FilmSnobbery was started way back in 2009.  Over the years we’ve been able to accomplish a lot on very little.  We’ve gone the crowdfunding route with larger projects to some success, and we’ve been able to make steady income with consulting on film projects and other film-related endeavors, but we’ve never gone directly to our fans to fund the website.  Until now!

As an indie film critic there are only so many ways to make money with a website:

• Ads – I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand having to close huge groups of popup ads and other distractions when I’m trying to read an article, which is why we’ve kept our ads to a minimum, and the only popup you’ll see is for our newsletter signup, which is easily closed.
• Merchandise – Something we have in the works, and if you haven’t already noticed the burgeoning store we’ve added to the site, get ready for more product offerings in the future.  Many of these are just affiliate deals though, where we only earn a small percentage from your purchases.  When our branded merch hits, we should do better with those margins.
• Charge for Content – I’m not a huge fan of paywalls, but I see the value in exclusive content from valued contributors and experts.

Some film critic websites have gone so far as to charge filmmakers for reviews, and that’s something we just won’t abide on our site.  It’s understandable to look at that money as low hanging fruit, but we just don’t feel ethical doing it. 

Our Solution – We’re launching a membership program that will encompass some of the projects we have upcoming.  We are allowing our die-hard fans and long-term followers to get in on this cheap.  Five buckaroos are all it takes.  For life.

Some of our new initiatives will even be voted on by our new members, and we’ll be expanding our membership tiers to include monthly or yearly subscriptions once this phase has ended.

Until we launch phase two of our plan, we want to gather our forces, get a consensus to make sure we’re taking FilmSnobbery in the direction filmmakers need us, and launch fully into the next phase prepared, funded, and able to compete with the big dogs.

I sincerely hope you’ll all consider joining us on this new and exciting adventure into the next iteration of FilmSnobbery, making it everything I hope it will become for indie filmmakers worldwide.

For more information on our introductory membership option and the perks you get for joining, please visit: https://filmsnobbery.com/membership