2021 Live Letter to Patrons

Dear Patrons and Ko-Fi Supporters,

First off, hi there! It's been a while since I've had the chance to sit here, candidly talking with you about things. About a year now, if my math is right.

And, really, it's been one heck of a year. We celebrated our tenth anniversary, and we're coming up quick on our eleventh. Even now, I find it just astounding that the little "hi there!" post I published in September 2010 would be just the first of more than nine thousand to grace our publication. And, really, we have all of you to thank for your stalwart support of what we do over the years. We wouldn't be here without you, and, honestly, I don't know–nor do I want to know–what we'd look like if we were still chasing ever-vanishing ad and partnership funds. So, with this in mind, I want to say thank you. To all of you who've stood by us, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting us to build a place where new voices can thrive, where we can make content that you enjoy reading, and we genuinely enjoy writing, editing, and producing.

And, since our last update, a lot has happened... and I'm here to brief you, our patrons–and by extension, our employers–about where your money has been going.

Our Team

This year, we saw several changes to the Anime Herald family. Notably, we were able to hire two part-time editors: Alex Henderson and Caitlin Moore, whose contributions have been nothing short of stellar; thanks to their hard work, we've been able to maintain a more consistent content schedule, with no gaps in delivery since March. It's been a pleasure working with them, and their contributions have already been innumerable.

Moreover, we’ve officially welcomed two regular columnists to our team. Alicia Graves and Anime Commentary will be continuing their work on their respective series on an ongoing basis, with Anime Commentary working through their History of Mecha column, and Alicia currently working on a few articles that we will discuss down the line.

Sadly, this year, we also said a fond farewell to Anthony Simpson, who had been with us since our earliest days; in recent years, he remained an active part of the family as part of the Herald Anime Club. We'd like to thank him for his years of stalwart service, and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.

Content

Since our last update in August 2020, we've managed to deliver 35 articles at the standard rate of $50 per piece, leading to a total spend of $1,750. Of these, our most popular category has overwhelmingly been the Niche category, which saw 19 articles released in the period.

Of those, our most popular pieces have been:

• When Stars Align: A History of Queer Anime by Tynan Brooks
• The Fine Print: Lessons Learned From TOKYOPOP’s English Manga Empire by Priya Sridhar
• Devil’s Candy: A Release Almost 20 Years in the Making by Red Bard
• A Growing Inertia: Patlabor 2’s Critique of Telecommunications by Stephen Hero
• The Brawl Is Back: Interview With Streets of Rage 4 Director Ben Fiquet by Gabriel Leão

Infrastructure

Earlier this year, we parted ways with our previous host, SiteGround; we've since migrated to a new provider, who has been able to handle our hosting needs for a bit less of a financial cost. As a result, annual costs to our hosting have dropped from $1,000 to $240, plus applicable taxes. Until we reach the break-even point of $1,000 per month, though, this is being paid out-of-pocket; we'll be using all funds to further improve Anime Herald's content until we reach that point.

Cash on Hand

Right now, we have $1,056.25 in cash reserves. We posted a gross revenue of $2,826.96 between Patreon and Ko-fi. Moreover, We have six articles pending for publication, and entered the year with a net positive balance. The funds in our reserves are currently earmarked for articles that are in the drafting and editing phase, or on-hold to serve as emergency funds in the absolute worst case scenario. The current breakdown is roughly $750 earmarked for articles and to pay our editorial team for the pieces they're working on. All other funds will serve for an emergency case; server exploding, blowing up space limits, Patreon suddenly deciding to hike fees again... that sort of thing. Basically, it's a bit of a safety net, just in case we need it.

So What's Next?

It's been another banner year for Anime Herald, and I am both proud and pleased that you've been here for it all. Over the next twelve months, we will continue to do our best to bring you articles that make you smile, laugh or think, as they shine a light on various parts of this rich, diverse community.

It’s been an honor and a pleasure to serve in this position over the past year and–powers that be willing–I’ll be able to keep doing it for some time to come. I look forward to showing you all what’s coming today, tomorrow, and many years from now, and I thank you all for your support and passion; it really drives us to be our very best, day in and day out, and we look forward to surprising and delighting you every day.

Best,

Samantha Ferreira

editor-in-chief, Anime Herald