Hello, Daily Kos!
I’m happy to announce that the Daily Kos subscription program is coming back in a big way. Some of you are longtime subscribers and enjoy all the benefits of that—the biggest one being a completely ad-free experience—and we greatly appreciate your support over the years. If you are not currently a subscriber, I invite you to consider signing up today!
Today’s relaunch of Daily Kos’ subscription program is something we’re very excited about and have been working toward for a while. It is a critical component of how Daily Kos will survive and grow in a changing media and political environment.
Well-publicized transitions in the media world—the rise of AI summaries in search engine results, the declining value of advertising, traffic drops from social media—have caused us to need to evolve our business model. Shifts in the political world eliminated revenue from helping allied organizations and campaigns build their email lists. Two years ago, our business generated 25% of its revenue from community support. That number is 75% today.
Weathering this change in Daily Kos’ operations has been a challenge—but it has put us in a position to better align our business goals with the experience of our readers, writers, commenters, and community members. When you directly fund the organization by subscribing to Daily Kos, you are the customer and we are incentivised to make you—and not advertisers and clients—happy. That certainly aligns with my values and makes me incredibly happy.
Thanks largely to current subscribers, we're already implementing some much-needed upgrades to the site. We’re sending far fewer emails, and we’re about to remove (or already have) a bunch of annoying ad units from the site, including that “sticky” video ad we all hate so much. And subscribing to Daily Kos means that when we begin work on a new platform after this year’s election, you will be involved in helping to develop its features and implementation. It also means I will be a lot more present and in more direct conversation with you.
I’m excited for all this and to upgrade and modernize the site even more, but for those of you not already subscribing, we need your help! (And for those of you who are, we are so, so grateful.)
So what does this subscription get you? It starts with an ad-free reading experience. Those of you with a subscription can attest to how much better Daily Kos is without obtrusive advertising. That alone is worth the price! But we’ll also add more perks down the line.
Subscriptions will be $90 annually, but not right away. We are relaunching the program now with an introductory $60 $40 rate (even better than I originally thought!). This rate will be available only through the end of November. So if you want to take advantage of a year at that reduced rate, now’s the time to act.
Visit our subscription page to see our subscription offers.
Coming soon: the ability to gift someone a subscription even if they haven’t joined the site yet!
Current Subscriber? No Worries
If you already subscribe, rest easy knowing your current rate is locked in until your next renewal. It's our way of saying thank you for your continued support.
Your Feedback Matters
We would love to hear your thoughts on these changes, both below in the comments and through this short survey. Your insights are invaluable to us.
Thank you for everything you do for our country, for our movement, and for Daily Kos.
