I have got $100 with Greg's name on it!

Greg, I think you have some misconceptions about value for value, or if not misconceptions an overly simplistic view.  First off, I don’t share NA’s take that subscription models are terrible.  Specifically for THC, the paywall is a huge feature for guests that want their more controversial material to be less accessible.  That being said, V4V has some huge advantages over subscription that would directly address your specific barriers to greater success.

Pricing a subscription places a fixed value on the product. V4V allows the consumer to determine that value, which is often times far greater than that arbitrary value you may have assigned.  I am sure that the $8 monthly is a well thought out and market tested value that maximizes your plus conversion rate vs. revenue.  With V4V it is a free market of value attribution with an infinite number of options for each individual. I personally value THC well above $96 (more on that later).  I can already read your mind; “but I have a donation link so use it!!” which leads to the next parts.

Pricing a subscription for content creates the impression of ownership.  I have purchased this content and it is now mine.  Or even worse, I have paid for my subscription and therefore you now owe me.  You have acknowledged this “debt” over the years apologizing for months when shit happens in your personal life leading to content delays.  Contrast this with NA, where the content is free.  They don’t owe me shit.  In fact, I am the one that owes something to NA if I want them to continue making content.  I can pay off that existential debt in multiple ways with or without money, but the debt rests squarely on my shoulders.  With THC, my transaction is completed with my subscription payment, and the debt now rests on your shoulders. 

The other issue with this mentality is that when I have this feeling of ownership, I expect to be satisfied with the product.  When a guest I don’t like says things I don’t like, the feeling is that your product has failed to live up to your obligation to me.  I already own your show, so it better conform to my expectations, OR ELSE!  The same cannot be said for NA.  If they don’t produce something I value, I simply abstain from donating.  No hard feelings, they didn’t owe me anything in the first place. 

NA and THC are completely different animals, but not all differences have to be there.  You occasionally bemoan the lack of engagement with the meetup calendar and forums, and you don’t seem to have a handle on why it doesn’t get the traction that NA meetups get.  NA is an interactive community by design, where THC is a product.  V4V provides a feedback loop where listeners get to engage with the content and receive something back in return.  You aren’t buying NA, you are becoming a part of NA when you engage in V4V. 

I found your attitude towards the donation segment disheartening.  First off, if you want to skip the donation segment just get a modern podcasting app with chapters, no more guessing when it ends 😊.  But seriously, your dismissal of the long note reading and thank you aspect really underlines why you have been comparatively ineffective at turning THC from a product into a community. 

Part of NA’s success at this probably stems from Adam’s history as a radio host.  Think back to when you were a kid calling in a request to your local radio station.  Or when you waited on hold to give your opinion on the local AM talk radio show.  There is something about your input actually being broadcast to all of the other listeners that makes your nipples hard.  Your time has helped to shape the content of that broadcast, so now in a way it is YOUR broadcast, you have a stake in the product.  When hundreds of people have a stake in something we call it a community. 

A personal anecdote, back when you had your first kid, you did an episode with Dr. Daniels where she chastised you for your choices which lead to an undesirable outcome.  I sent you a long and personally detailed PM about my own hospital birth experiences and expressing how you shouldn’t feel down about any of your decisions as you did the best you could.  I hope you read It and it gave you some comfort, but I would never know because you didn’t respond.  Contrast that to NA.  I sent Adam an email randomly that I would never in a million years expect him to respond to, and to my surprise he responded within 24 hours.  I have subsequently emailed him over a dozen times and each and every time he responded within 48 hours.  One of my emails he read on NA almost verbatim as the basis for one of his patented long winded treatises.  Another email he read in his trademark mocking tone ripping me to shreds.  Every time I have interacted with NA on a V4V basis, I have received direct feedback in the form of a thank you on the show, or in the least an email acknowledgment from Adam.  I cannot recall a time that my interactions with THC resulted in any feedback whatsoever.  I want to be clear, I never expected you to validate my PM, just as I never expected Adam to validate my first email.  But the fact is that Adam went above and beyond, and that has created a bond between myself and NA that does not exist with THC.   THC is a product that I purchase.  An extremely good product that I am happy to purchase, but nothing more. 

As you like to put it, okay so let’s say I am right, what is the actionable intelligence?  Well, I think you could significantly boost your own profits while simultaneously jump starting a THC community by incorporating V4V into your subscription model.  That’s right, keep your current model!  BUT, add a V4V segment to the end by acknowledging episode supporters.

You have already done this in a way by going over the reviews of the previous episode.  It has become my favorite part of the show.  My usual cadence now is to listen to that end segment before I listen to the actual episode itself because I am so damn curious about your retrospective thoughts and your comments on the feedback.  In a way you have started down the path of a V4V feedback loop, but the missing element is personal attribution.  My suggestion is to take donations supporting a specific show.  If those donations are above a specific threshold and get submitted in time, you specifically mention them and possibly read a note.

This has multiple benefits.  First and most obvious is the V4V feedback loop I just blustered on about.  It also solves your long standing issue with people canceling plus subscriptions over “bad” guests.  If you don’t like a guest, great, don’t donate to that episode.  If you do like the guest, support it!  It will dampen the expectation that each and every show be a good product, and instead make it so people can choose which guests they support.  You could take this a step further and split the donation with the guest, further solidifying the donation as the interaction with the specific episode and that guest.  This would also make your platform more attractive for guests that may not have opened your email in the past.  (I have no idea how viable this kind of split would be so take it as a non-essential random thought)

By now you have forgotten my thread title which seemed entirely irrelevant when you started reading.  If you implement this V4V system I will happily be the first donation.  I will donate $100 to the Dr. Lynn episode.  She was one of my favorite guests over the last year and that episode gave me value that I would happily repay.  If you were able to share that donation with her, I would love for her to get the feedback that I valued her time on THC. If that isn’t possible I am happy for you to receive that feedback entirely.  And by implementing my idea for the show, you would have given me the required V4V feedback that closes the loop and gives me a personal stake in the product.  AND HOW MANY PEOPLE PAY YOU FOR TAKING THEIR GOOD ADVICE??? 😊

(I considered sending this to you directly but opted to make it a forum post so I could get community feedback as well.  For this to be a success, multiple people will need to take a stake in THC.  I want that community feedback, positive and negative, both for my own jollies and to gather some social proof for you to more highly consider my suggestion.  As you put it, you are invested in your model and changing things requires re-investment.  If multiple members make similar pledges, it makes the investment more worthwhile and less likely to be a waste of time)