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  • From: Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>
  • To: International Permaculture List <permaculture@openpermaculture.org>, Permaculture ibiblio <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>, BPG <bloomingtonpermacultureguild@lists.riseup.net>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Help and conversations for possibility AND action.
  • Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 02:17:07 -0500

Andrew,
Thanks for your support.

We have NO intention of closing or selling. Things are going fairly well. We'd just like to accelerate that a bit. You are doing your part by sharing the mag and for that we are grateful.

Advertising has picked up a bit, subscriptions are up somewhat, and book sales more so. Scott and I have talked about the potential for growth and its a conversation we will continue. Everybody's input is valuable.

With magazine improvement and growth maybe we can start to pay our writers. I want to.

High on our wish list is new Pagemaker, Photoshop, (and other) software plus new Macs (about 4) and Pc's to run it on (I'm going to soon be running a dual boot of windows and linux and maybe Peter and Scott could dual boot Mac and Linux). If anyone has this software maybe it could be shared. When Peter returns I'll get more info about the other software he needs.

We keep saying that the first (usually unwritten) principle of permaculture is "get help". When seeking help, it pays to ask.....so, we're asking.

Nobody working for the Activist is full-time. Be gentle. ;-)

Improving the mag will take more than just time and effort. Money will be required...probably about $15-20,000....and most of our capital from teaching, consulting is going into paying off our new home in Bloomington. I'm working at generating a couple more income streams but that may take some time to develop. We've begun to get small donations via paypal and they are delightful welcome surprises for us. A whole BUNCH of small donations could be really exciting.

Meanwhile I like your "open source" metaphor for the mag. That is exactly what has kept us going. If not for you all, we wouldn't be viable.

We'd love to get nicer paper and more color but these don't come cheap. If we are to keep the price low we need more ads and subscribers. News stand sales don't help us nearly as much as subscriptions. Is our price to low? One of our distributors is selling it on Amazon for $10 more.

So, I'm very glad I asked the question...and I will keep asking questions to elicit suggestions and support.

I'm thinking we need to do some kind of fundraiser like the Hope Dance folks do. Maybe a raffle with a lifetime subscription or two and some full sets of back issues. More ideas?

I know I can improve the website to make it more shareable and interactive (forms for example and "click here to share with friends"...a newsletter...) so that visitors get enrolled in spreading the word. I just redesigned the home page so let me know what you think.

We want to sell more products but without the hassles of warehousing and shipping. A recent conversation with Lawrence London about his handmade garden tools suggests a possibility to follow up. More ideas about this are welcome. How can we affiliate to our joint benefit?

Should I start to charge 2, 3, 4, 5, or more dollars for listings in the Planetary Pc Directory? It takes a fair bit of time to keep that updated especially with more PDC grads all over the planet.

We recognize that the importance of the Activist is growing and we want it to be a vehicle for our mutual success. We know the potential is there.

Keith
PS I just spoke to an agent at Chelsea Green regarding a Best of the Permaculture Activist book. Stay tuned.

andrew phillips wrote:
It would be a great shame to see the closure of Pc
Activist and I commend the editors opening themselves
to advice and critique.

As a Pc newbie I find Pc Activist invaluable as a
resource and subscribe to 10 copies to share with
others when I'm on the road "selling" permaculture.
And I enjoy the theory but others say they prefer more
hands-on practical articles.

There is material on this list that could well find a
place in Pc Activist - I like the open source
sensibility and though payment for articles would be
good, perhaps just an honorarium would suffice.

Keep working on it - we are at a crucial time for
permaculture and maybe reaching critical mass - and we
need the Pc Activist.
Andrew Phillips
Hancock Permaculture
http://www/hancockpermaculture.org

--
Keith Johnson
"Be fruitful and mulch apply."
Permaculture Activist Magazine
PO Box 5516, Bloomington, IN 47408
(812) 335-0383
http://www.permacultureactivist.net
also Patterns for Abundance Design & Consulting
also Association for Regenerative Culture
also APPLE-Bloomington (Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy) It's a
small world after oil.
http://www.relocalize.net/groups/applebloomington
also Bloomington Permaculture Guild





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