My Thoughts on Corporate Sponsorships and Newsletter Advertising

Hello Everyone!A few weeks ago, Substack launched a sponsorship program. The idea is to allow organizations to support the newsletters they appreciate through traditional advertising. To learn more about this initiative, you can click here.Qualifying publications, like mine, saw a creator kit appear on their dashboards. I activated my kit, but I declined to send out the demographics survey to my subscribers. We’ve all felt too many intrusions upon our privacy lately. I felt a questionnaire about personal information might come across as off-putting. Also, I’m not really sure who would have access to that data, so I was reluctant to infringe upon the trust my readers have shown in me.As you can probably tell, I approach most things with a good degree of skepticism. Part of that is because I’m getting old. Part of it is that, in this day and age, skepticism is warranted.But that doesn’t mean that I’m against the possibility of advertising under the right circumstances. We have to be realistic, life costs money. Over the last year, I’ve been active in grassroots politics. We’re all sick and tired of being told what to do by the bought and paid for apologists of corporate entities. That being said, even grassroots candidates need financial support. We’re in a rather exciting era of independent candidates fueled by $50,000 in small donations. These campaigns are winning against establishment incumbents with multi-million dollar war chests.That’s what we have to do to get out of this mess we’re in, but it’s not really sustainable. At some point we’re going to have to figure out ways to fund more money to people of integrity. The whole problem we face right now is that public funds are being stolen and sent to hate groups rather than people of integrity. We have to change that.My whole career as a writer has consisted of scrounging around for table scraps. That’s been all fine and good in my 20s and 30s when I was young and strong. But the fact is, I’m getting older now. I don’t want to admit it, but I can feel it. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be. I end the day with aches and pains. I’ve fought the good fight for a long time and it would be nice if things got a little easier. However, I know that my readers are up against the wall economically. That’s been the threat of the Republican party for my whole life, and this current iteration is the worst of the lot.I’ve managed to get along based on the generosity of my wonderful readers, but I would sincerely love to ease their burden in whatever way I can. The problem with offering advertising on your platform is that you then become beholden to your sponsors. If somebody decides to support me with five thousand dollars, it compels you to look the other way if they do something nefarious. I’m not going to sit here and say I’m immune to that because nobody is. Nobody’s ever showed up at my door with a suitcase full of money. I’d like to think I wouldn’t take it but pressuring people with money takes many forms.At this point, I’m old enough and ornery enough that I’m unlikely to work with somebody who gives me a creepy feeling. But I don’t think we have to resign ourselves to the thought that all advertising is corrupt.The reality is that most of the rich people in our society aren’t living in luxury because of merit. Instead, they are able to afford the accountants and whatnot that allow them to fund themselves through means that aren’t available to regular people. They know about all the tax loopholes that make funding platforms like mine beneficial.The way I see it, substack’s advertising program turns sponsorship into a business expense. Talk to your accountant, but wouldn’t that make it tax deductible?The fact of the matter is that big media has been completely captured by nefarious entities. We are not going to get out of this mess until we make an effort to fund some cultural deprogramming initiatives.We have to overcome the trauma bond that compels the American people to constantly forgive former abusers. We have to recondition ourselves to disregard the redemption arc, and elevate women and men of integrity who haven’t enriched themselves through the abuse and oppression of their fellow human beings.In order to do that, we’re going to need a new and well-funded media.I activated the creator kit to make “I’d Rather Be Writing” available on Substack’s advertising page. I don’t really expect some soft drink or airline to decide it makes sense to sponsor me.However, if any of you have some kind of business that’s actually related to the kind of things I write about here, a sponsorship could make sense. I don’t really know how corporate tax works, but if you’re working on something that aligns with my values, then by all means let’s talk.A lot of times, advertising is nothing more than somebody saying, “You know what, I like what this guy is doing and I want to be affiliated with that.” If you personally don’t have a company with an advertising budget, but you know somebody who does, then pass the information along.I put the sponsorship number at $250 just because they required a space keeper number. It’s flexible. If you’ve got a product or business that would benefit from being featured on “I’d Rather Be Writing,” reach out! I like to earn my keep, and I’m always delighted to hear from all of you anyway!Thanks for your support: 30% off 💙 40% off 💙 50% off 💙 60% offI'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe