Introducing VGIM Insider
Supplementary paid subscription service open for business...now
Good morning,
I know what you’re thinking. Video Games Industry Memo is in my inbox on Tuesday morning? At 10am UK time? What is the world coming to?
Fortunately, there’s a good reason for me to put out this one off extra edition of the newsletter.
After much thinking, a little bit of teasing and an astounding amount of time wasting, I’m ready to introduce you to VGIM Insider: the newsletter’s official monthly paid subscription scheme, which has gone live this morning.
If you’re so excited about becoming a VGIM paid subscriber that you don’t need to read the rest of the email, you can hit the button immediately below this paragraph to get going.
But for those of you who are interested in finding out what VGIM Insider is, why I’m launching it now and what it’ll cost, I’ve popped together the answers to all those questions below to try to inspire you to buy, buy, buy!
What is VGIM Insider?
VGIM Insider is a monthly paid subscription tier that turns VGIM enthusiasts into financial backers of my pun-filled editorial escapades.
As well as receiving the usual Thursday email, VGIM Insiders will get the following benefits as a thank you for backing the games industry newsletter described by one reader as “consistently sent on time”.
Two extra newsletters - VGIM Insiders will receive two additional mailers from me from June onwards. Ask George will come out every second Friday of the month and offer subscribers the chance to prod me for insight into the industry. And The Debrief will land every final Friday of the month, where I’ll take a deeper look at the full range of stories, games, events and maybe just a little bit of gossip that shaped the industry in the past month.
Early Access - VGIM Insiders will get early access and first dibs on all future VGIM side projects including new content, tickets to VGIM events or webinars and, if I can be bothered to make it, merchandise (ooh, a VGIM mug!) You’ll also know first when I have availability for consulting work, hosting opportunities and other George related stuff.
Discounts and deals - VGIM Insiders will also get discounts and deals on all VGIM activities, including 10% off VGIM advertising buys, 20% off the cost of any events or merchandise released under the VGIM brand and *crosses fingers* discounts from pals across the games industry as I negotiate them.
A warm fuzzy feeling in your heart - VGIM Insiders will also likely receive a tremendous boost to their self-esteem upon subscribing, allowing them to bask in the warm glow generated by their ongoing generosity.
And importantly, the plan is to bolster the VGIM Insider offer as the subscription base grows.
I’ve already got the creation of a VGIM Insider chat within Substack on the roadmap, with the launch of that likely to occur towards the middle of June.
But I also will be looking to lay on additional Insider perks as the audience grows, providing extra incentive to come aboard the good ship VGIM.
Why are you setting up a subscription tier?
I’ve created VGIM Insider because I think it’s the best way to build a sustainable foundation for the newsletter’s long term success.
I genuinely love writing Video Games Industry Memo. Even in the weeks where I’m struggling to make a pun work or I’m battling to smuggle in the word ‘boffins’, it has been a genuine pleasure to have the time to mull over what I’m writing in the big read, curating all the tip-top VGIM links at the back end of the email and playfully tweaking the odd industry nose along the way.
But as VGIM grows, the pressure to make it as good as I possibly can has increased too. This means I am spending more time researching, writing and frantically editing it (usually at about 6:30am on a Thursday morning) to make sure I can deliver great posts like these ones on a consistent basis:
Deep dives on how the Saudi Arabian video games industry actually works.
Explanations on how video games are exploited by extremists.
Top quality tittle tattle about interesting industry developments.
And given that I, unfortunately, do not have access to vast quantities of inherited wealth, a recent National Lottery win to my name or massive investment from a sovereign wealth fund to keep myself afloat, I need to find the right way to make VGIM sustainable to ensure I can keep doing the work I’ve loved so far.
I therefore believe that opening up VGIM Insider is a great way to fund the future of the newsletter and begin to build on the foundations of the burgeoning VGIM community - delivering security for me and, hopefully, more benefits for you lot in the process.
So just to check, regular VGIM is definitely staying free?
Absolutely right. Video Games Industry Memo will always offer a full fat, free to read email every Thursday for all subscribers.
Thanks to the support from advertisers such as Into Games, Just About and Sumo Digital, I feel confident that I can find enough industry support to justify keeping the core VGIM newsletter open to all free subscribers.
This means that everyone who wants to discover more about the inner workings of the industry can be a part of the VGIM community too, irrespective of whether or not they’re ready to be an Insider.
Ok, so how much does VGIM Insider cost?
After carefully running the numbers with the help of a supercomputer created by a team of highly paid boffins (aka spending an afternoon messing around with a spreadsheet), VGIM Insider will cost subscribers £6 per month or £50 per year.
That makes a monthly subscription to VGIM Insider costs less than a pint of beer at 99.99% of London pubs and means that an annual subscription is cheaper than buying one triple A video game. Good stuff, eh?
But if you’re not excited by that bargain offer, you can score an even bigger discount for VGIM Insider in one of two ways:
Use the code KEENBEAN to get 20% off VGIM Insider forever. That means VGIM will cost you less than a fiver a month or £40 per year if you sign up before Tuesday 9th July.
You can also get 20% off every seat forever when you buy a group subscription for your business. This discount applies from two purchases upwards, making it the best way for companies to buy into the VGIM dream.
Oh, and there is also an option for you to become a VGIM Insider founding member for £100 too. If you do punt for that option, you’ll receive all the usual benefits plus an extra surprise from me. Intriguing…
Right, I’m in - how do I get signed up?
Hit the button below to become a VGIM Insider or to get your group subscription set up. You know you want to.
And finally, are you going to stop selling to me now?
Listen mate, I’m not making any promises here.
VGIM will be back as normal on Thursday 30th May. Don’t miss out on this week’s edition because it’s going to be a corker…