Today marks the next stage of the development and growth of DigitallyDownloaded.net; we are launching a premium subscription service, which we are doing to allow us grow further and offer even more articles, features and content to our readers!
Since starting the site way back in 2010, we have seen DDNet go from strength to strength, and we’ve come far from the days where we were writing scrappy little articles about the scraps that we could latch on to as a startup. Now we’re talking to the biggest developers out there, attending the biggest events, and we’ve launched a podcast, developed video capabilities, and even created a mascot – I mean, who doesn’t love Dee Dee?
We’ve hit that point now where we can do more, but we simply don’t have the resources to do it. Running a website costs a lot of money, and the basic reality is that advertising doesn’t work in the games press – many readers have ad blocker turned on (and fair enough, since ads can be annoying when you just want to read), and thousands of people need to click on ad links anyway for the website to start earning money from them.
In order to do as much with the site as we would like to (and we really do have some very ambitious plans), we need for the site to start generating revenue.
But, first up, we will never require a subscription for our news and reviews. Likewise, our podcast and video content will always be free. DigitallyDownloaded.net is a free website to access, and will always be a free website. What we are offering to subscribers is additional in-depth features, opinion pieces, interviews and analysis pieces; the reader plus edition of the website, in other words. In addition, you will be sent weekly newsletters that make sure they don’t miss out on anything that we’re up to. We’ll be able to offer exclusive contests and other rewards to our subscribers too, and you’ll be the first to know about exciting plans that we have on the horizon.
We’re only asking a small fee to be a subscriber; you can subscribe on a weekly or monthly basis, at $1.15 per week, or $4.50 per month. So, for about the cost of a cup of coffee or a beer, you get access to all content on DDNet, published now and into the future. Our payments provider, CoinTent, handles all payments, and you can cancel your subscription at any time.
And, if you just want to read a single article, you can do that too. Through CoinTent you’ll be able to purchase individual articles for just $0.25 each.
As always, let us know if you have any questions, but we hope you enjoy this new premium service, and our deepest thanks for your support. We work incredibly hard to be a true independent voice in games journalism, and with your support, we can do even more!
– Matt and the DDNet team.
