ownership of your work. The corporation owns it and can do anything it wishes with it. Therefore, I prefer to keep my work here, rather than publish it elsewhere.
Ads, for now, still need to appear on the site, but I am thankful that I don’t need to inundate the blog with even more. (Here are more details about the blog’s costs and such, if you’re interested.)
Times are uncertain right now, so I’m incredibly thankful for my subscribers. Please know, however, that I’m grateful for all my readers, and understand if someone doesn’t care to subscribe. Therefore, I keep most of the site free, including all posts published before 2019.
Thank you for your continued support of Homesick Texan. Everything from being a subscriber, to linking to content, leaving a comment, or sending an email makes this worthwhile. It’s an honor and a joy to share recipes and stories with you.
Thank you for reading and happy cooking!