Post

Adding some context to this: Rascal's membership peaked in January this year at around 2500 subscribers. This was due to our 1$ sale in December where around 300 people signed up. But ever since then, it's been a steady decline... (1/x) bsky.app/profile/rasc...

We've lost around 250 subscriptions in the last 6-7 months — that's around 10% of our total size, which is a lot. It also *feels* like a lot, sitting around and watching that line going down day after day. In 2025, we were talking about raises and in 2026, we were talking about pay cuts. (2/x)

We haven't talked really ever talked about this because it seemed like a bad idea, both in a professional (feelings are unprofessional) and a personal sense (feelings are hard). We wanted it to be about the work! But the work and the subscriber number started to be completely disconnected. (3/x)

The work could be better. We're very clear on that! But better is a partially a function of time and resources, which we didn't have. That's really what this is about: can we reverse the doom spiral? can we inject some more resources into the team and chase "better"? (4/x)

The easiest way to help is to become a member. If you're already a member, you can buy a gift subscription for someone you know or give us a tip through the tip jar for any amount. www.rascal.news/state-of-the... (5/5)

Do you have an exit survey when people unsubscribe, to ask why they're unsubscribing? That'd be useful to have, if not. People ending their subscriptions might not be a reflection on Rascal per se, but due to folks trying to save money as the cost of living creeps up.

To be honest, I considered ending my Rascal sub a few days ago. I think you're doing good work, but it's rare for me to actually read any of it (which is nothing personal – I just don't have the bandwidth for it) and I'm trying to save a bit of money.

I've been considering it, too. I agree it might be worth working out why people (un)subscribe. For me, I enjoy the written content and the Reading Club podcast but I never listen to the Rascal Radio Hour, and it feels like written content is declining while audio content is increasing.