The good news is, No Dowd About It isn’t going anywhere.
It is, however, scaling back a bit.
I’ve been asked to play a larger role with the Southwest Public Policy Institute, where I’m a senior fellow. But there are only so many hours in the day, of course, which means I’ll have less time to commit to NDAI.
The change is welcome, frankly, because my website isn’t a stellar revenue-generator. While readership has been significantly higher than I predicted, subscribership has been lower.
Much, much, much lower.
Hey, I get it. The audience for a libertarian public-policy writer ain’t massive. I knew that at the start. But if the four- and five-star freemium readers (the Substack platform tracks data in all sorts of ways) had been willing to pony up just under a quarter a day, NDAI could have become a real business.
Well, they weren’t, so it didn’t.
But NDAI lives on! I plan to maintain it as a vanity project/hobby, with a couple of alterations:
• I’ll be scrapping the weekend editions of Dowd’s Daily Download. (Readership drops by about 50 percent on Saturdays and Sundays. People take rests and have social lives, even if I don’t.)
• No more Thursday column, but the Throwback Wednesday column will remain. There’s plenty to draw from, in the DDM Archives. And if you haven’t read it before, it’s new to you!
• Bureaucrats Behaving Badly will still be issued on Fridays, but it will contain fewer entries — and as much as I love to produce them, there won’t be any “supersized” editions.
That’s it! Nothing too dramatic. Nonetheless, “customer service” necessitates that I disclose the new format.
If you’re a subscriber, I’ll understand if you don’t want to pay the same amount for somewhat less content. If you choose to walk away, you’re certainly welcome to do so. (Substack provides refunds for the “unused” portion of your subscription.) But I do hope you’ll hang around. I know many of you, albeit over the Interwebs, and sincerely value your feedback.
The freeloaders? Well, they’re a different story altogether.
Over the next several days, I’ll be purging my email list of all non-subscribers. So if you’ve ever been tempted to upgrade from freemium to premium, do it quickly. The paywall is forever now, and soon, only subscribers will receive NDAI content.
And that’s the way it is. I’m delighted to be deepening my involvement with the SPPI, a think-tank “startup” founded by sharp, capable, principled, ambitious folks. And as much as we hermits hate to admit it, introverts need human interaction — daily contact with staffers, donors, members of the board, etc. will keep me anchored to reality, and impose a little “adult supervision” on ol’ Uncle Dee-Dee. If you’re lucky enough to live in what is unquestionably the best part of the nation, check us out, and consider kicking a clam or two our way.
Best,
DDM
I'll continue with the subscription. In fact, less is probably better since I had trouble keeping up with the reading. It has amazed me the amount and variety of relevant content you have provided daily. I can see why you describe yourself as a hermit, since the time involved in the production of NDAI had to be lengthy. I know your commitment to SPPI will make a difference!
This Founder isn’t going anywhere! I rely on your cultivation of important matters on my original side of the pond about which I need to know.
SPPI is lucky to have you!
I’ll buy ya a Bluebell of your choice next time I’m in your time zone.