Questions, comments, concerns

All right, I want to open up a comment thread so I can answer any all questions and concerns about the new JoeBlogs. You should be able to write anything you like in the comments below and I will spend the weekend answering anything and everything.

Let me start with a little FAQ.

What the heck is happening?

I am moving JoeBlogs to this new service called Substack. I am doing this for a wide variety of reasons that I have written about at some length at Patreon, but the main things are that Substack:

— Seems to be a cleaner and easier reading experience. It offers an RSS Feed, full post emails, an easy to access blog, etc.

— Is definitely a cleaner and easier publishing experience.

— Offers several options that Patreon does not (including annual subscriptions, gift subscriptions, Apple Pay, etc).

— Patreon was becoming unwieldy; it wasn’t a single experience for members.

— The Substack founders seem like great guys.

So what does this mean for the Patreon?

Patreon was great. The people were great. I will always be grateful for their help getting JoeBlogs off the ground. But I think our particular thing fits better with Substack. So I will keep posting at Patreon until the end of the month, and then once everyone has canceled there (hopefully to come over to the new JoeBlogs), I will shut down the service to make sure that nobody keeps paying.

Do I need to actively cancel my Patreon or will subscribing here automatically cancel?

Subscribing here will not automatically cancel your Patreon, so you will need to do that. It’s an easy process, I’m told. If you do forget to cancel, you will be automatically canceled when I shut down the Patreon in July.

Will the new JoeBlogs be any different from the old one?

I suspect that there will be more content on the new JoeBlogs because it’s a much easier service to work with. But in general, you can expect the same nonsense — our baseball 100 countdown, lots of baseball history and analysis, a breakdown of the new Bruce Springsteen album, some Broadway, some tennis, some golf, some iPad reviews, etc.

What about the bonus content for The PosCast?

My intention is to bring over the PosCast to Substack when I can — the PosCast itself will remain free and available on all the podcast vending machines like iTunes and Stitcher and Spotify and the rest. And I hope to continue adding some bonus material specifically for JoeBlogs members.

Hey, I got this via email. Does that mean I’m automatically signed up?

Not exactly. If you were a JoeBlogs member at Patreon, you are automatically signed up to get the FREE posts. If you want to get the subscriber content, you still need to subscribe. And look, here’s a handy subscribe button right here:

What does all this cost?

The price is $6 per month or $60 per year for those interested in saving a buck.

Current subscribers interested in saving more than a buck should have gotten a 50% off coupon in their email. This will be good until the end of June.

Hey, I was signed up for some bonus stuff at Patreon — like I am supposed to get an autographed copy of the Baseball 100 book when it’s finished. Will I still get that?

Yes! Even though Substack does not have any special tiers, I have kept an email list of all the super-members, and you will still get your big perks.

Is there a Substack help line?

Yes! Email the guys at support@substack.com. From what I can tell, they have been incredibly responsive.

OK, I think that’s it. If I didn’t get to your question (Who is the best of the Three Stooges? How many homers would Willie Mays hit in 2019? Why is Broken Wings the word rock song ever recorded? Etc.), please leave it below.

And, one more thing, in case I haven’t mentioned it, I wrote a book about Harry Houdini that comes out Oct. 22. I tell you this now because: (1) I’m a hopeless shill and (2) I plan on offering a bonus (free) weekly Houdini newsletter to any JoeBlogs member who wants it (and to all those who preorder the book). That will be starting at some point in July.