When I set out to make writing my full-time career in October nearly half a year ago now, I had no idea that it would actually end up being successful.

I've set up a lot of ways for people to support me. Ko-fi, BuyMeACoffee, Patreon, I've even been accepted to earn via GitHub sponsorships. Just this past week I've opened up PayPal and Crypto wallet addresses as additional ways for people to support, since even though they're not my cup of tea, I should let people use whichever preferred method they have.

Like a lot of other creatives, I had large, lofty plans for memberships with tiers and exclusive perks, ranging from small to impossibly large. On Patreon, I decided to have three tiers: 🌱 The Seedling ($2/mth), 🌸 The Blossom ($6/mth), and 🔥 The Founding Circle ($50/mth). I was going to release weekly exclusive writing and blog themes, audio recordings of my work, merch discounts, the whole shebang. But that was all purely theoretical and, frankly, ridiculous.

Really, who do I think I am? Expecting anybody to be interested in my work to the extent that they would be willing to add yet another subscription to their already unaffordable lives.

Now that I've had time to see what my workflow is, I realize that I do not have time to dedicate myself to exclusive work. Why? I'm writing a new, researched 2,000-word essay and spending hours programming near daily, and that takes up the majority of my time. And I want to continue to ensure that my writing and my coding projects are free for everyone. Free as in free beer, and free as in free speech.

I'm lucky to be able to offer this because I'm making the majority of my income from the Medium Partner Program, where I don't need to ask anybody to support me, and instead people are supporting the entire platform when they sign up for a membership.

But this is a platform, with a future uncertain and out of my control, isn't it? Which means I'm in a bit of a major pickle if something were to happen to Medium.

Either I have to start producing less free work and put things up behind an inaccessible paywall on Patreon and elsewhere, or I change vocations entirely. At least, that's what I thought.

Then, I found a creator named Manuel Moreale who has this brilliant, simple membership: The "One a Month" Club, €1/month. Moreale runs the wonderful Blogroll.org directory, and after spending "more than a decade of building things online," he came to "realize he's comfortable letting people pay what they want, if they feel like supporting at all".

The Toonie Club

So, I'm shamelessly stealing this brilliant model. I've decided scrap complex, expensive tiers and perks and instead do this: One price, full access. Supporters can pay more if they want, but everyone gets everything. Same benefits across all platforms.

What is a toonie, anyways? The name comes from the Canadian two-dollar coin—a small, everyday amount that adds up to meaningful support. It's better to give a little to many than a lot to a few.

I need to stress that there are so many more important things to spend your money on rather than me and my work, but if you feel inclined, I'm going to make sure it's absolutely worth the value to you.

What Are the Benefits?

1. Recognition and Attribution

You'll have your name and a link of your choice on my site's sidebar, GitHub profile README, and at the end of all my Medium posts. You'll also get your name in the acknowledgement section of any and all future books I publish, digital and physical.

2. Monthly Newsletter: The Fireweed Letters

This will be a curated newsletter containing personal updates and behind-the-scenes information. In addition, I'll have writing prompts, creative challenges, and links and media discoveries with topics like the IndieWeb, writing craft, self-hosting, a11y, Indigenous issues, cultural critique, and whatever the hell else I find interesting.

3. Monthly Office Hours

Each month, you'll get an optional 20-minute video call with me, whether you want consultation, advice, an open Q&A, whatever I can do to help you!

4. Community Access

You'll get an exclusive role in my Discord server (I know, I need to switch platforms!) which will give access to member-only channels.

5. Digital Archive Access

Finally, you'll receive full access to my over two-hundred Medium posts spanning over ten years.

To maintain sustainability for myself, I'm not offering any custom work or freelance services, nor any additional bonus/exclusive content beyond the monthly newsletter. WYSIWYG, regardless if you're paying $2CAD per month or $200 per month.

One-time Donation Perks

While I found having this single-tier monthly membership an elegant solution, I still wanted to provide value for people that were interested in supporting me with a one-off donation. Particularly since several of the ways I offer people to support me only have one-off options.

I would like to note the best way to offer me a one-time donation is by buying my work I have available on 🛒 Gumroad!

• $5CAD: A personal thank-you note via email and good karma!
• $25CAD: A one-time 45-minute one-on-one video consultation on a topic of your choice.
• $100CAD: Lifetime Toonie Club membership (no monthly charge, ever)

Support Platform Choices

Conclusion

I'm going to restate that I'm currently in an incredibly privileged position and don't require financial assistance. I'll continue to offer my writing and coding for free indefinitely. I'm starting this as an experiment, and I'm writing this post as inspiration for other fledgling artists and emerging creators to use as a framework for themselves. I'll once again link to my page where I link to important causes that deserve your charity.

But I do think we will all be so much better off if we start supporting each other in little ways like this. It's better to give a little to many than a lot to a few. In traditional gift economies, communities supported their storytellers, knowledge keepers, and makers. Everyone contributed what they could, and the work benefited everyone. The Toonie Club is that principle adapted for the digital age.