If you appreciate our work, become our sponsor and donate!

We don’t know how you feel about what’s going on with Google’s AI Overviews and their latest AI Mode, but to us at Digital Citizen, it definitely feels like Google’s bent on destroying small independent publishers. Unfortunately, their AI products use the content we create to provide answers to people all over the world, without sending us any more traffic. This means we can no longer earn a living through display advertising. So here we are, trying to redefine how we work and how we earn money by asking for your direct sponsorship. If you like what we do here at Digital Citizen, and any of our articles have helped you in any way, here’s how you can help us by donating:

NOTE: If you don’t know much about what’s going on with Google AI Overviews and AI Mode and how it’s impacting the web, we recommend this article published by the BBC, titled “Is Google about to destroy the web?”.

We’re using Google Reader Revenue Manager for donations

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been implementing and tweaking a system that our readers can use to support us with one-time or monthly donations. We’re using the Google Reader Revenue Manager platform for this service.

Google Reader Revenue Manager

Image source: Google

While it doesn’t provide as many customization options as we would’ve liked, it has the benefit of being integrated with the other core platforms we’re using, also made by Google. Here’s how it works:

How to support Digital Citizen with a one-time or monthly donation

When you visit our website, you will see a pop-up similar to the one below. By default, Google proposes a recurring monthly contribution, and you can choose one of the three suggested sums of money. We started with small sums because we don’t want to become a burden on our readers. The Reader Revenue Manager also allows us to set the donation sums using our local currency (RON), and then it automatically converts it to your local currency, using the real-time exchange rate. Therefore, the amounts you see should be numbers like $1.17 USD, $1.60 CAD, or €1 EUR. Also, the prompt is shown only once for each visitor, every 24 hours.

The donation prompt on Digital Citizen

If you’re not OK with a recurring monthly donation, click or tap on Monthly contribution and choose One time contribution. Then, select the sum you want to donate, and click or tap the Contribute button.

You can also choose a one time contribution

You’re asked to sign in with your Google account. Enter the email address or phone number associated with your Google account, click or tap Next, and provide the necessary sign-in information.

Sign in with your Google account

Once you’re signed in, you see the payment prompt. You can use any of the credit cards associated with your Google account or add a new one. Click or tap Contribute, and the payment is made.

Provide your credit card details

You should receive a confirmation message, and an email in your Gmail inbox with all the details. If you’re curious about the terms and conditions of Google Reader Revenue Manager, you can find them here.

A big thank you for your support!

Before closing this article, we would like to give a huge THANK YOU to all of you who support us. One of the things we’re considering as paying back for your support is to create an email group for donors only, where we ask for feedback each month, giving you the opportunity to suggest content that may be particularly useful to you. What do you think? And do you have any other constructive ideas? Comment using the options below, or use the contact form on our website to send us your feedback. We’re curious to receive your feedback. 🙂