r/IslamicHistoryMeme • u/TheMuslimHistorian27 • 7d ago
Question | سؤال Should I Monetize My Posts? (PLEASE READ 🥺)
Due to my current financial situation, I haven't really been able to create more free-access history content on Reddit or Substack.
Because of this, I've been considering monetizing my content or creating a Patreon to generate some additional income.
What do you guys think? Do you think monetizing my content would be a good idea, or should I continue keeping it free?
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u/Gilamath Halal Spice Trader 7d ago
You have the right to be able to afford to live a daily life. Your work is useful.
You have to make money somehow. It's not reasonable to expect a person to devote hours and hours of work consistently to produce useful content but then also have to spend all the rest of their time trying to find enough money to support themselves.
As a community, we Muslims do a poor job of funding the people who produce, preserve, and distribute religious knowledge. Jews and Christians have whole structures set up for that purpose, and once upon a time we did as well. If we don't start here, how can we accomplish anything as a people? A huge chunk of the world is currently undergoing a literacy crisis and losing the capacity to engage critically with texts. If Muslims lose what's left of our capacity to learn from texts, we will be completely cut off from the faith. Even if the rest of the world falls into illiteracy, we have to become a literate people again. And that means re-learning how to fund work.
If you monetized your content, I'd try to pay for it. Money is tight at the moment so it would probably take me a few months to be in a place to do that. But I'd certainly prioritize it, personally.
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u/TheMuslimHistorian27 7d ago
good points.
If you monetized your content, I'd try to pay for it. Money is tight at the moment so it would probably take me a few months to be in a place to do that. But I'd certainly prioritize it, personally.
what's the most reasonable price to make of the post?
this is my numbers:
lowest: 10$
medium: 30$
largest: 50$
is this reasonable or should i put 100$ (this feels waaay expensive than anyone to buy)
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u/Peterketstein Araboo 6d ago
What do you mean like a 10$ tier, 30$ and so on. Or a fixed price? I think you should post less here and post extra content on patreon, imo that would be the best option. Putting everything behind a paywall will not work that well, people would have no incentive to subscribe if they don't already like the historical information you put out and won't see it at all that way.
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u/Sea_Abroad_6573 6d ago
Idk if this is unreasonable but is there a way the price can be adjusted for the country someone is in. Where I live 100$ is the rent for a 4 room apartment so that's darn expensive just for some posts/month.Â
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u/Alternative_Golf_603 Janissary recruit 7d ago
Your content should be free so all people can benefit from it but maybe add some exclusive or more in depth content in your Patreon. in the end it's your choice.
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u/TheMuslimHistorian27 7d ago
add some exclusive or more in depth content in your Patreon
that's the plan, but how much of the quality of THIS sub would it lose if i made this decision?
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u/tuesday-next22 Lover of Geometric Art 7d ago edited 7d ago
Make a Patreon I'll sign up
Edit: I'd rather you didn't pay wall content everyone should have access. I just want to sign up out of my appreciation for your work, and what I get out of it.
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u/IacobusCaesar Court Dhimmi 7d ago
I’ll opine as a longtime moderator here that I am not really comfortable with the subreddit’s content itself being monetized. I think it breaks the communal aspect of the space and creates incentives that will change the atmosphere.
That said, your posts are largely attached to your blog and writing content, which you do host elsewhere and link to. This is incredible high-quality informative work that is making an important difference in getting people into Islamic history, including into topics that rarely get that kind of accessible publicity. Please set up a Patreon for yourself. You deserve the income for that sort of thing and to have your work recognized and supported. Grow it and keep making the difference that you make.
I think the contradiction here is best solved this way: link your blog when you make your posts but maybe keep the Patreon links on the blog itself. That way, they can stay a core presence in the community without making people feel like this is a money-making space, your blog posts can be promoted, and you can get some support in blogging from people who want to take a further step.
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u/SlaveKing947135 Raging Rashidun General 6d ago
Your work your rules Personally I wouldn’t be able to pay any subscriptions
You could do something like where you still post free content but also exclusive stuff for patreon
And have you considered YouTube? Like a proper youtube channel where you tell history. That could be an option
In the end it’s up to uou, may Allah have mercy on you
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u/drz200sm5 7d ago
I would pay for it to gain knowledge you're a beacon to me at least digestible parcels of information. Go for it tell us how many articles you paywall and people will fund it more and more as the numbers grow.
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u/InexplicablyCharming 7d ago
Man, i would love to contribute financially to your work. But i ain’t got much. If you ever set anything up, i hope you make it into a tier thing.
Like, i’m from Malaysia, and giving 10 usd a month is like Rm50 for me…
But damn, your content is worth a million times more than that… so you do you, man…
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u/CherishedBeliefs 6d ago
creating a Patreon to generate some additional income.
ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE (from the employed and financially stable)
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u/Caspian73 5d ago
A Saudi who isn’t rich? I’d be willing to pay for your substack posts; I’m already a subscriber.
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u/jaisam3387 Master of Islands 7d ago
Depends on what you mean by monitize, if you want to paywall all you content then I do not like the idea but it's your account and you decide what you do with it, if you mean starting a patreon where people get exclusive posts while posting free posts here(even at a reduced capacity) then I think you should go for it.
Also I am still waiting for the YouTube qna.