Fightingmyalz.com is a
Veteran-Owned site.

I enjoy the work of putting my sites together but getting them onto the Internet is anything but free for me. Click image to enlarge

I’m Getting Popular, Sort Of

People just want me to do it their way

Text and photo by Tom Hintz

Posted 9-30-2015

I recently did a new woodworking-based tool review and it was heartening to see the instant response from viewers. NewWoodworker.com still enjoys around 21 million visits per year even though I have been slow in adding content since the sponsors left. The loyalty of the traffic makes me feel good about all of the hours invested in putting such a big site together. But as is the nature of the Internet there is another side to this as well.

Part of the response to new content is people demanding that I do more woodworking content rather than the Radio Control-related material. I would love to do lots of content for both genres but providing free content is anything but free. These days all of the costs of maintaining the sites and producing the content comes out of just my pocket. Over the years I have never charged for content and produced woodworking DVD’s that were and continue to be sold at essentially break-even prices. I also restricted all advertising on the site through Google and others to keep my site family-friendly. That reduces that revenue stream by well over 50% as well. All that is going to have to change if any of my sites are to survive.

I have little choice than to go where the money is coming from. At present there is far more interest from the RC community in terms of manufacturer and private support. I am still operating out of pocket but on the RC side those costs are being offset by donations far more than the woodworking side.

I would love to be able to go full speed ahead in both the RC and woodworking areas as I still enjoy the work and that work is great for fighting the advance of Alzheimer's but I have to focus on the material that I can best afford to do. Right now that is on the RC side but like the last woodworking piece, I will do more of that content as I am able to afford it. I just do not have any more options.

If you want to see more content for either RC flying or woodworking consider making a donation to support it. There are lots of people out there with interest in these sites, the traffic shows that without a doubt. As finances allow I will continue to generate content for both sides.

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