Getting Off the Ground (plus the Donate Button)

[finch]

Hello! I haven't done a web serial in probably five years, but I was thinking it might be a good way to get some traffic on my website and also maybe make money writing things I actually enjoy.

I was thinking about starting with the "post once a week and if donations reach X amount I'll update twice a week" model but I'm not sure whether that's the best way to go. Do y'all think this is a good idea? Is there something else you'd recommend more?

Also I looked at setting up a donate button on paypal and it talks about being an actual charity. I know I'm unlikely to reach the $10k or whatever threshhold but is there any other way to set up a "pay what you like" model with Paypal? I can't seem to find it if there is.

Comments

[anke]

Last time Paypal made a fuss, it seemed to be because someone was collecting donations for a charitable cause while not being an officially registered charity, so my impression was they don't allow that due to the high potential for fraud, but someone collecting donations for themselves was OK.

As a reader, I think for serials the model you mention works best. Posting only if you get donations would only work if you have a sizeable audience already, but the chance of an extra episode is an incentive that just a tip jar and a regular schedule don't provide.