The premium tier has launched.

Hello, readers, fans and supporters. As of today, April 2, 2023, the paid/premium tier of The Garden of Memory is now active. If you'd like to support me in what I do, you now have the option to do so, at $5 per month or $50 per year. If you're already subscribed and wish to join the premium tier, you can do that under the Subscribe button. Or, if you're not yet subscribed at all, this is a great way to get involved! The first article at the premium level will go up later today.

I've been presenting three tiers of articles here at the Garden of Memory. "The Outer Garden" are free articles publicly available to anyone who happens to surf by. "The Verge" are articles that are also free, but you need to be signed up to access them (and they are delivered to your inbox as an email). As of today, "The Inner Garden" are the paid-tier premium articles. I've tried to explain all of this on the about page. I'm not taking anything offline and I will still continue to do public and free members-only articles frequently. But I'd like to try dipping my toe into a subscription model just to see what happens. And the support would be nice.

If you do join the paid tier, you have options for even more stuff, should you want to claim them. Anyone in the paid tier is eligible to receive one of my books, in .PDF format, for free. You can choose from The Valley of Forever (science fiction/magical realism), In Deadly Mirrors (crime thriller), or Hotel Himalaya: Three Travel Romances (a short story and two novellas with romantic themes). If you'd like a free book, email me at sean@seanmunger.com. Paid tier subscribers will, if they request, also be granted access to online history courses at my website, www.seanmunger.com. That's a tremendous value given the price point of some of the courses; email me if you'd like to take me up on that and I'll go into my site to grant you access.

Not everyone can or will want to sign up for the premium tier--and that's completely fine. I appreciate all the support I've received from so many of you whether it's in the form of legal tender or not.

I've had some trepidation about launching the premium tier. I enjoy sharing my thoughts with the world and I think I have some valuable things to say, about history, politics or the world around us, but when it comes to self-promotion I'm generally wracked with self-doubt. How do I make sure a paid tier will be worth it to those who support it? All I can say is I'll do my best. I am taken, however, by a reply that one of my colleagues on Mastodon sent after I mentioned the other day that I've had some doubts about launching the paid tier. Here is what he said.

There may be something to it. I shouldn't work for free, but I often do, and I've internalized that. Nevertheless, there is now an option to support me, if you like what I do. Thank you all so much!

The Value Proposition

Why should you be reading this blog, or receiving it as a newsletter? This is why.

☕ If you appreciate what I do, buy me a virtual coffee from time-to-time to support my work. I know it seems small, but it truly helps.

📖 You could also buy my newest book.

🎓 Like learning? Find out what courses I’m currently offering at my website.

📽 More the visual type? Here is my YouTube channel with tons of free history videos.