Although you can read this post in its entirety (we wouldn’t want you to miss this announcement), as of today all other content on The Agitator, present and to come, will be behind The Wall … as in, our paywall.

Starting tomorrow, the daily Agitator post you receive in your email via Feedblitz will be abbreviated. Click ‘Read more’ and presto, you’ll be reading the full article on our website.

If you’re a paid Subscriber, there’s no other change. Just read and ponder.

If you’re not a paid Subscriber, you have ten free views, then The Wall goes up for you. Subscribe here to avoid that calamity.

In either case, you might want to check out our Agitator User Guide to see how everything works … and to review the features offered on The Agitator site.

What to expect from The Agitator

We have received many helpful comments from readers since we first raised the issue of continuing The Agitator or not, and the prospect of putting up a paywall. We addressed some of those comments here.

Here are some further insights we’ve gleaned from your responses …

1. Big picture. Agitator readers like seeing the ‘big issues’ discussed that affect our entire sector – the overall ‘status’ of fundraisers and fundraising, thinking bigger about the funding of the nonprofit sector, the blight of fundraising rip-off artists (both ‘faux’ charities and the firms that spawn and service them), as well as our take on the various measured trends in fundraising (as monitored by the likes of Blackbaud, the Atlas of Giving, AFP, DonorTrends and others).

It seems that when you have the time to raise your head above the trenches, you relish the opportunity to be provoked and think about the bigger picture.

So, we’ll certainly continue to serve up our thoughts (some would say ‘rants’) on these issues, but perhaps in a more systematic way … with a bit more focus on “Where do we want to get to?” and “How might we get there?” Transforming from a readership to a force for change.

2. Retention & acquisition. The Agitator has offered quite concrete and substantial advice on these two sides of the fundraising coin. There can be no doubt of our championing of much greater attention to retention.

These posts are among our most avidly read. We certainly intend to keep this focus, and plan to build out our searchable Agitator library of content in these two areas. Perhaps this is where we can be most helpful in a day-to-day practical sense.

3. Serendipity & diversity. Apart from the above two areas of focus, many readers also voice their appreciation of the more unpredictable side – the eclectic stream of content on The Agitator – today branding, tomorrow online video, the next day story telling or copywriting, then mobile or social media … or a trend or tactic to pay attention to from the commercial marketing world.

We don’t claim to be experts in all these areas. But we’ve been around and our radar is state of the art. We do have a keen eye for relevant innovation and fresh resources; an experienced sense of how consumers (including donors) process, think and behave; and an ability to connect the dots. So, we’ll keep the nuggets coming.

These three strands describe what readers have said they value most from The Agitator … consequently, that’s what you – subscribers, that is – can expect going forward.

And we expect to hear from you if we’re not doing our job.

Roger and Tom

P.S. If you have any problems with The Wall, check out our Agitator User Guide, or call our Reader Care number: 888-217-3166.