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Site Updates: Pirates Prospects Subscriptions For $0.42 Per Month

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When I switched over to a subscription model at the start of the year, I decided to make the prices very affordable so that as many people as possible would be able to sign up. In my research of other prospect sites that made the switch, I found that $5 per month was a pretty standard rate. I decided to drop a few dollars off that price, and give bigger discounts to those who signed up for long-term plans. The result was that we charged $2.99 per month, or as low as $2.22 per month under our three-year Top Prospect Plan.

Despite these low prices, I was also sensitive to the fact that there would be some who would have a problem paying even $2-3 per month. It wasn’t that long ago that I was in the exact same situation, mostly due to starting up this site.

When I started this site, I didn’t have any readers. It started with a handful of message board posters who had read my work in a limited capacity. Most days during the first few months I was writing for 50 or fewer people per day. There was even one day when nine people visited the site. Nine! Of course, at the time I was excited when 100 people would visit the site in a day. The first day the site went over 1,000, I had a crazy idea that maybe this could turn into a legit side project that could pay my phone bill or some other contribution.

Skip ahead a few years, and it went well beyond that, turning into my full-time job, and a job where I could afford to employ others to write for the site. That’s something I never imagined at the start, but at the same time, it took a lot to get to this point. I had no job when I was starting this site, and had a ton of student loans. In addition to the site, I was working part-time and temporary jobs when I could get them, but those were scarce around 2009-2011.

I knew that some people couldn’t afford $2-3 per month because I was one of those people not too long ago. There were times where I was searching through my house, looking for things that I didn’t absolutely need that I could sell, just to pay the bills. That’s not a temporary thing either. It changes your approach to finances for good. And it’s something you remember when a full-time job does come along, so that you don’t take it for granted. In this case, it’s also something I remembered when realizing that even with low prices, not everyone could afford it.

So from day one, I looked for alternatives and cheaper options for subscribers. And through a sponsorship with DraftKings, we were able to come up with a great plan that offers subscriptions for as little as $5 per year. I’ve mentioned it many times, but I always want to let people know about this deal.

To get the deal, you must be a new DraftKings customer. Just sign up for an account (using that link), make your first deposit ($5 minimum), and participate in a fantasy sports contest. Once you have completed those steps, send an e-mail to Javier Vargas at DraftKings (jvargas@draftkings.com) and let him know you are participating in the Pirates Prospects subscription promotion. Javier will confirm whether you’ve met the requirements, then will contact me so I can give you a coupon code that will allow you to set up your one year subscription.

That $5 minimum deposit gets you one year of a Pirates Prospects subscription, which amounts to $0.42 per month! After you complete the promotion, we’ll send you a code for your subscription. You can also upgrade to our three-year Top Prospect Plan for $50 more, which amounts to $1.53 per month. Plus, you get a FREE 2016 Prospect Guide with the Top Prospect Plan (details below).

In the future, we might explore discounted subscriptions (currently we offer free subscriptions to active military, as a tribute to my grandfather, who served in two wars…e-mail me at tim@piratesprospects.com for information on that). But the reality is that there’s no way we could offer a subscription that would be cheaper than this. With the Pirates about to go to the playoffs for the third straight year, now is the perfect time to sign up for the site using this promotion. Or, if you aren’t interested in playing fantasy sports, we have our regular plans here.

Upcoming Live Coverage

I’m on the road this morning, flying up to St. Louis to cover this weekend’s series between the Cardinals and the Pirates. I mentioned last week that I was planning on going to Chicago at the end of the month as well. That is now officially the plan. I’m hoping to continue to add more coverage down the stretch. We started that yesterday by adding Ed Giles as a writer for his Pirates analysis.

Right now the playoffs take priority, as we will be covering every game for as long as the Pirates are playing. I’m also planning on going to the Arizona Fall League for a week in November to get some live coverage of Austin Meadows, Reese McGuire, and the other prospects that were announced to the league this week.

Finally, during the playoff stretch my plan is to mix in some Fall Instructional League (instructs) reports from Florida. If you’re unfamiliar with instructs, it’s a Spring Training-like camp for minor leaguers that takes place at the end of the season. As the name suggests, a lot of instruction and development happens here. Players experiment with new positions, pitchers focus on new pitches, and the work that was done during the season is continued. This also provides a good time to get some end of the year reports, which is good for the Prospect Guide. Speaking of which…

Free 2016 Prospect Guide

As I wrote last week, the 2016 Prospect Guide will be FREE to Top Prospect subscribers. Anyone who is currently under a Monthly or Annual plan can upgrade to our three-year plan by going to your Subscription page and clicking “Upgrade”. This will give you a pro-rated upgrade price, with your three-year plan starting today.

Anyone under an Annual plan will receive $10 off the book. There are no discounts for Monthly plans, although upgrading to an Annual or Top Prospect plan does give you a discount on your monthly price, not to mention the discounts for the book.

This promotion also works for the DraftKings accounts. If you wish to upgrade your DraftKings account to a three-year plan, send me an e-mail at tim@piratesprospects.com.

Anyone currently under a Top Prospect Plan is already eligible for this promotion. You will receive a coupon code when the book is released for pre-sales.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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