I'm offering subscriptions now. Here's why I hope you subscribe.
I started writing here on Substack two years ago. Bringing “Ace Dad Advice” to Substack was motivated mainly by a desire to house a real advice column, something I couldn’t really do in the way I wanted to on my other platforms. I secondarily wanted to grow a space online where I could center the writing part of “Ace Dad Advice,” flesh out ideas that could only live as quick 1-2 minute blips in an IG or Tik Tok video, focus on the process of content creation I enjoy the most.
For the past two years, I’ve shared the content here for free. I wanted to figure out the vibe of the place, the vibe of the material, and really wrap my mind around what I wanted the Substack to be. I also hold, as an overall value for “Ace Dad Advice,” a belief that the educational stuff needs to be free. It’s a resource, a tool, for folks open to learning about asexuality and aromanticism.
But some things are changing for me. In the coming months, my professional landscape is shifting some, and I’ll have less time and mental space to create content across multiple platforms at the level I’ve worked at for the past five years. I also have some new financial demands that are shaping the decisions I’m making with my partners about our lives. I’m forced to be more judicious about the scope of “Ace Dad Advice,” because if the choice was only between A) continue at the present level of output or B quit entirely, I’d have to chose B. I don’t want to do that, so I’m re-scaling the project overall and rethinking some of what it looks like. (That’s why I announced recently I’m no long posting on YouTube.)
So let’s talk about Subscriptions…
Subscriptions are now a thing. I turned on subscriptions in order to (hopefully) have the work I provide here add to my life financially. I’m only asking $5 a month for monthly subscribers. I want to keep it within an affordable range for people.
The Advice Column will remain free content. All advice column pieces will remain free of charge to read here for as long as I’m doing this. I consider that the main education piece here, so it’s here for everyone. I’ll also keep certain other pieces free (like aspec horror commentaries and some broad queer community reflections). So there will always be regular content for non-subscribers to enjoy.
Subscribers get exclusive content that expands on the free stuff. Substack subscribers will get exclusive content that digs deeper into the free content. One form of exclusive content will be podcast mini-sodes (usually between 7-15 minutes) that will expand on an advice column topic or dig deeper into the ideas of other pieces. Subscribers can expect a few of these mini-sodes monthly. I’ll also be providing some Subscriber-only video content a few times a month.
Why I hope you’ll choose to subscribe…
“Ace Dad Advice” has really been a labor of love since the beginning five years ago. While my platform has grown a lot over the years, I’ve never made very much from content creation. If I’m to be honest, content creation has hardly ever paid for itself in the five years I’ve done the work. I’ve kept it going because I know it’s important to a lot of people and it’s helped a lot of people. I don’t want to let those people down.
However, it’s becoming an unsustainable project. In order for me to keep the work going, I need the content I make to be marginally more profitable. Otherwise, I’ll likely have to either substantially scale back or end the project altogether.
So I really hope, if the work I make here or anywhere has been helpful to you or meaningful to you, that you consider subscribing. It would mean a lot to both me and to “Ace Dad Advice” overall.