Big site expansion news: The Ghost In My Machine is now on Patreon!
Since January of 2014, I’ve been running The Ghost In My Machine solely through whatever free resources I’ve had access to — a free WordPress domain and site template, whatever information I can dig up with a basic internet connection or a library card, any spare time I have left after working a full week at my day job — and as a result, I’ve finally reached the limit of what I can do with the site without putting more into it.
But reaching this particular limit doesn’t mean I’m giving up; au contraire: I want to expand (hence the Reader Survey I posted back in May), so I can bring you, Gentle Readers, more of the spooky goodness you love — and that I love sharing with you. That’s where Patreon comes in: An expansion of TGIMM requires both time and money, so reader support through Patreon will enable me to create more and better content without having to rely on ads to keep the proverbial lights on.
Patreon support will aid in the following:
- Covering daily operations;
- Switching from free WordPress hosting to a self-hosted platform with more bandwidth and greater capacity for development;
- Funding research materials to allow for more thoroughly investigated content (think books and other media that I can’t get a hold of through the library, a LexisNexis subscription, etc.);
- Enabling me to hire a web designer/developer to create a custom site;
- And, eventually — hopefully — allowing me to make this little pet project into my full-time job.
If you choose to become a patron, you’ll also get some fun incentives in exchange — access to a patron-only stream giving you a look behind the scenes at TGIMM, early access to some content, a patron-exclusive newsletter full of fun, creepy stuff from around the web, and so on and so forth. All of the content that’s regularly posted on TGIMM will remain free, of course; the incentives offered through the Patreon campaign are just fun bonuses for folks who decide to become patrons.
Of course, all these big, lofty goals won’t be reached overnight; it’s going to be an ongoing effort, with little bits happening at a time. My first two Patreon goals are to fund a domain and hosting service, and — and this is a big one that I’m incredibly excited about — fund a complete, custom design for the site. I’ve hired the wonderful Megan Gray of House of Grays for the job; the new design will improve functionality, offering better navigation and greater ease of access while still keeping the spooky atmosphere we all know and love intact. We’ll also be getting things like a logo and a stronger visual identity, making the whole site much more of an experience for you, Gentle Readers. We’re aiming to get the redesign launched in time for the Halloween season,
Eventually, I hope to make the sum of TGIMM greater than its parts — because sometimes, a little shiver down the spine is just what we all need.
So, hey. Stick around. We’ve got some stories to tell.
Head here to support The Ghost In My Machine on Patreon. Oh, and we’re also on social media now; follow on Twitter @GhostMachine13 and on Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine.
