I just noticed, at 5:10 Chicago time, that we had attained this goal:
Technically, it’s 60.001, since I’m following it, too, but I don’t count. Over 10 years, this means about 6,000 subscribers a year. I can’t hope for that pace to maintain itself, but if it does, in 7 more years (if I’m still alive), we’ll reach my dream goal of 100,000 subscribers. Then I can retire and raise ducks.
Oops. . . I just noticed it went back down to 59,999. Who’s the miscreant who unsubscribed?
Big mazel on the big 6-0!
I was going to mention that 60K was getting close.
We just had an afternoon storm here in Wichita about 4 pm DST. Maybe 4 inches of rain in about an hour plus a good hail storm with ping pong ball size hail. I think I will need a roof inspector.
You folks in Kansas seem to have been having a fair amount of bad weather this year.
Meant for Randall
Yes, it just will not stop raining. The hail is just an added entertainment.
Congrats! Great milestone.
It appears more that the ducks raise and train you. 🙂
“Who’s the miscreant who unsubscribed?”
Didn’t want you to reach 100k
Then I can retire and raise ducks. Seems you have already achieved this goal!
If you want to scale up, you’ll need a bigger pond.
Prediction: WEIT will hit 100,000 within 5 years.
One way is to have posts about Justin Bieber and the latest fad diets that Melt Off Those Pounds. I doubt Jerry will go there.
Maybe after all of those posts about noms, we need something to melt off the pounds!
“Would the person who is not here please raise their hand?”
“If you can’t hear me, wave.”
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations!!
After years of reading the website, today I subscribed. Thanks for putting out so much interesting stuff!
It’s back up to 60,002!
Not here; still 59,999! Oy!
The person who unsubscribed should get a free book just for being the ultimate troll 🙂
Friendly reminder: a hell of a lot more people visit the site. I’m not a WordPress member, so I’m not subscribed. I imagine that’s the case for many (perhaps even most?) people.
The ONLY way I have of gauging readership, apart from comments and views (which are lower than before, perhaps due to people reading on phones) is the number of subscribers. I’m not sure whether you have to be a WordPress member to “subscribe’, though subscriptions appear to be managed by WordPress, but I’d respectfully suggest that if people are reading on their phones, and because I provide content for free, that it’s not very onerous to subscribe.
Is it really too much to do that in return for all the free content?
I can confirm that you can subscribe without being a WordPress member, and that subscribing is not onerous at all.
Before I had a WordPress account, I was subscribed by email. When I made my first comment (where you have to leave an email address anyway), I had the option to subscribe to the thread and/or to subscribe to the site. It was as onerous as ticking a check box.
As I don’t remember ever unsubscribing my email address, it is possible that the 60,000 is counting me twice. Oops.
Your wish is my command. Subscribed.
-Ryan
It’s not about you or the content. I have as few subscriptions or connections to anything online as possible. I like to keep my information out of the subscriber/user storage banks of as many servers as possible. It’s a policy. Sorry.
Also, I keep my email inbox as clean as possible. I try my absolute best not to get emails about anything but business and family/friends. I wouldn’t want to receive emails about every new post, especially since I check the website many times a day 🙂
WordPress is free! What’s the deal? I’d pay to follow WEIT.
“I’m not subscribed” ?
Your excuses ring hollow.
You don’t need to have a WordPress account, you only need an email address; just stick it in the “subscribe” box.
That is the way I see it. And by the way, my email has changed since way back when I subscribed but I still have to use the old email for wordpress to accept. It seems to know I have two emails but only the old one works.
I think I’m a subscriber, but not 100% sure.
Glad to say, I’m a card carrying member!
Yes you can, as long as you continue to post interesting content, the more subscribers you have, the more exposure you will get (e.g. people posting links to your articles on other sites) and the higher the rate of new subscriptions.
Obviously there is a saturation limit, but I really doubt you have found it yet.
Should be 60,011 now. I rarely subscribe to sites but as this one is one of the best decided I would.
Congrats on another milestone! Roll on 70k!
To leave a comment here, I thought one had to create a WordPress “account” – which I did, a few years back. But said account seems to work across various WordPress sites. Thus, I’m not sure that I’m actually “subscribed” (specifically) to WEIT. Also, I don’t do email notification.
So perhaps folks like me (if there are any) are not counted among the 60K…?
Good to see that you’re planning another 7 years of WEIT (at least). I’m not at all surprised the subscriptions keep rolling in as I’m sure most readers recommend this site to friends and family.
“You are following this blog, along with 60,000 other amazing people.”
I see us ordinary nondescript un-amazing people don’t count.
But what puzzles me is, how WordPress can tell the difference.
😎
cr
No doubt WordPress uses Google or Facebook AI tools to determine how many of us are amazing. Expect to see our comments converted to deep fake videos of us speaking soon.
😎
Congratulations, Jerry. One way to boost subscribers, and to reduce your workload at once could be more partnerships and curation/syndication — pick interesting people, like you do with Jesus and Mo, or with Sullivan and feature them every time they put something out, adding your thoughts (even if briefly), and leave the community here to discuss. Some good people have a lower frequency of content and often get drowned out, and they might appreciate when WEIT “subscribed” to their material.
That’s of course just a suggestion. 🙂
“Nothing good in life is free.”
Except this blog. I’m grateful that Jerry writes with more honesty, insight and wit than well-paid and widely-known writers. I hope you get to 100K my friend!
If it says “Congrats, you along with etc….60,000…” doesnt that mean there are 60001 subscribers?
Yes, I believe I said that in the post. But I don’t count as I’m the boss!
Plus one more.
Hi Jerry, I’m not a subscriber but I read and enjoy this blog regularly. Does this count?
Congratulations! 60,042 now.