Newsletter - October 2018

Hello. Happy Halloween. 

I'm going to start releasing a monthly newsletter (like this one) exclusively on Patreon. The intention is to keep you all "in the loop" with what is going on with the show and to communicate more effectively and transparently to the people who support the show financially. I'm always working on multiple things at once, and this will help you (and me) keep track of everything.

BONUS EPISODES

As I'm sure you have noticed, it has been challenging for me to release bonus episodes on a monthly basis. I apologize. I write slowly, and I'm currently putting everything I have into the normal episodes, so the bonus episodes are usually shoved aside. I could throw something together very quickly and sloppily, but that's not my style. I don't want to release anything that is not up to standards, especially since you're paying for it! However, I will continue to produce them, and I appreciate your patience, but I have other ideas I would like to present to you, as well. Like this one:

I have an idea for a bonus episode series called the Corruption World Tour, where a different country would be chosen for each episode and I would go into detail about some of its most notable instances of corruption, past and present. It would be less of a narrative-driven single story like a typical episode of the show, and more topic-driven with multiple short stories and quick facts per episode. The Corruption World Tour is actually an old idea from the early days of Swindled. I had originally planned to make it into a blog series, but I abandoned that idea when I decided to not have a blog on the website at all. That, too, remains a goal. But, alas, I am only one man.

What do you think? Interested? Please leave your feedback in the comments.

NEW PATREON REWARDS

I am planning to launch Listener Notes series that will contain annotations, behind-the-scenes stories, notes and research materials, insight into the "creative process", and more for each episode. It'll be like reading the liner notes to your favorite album. I'm going to start with the most recent releases and work my way backwards.

If you have any suggestions for new rewards, please let me know.

NEW WEBSITE

In my spare time (ha!), I've been tweaking the design of the Swindled website. The website was one of the first things I made for the show so it holds a special place in my heart. I would argue that the current website is better than 99% of podcast-related websites, but there are still a few things I don't like about it. It's clunky and loads slowly. The menu feels a bit outdated. It could be better. And it will be. Promise.

SWINDLED GOES TO DEUTSCHLAND

A few months ago, I was approached by a new startup company to translate Swindled into multiple languages for international audiences, which I thought was a great idea. A German language version of Swindled is scheduled to launch at the end of November. It's called Schmutzige Geschäfte, which translates roughly to "Dirty Businesses". The subtitle is Wirtschaftsbetrüger die über Leichen gehen, which means "White collar criminals who will stop at nothing" - (an idiom that means literally who will step over bodies!) It'll be the same exact show that you hear now, except it will be narrated by a professional German voice actor named Thomas Arnold. You can check out his work here. I personally can't wait to hear it. I'll tell you more when I know more.

TRUE CRIME PODCAST FESTIVAL 2019

You might have heard at the end of the most recent episode that I will be attending the first annual True Crime Podcast Festival in Chicago, Illinois on July 13, 2019. 

At this time, I have no plans on participating in any panel discussions or live podcasts or anything like that. I'm just going to shake hands and hang out with listeners and other podcasters. I'll be bringing a bunch of stuff to give away.

Hope to see you there.

You can find ticket and hotel information at http://www.tcpf2019.com.

ADVERTISEMENTS

I hate advertising. I find it to be obnoxious and insincere, but, unfortunately, it has become a necessary evil in all forms of media. I've experimented with advertising on the show in the past but I hated the results and scrapped them shortly after their introduction. But, as the show grows larger, the offers are becoming too loud to ignore. So, I may start introducing ads into the show soon, but I'm still on the fence. Just letting you know.

In an ideal world, a larger percentage of listeners would contribute and there would be no need for advertisements at all. But the truth is that less than 1% of Swindled's listenership contributes financially. That's not a complaint. It's just a fact. If you are reading this, you are the 1%, and I appreciate you more than you will ever know. Rest assured, YOU will not be affected. Patreon supporters will always receive the episodes earlier than the rest of the world and those episodes will always remain ad-free. Thank you for your support.

NEW MERCHANDISE

Two new shirts have been added to the Swindled store. Designed by yours truly. One is influenced by the designs of 1980s post-punk bands like New Order, Bauhaus, Television, The Smiths, etc. I've always appreciated the simplicity of those bands' merchandise, so I decided to try my hand at something similar.

The second shirt is more of a modern heavy metal style, featuring a greedy, evil priest. I've gotten so many requests to offer a t-shirt based on the artwork for The Televangelist episode, but the original artwork is too small to print on a shirt. Lousy foresight on my part. So, I decided to make something else that you can wear to make everyone around you uncomfortable. :)

I'm a music nerd first and foremost, so much of what I "create" will always be influenced by that aspect of my life. Art is derivative. "Good artists copy. Great artists steal."

If you're interested, you can purchase these at swindledpodcast.com/shop. Don't forget to use the discount code PATRON20 to receive a 20% discount.

That's it for now. Take care!

A.C.C.