|
|
|
|
|
|
The Spirit Of Adventure
Changes
Time to update you on some sweeping changes I made to WillCycle, with more changes to come. WillCycle is a (and has always been) a labour of love, but it is also a micro-business. I've long since accepted that I'd never be able to quit my day job and become a full-time writing adventurer, but I can dream, can't I?
T-shirts and cycling cap sales have been so poor that I'll soon be stopping them altogether. The only delay has been trying to clear existing stock of cycling caps. When done, I'll be closing the web shop.
|
Money?
WillCycle has three sources of income: 1) sales of products, 2) ad revenue, and the biggest part, 3) being subsidised by my day job. If I was to pay myself a wage for the work I do on WillCycle, it'd actually be far below £0.50/hour. As a result, nobody can accuse me of just doing this for the money!
|
|
Ad revenue is important, but far too many people visited the site while running an adblocker. I responded by using an anti-adblocker script. Initially, it'd simply display a message asking people to turn their adblocker off for WillCycle, and the message would disappear after 20 seconds.
|
When that didn't have the desired effect, I increased that timeout to 40 seconds, but still people could use the site, even while running an adblocker.
That's now changed completely, and the anti-adblocker software will prevent people from using the site while running an adblocker.
|
Yes, I'll lose visitors to the site, but the visitors I'll lose are people who only ever take, take, take and take, and never give anything back. Life is a two-way street, and you get what you give.
|
Ads are annoying!
I get it: ads are annoying. They're also an integrated part of life: TV channels, commercial radio, newspapers, magazines, and millions of websites only survive because of ad revenue. Yet the same people who are unhappy at ads on WillCycle are happy to watch ITV (or similar), where there are even more ads.
However, I also introduced a way (for those who choose to do so) to use WillCycle totally ad-free: they can choose to become WillCycle Supporters. WillCycle Supporters subscribe, at only £2/month (that's less than 7 pence per day!) to the site, and when logged in, are able to run an ad-blocker, for a completely ad-free experience.
|
This is optional, and I don't expect everyone to sign up to become a WillCycle Supporter. I'm also extremely grateful to those of you who already signed up to become WillCycle Supporters, as you're definitely helping to keep the lights on at WillCycle.com!
|
Value
There are further changes in the pipeline: some content on WillCycle will be made available only to WillCycle Supporters, though the traffic-free route guides will always remain available to everyone. I'll also be introducing a higher tier of WillCycle Supporter, and those signing up for that will be able to get up to 3 hours of my time to help them plan a cycle adventure, including doing a route design with their needs and preferences in mind.
|
Somehow, I need to get the site to be commercially viable, and at this point in time, I'm very far away from that. Still, I now have a clear direction to follow, and I'm feeling optimistic.
|
|
May all the winds on your rides only ever be gentle tailwinds.
|
|
|
|
|
The Blast From The Past button is quite straightforward: with every edition, I link a random old WillCycle post to it. If you click it, you will see what old WillCycle post it takes you to.
|
|
The button will only ever point at WillCycle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What Did You Miss On WillCycle?
|
|
|
|
|
|
To a huge number of people, coffee is an important part of life. If you don't believe me, just have a look at how many coffee shops there are in your local neighbourhood! Now coffee shops are great, but especially when wild camping, the nearest coffee shop might be quite some distance away. What are your options for enjoying a …
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For a long time I've been threatening to get into Audaxing. Audaxing, in case you didn't know, is long distance cycling events, run by Audax UK (in the UK). With very short notice, I went and signed up for a 101km Audax event about an hour's drive from where I live. The event took place on the Sunday, and was …
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Showcased products
|
|
I'm closing down my web shop, so as from this edition, there will be no more showcased physical products. I will continue to sell my GoCycle digital route guides, but T-shirts, hoodies and caps are ending.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Random Internet Link
|
This one's for all the lazy foodies out there! This site allows you to tell it what ingredients you have available, then it'll provide you with recipes for (hopefully) delicious food, using only the ingredients you currently have.
|
|
|
|
And Finally...
I spend considerable amounts of time producing The Spirit Of Adventure, and you receive it for free. Please do me a favour and forward it to someone else who you think will appreciate it?
And if you received this newsletter because someone forwarded it, you can subscribe quickly and easily at www.willcycle.com
|
|
|
  
|
|
|
|
|
|
