The announcement by Fairfax today that it is moving much of its content behind a paywall demonstrates that subscriptions sites are the future of the newspaper business. Who wouldn’t pay good money to read the latest celebrity news and Michael Laws columns?

So convinced am I that Fairfax’s new business model does not signal the last death throes of a dying patient, that I going to emulate them.

The announcement by Fairfax is a timely one. I have longed to find a way to monetise this site, but in a way that keeps pure to what I am trying to achieve. Credibility is very important to me, and I would never agree to clutter my site with advertising that ruins the clean, pure look I have perfected. It was pure luck for me, then, that just as I had given up on ever finding a way to make a dollar out of this thing, Fairfax showed me the path. Pure luck. Pure pure luck.

From next week my entire site will be accessible only through a paid subscription. But don’t worry, I’ll keep the package affordable ($8.99 per article, as an introductory offer).

I’ll be exploring other revenue options as I go, which I’m going to flag now. For a modest $49.95 I will include your name or business as a label at the bottom of one blogpost, and for $299 I’ll include your name or business in the body of a post.

If you want me to write a post on a topic of your choosing, I’ll do it for a very reasonable $699. Just tell me who you would like me to laud, defame, or attack, and I’ll get to work (note: defamation work is done on a full indemnity basis. If I get sued you pay).

All prices exclude GST and expenses (stationery, postage, travel, accommodation, mortgage, private schooling for my children etc.)

I’ll post the links to PayPal shortly, so you can start shovelling enormous piles of money my way. But if you just can’t wait please send me an email and we’ll arrange a cash drop-off, preferably with unmarked notes and in a brown paper bag.

And let’s agree to keep the IRD out of this one. They’re busy people, and I don’t think they’d really be that interested in what I’m earning on the side.