Some good news
And you can make it better
I got some good news today: After a very rough few months, Progress Report rejoined Substack’s rising Best Sellers list in the ultra-competitive political newsletter category.
The algorithm that determines the list and its rankings are something of a black box — it definitely isn’t based solely on sales, I’ll tell you that much — but I won’t complain about suddenly finding the newsletter ranked #66 after months of net subscription loss. I don’t do this work for status, but the ranking helps with visibility, gaining new subscribers, and making the work sustainable, so I can’t just ignore it, either.
The Best Seller list resets every morning, so there is precious little time to capitalize on this rare bit of momentum. So tonight, I’m asking you to upgrade to a paid subscription to Progress Report, and to make it more enticing, I’m offering 50% off a monthly or full year subscription.
As you’ll see on the leaderboard below, I’m in the company of some great publications and utter lunatics, including blogger Michael Tracey, who made headlines this weekend for trying to fight former CNN anchor Jim Acosta. One of those radical centrist contrarians, Tracey has busied himself with the bewildering work of protecting rich pedophiles named in the Epstein files. That he tried to throw down with Acosta at the party thrown by Substack before the White House Correspondents Dinner suggests that this website could use some new protagonists.
The kind of work that we do at Progress Report isn’t super sexy — interviews with underdog progressives challenging corporate Democrats in primaries, building websites that document legislative elections and state and local ballot initiatives, diving deep into policy doesn’t sell like Trump-related hot takes. This is a rare opportunity, so I hope you’ll find the $2.50 per month to help Progress Report rise of the list and become more sustainable.
I’ve never written an email like this, and look forward to returning to the reporting and analysis that I’ve been doing at Progress Report since 2018. Whether you can afford to upgrade or not, your readership and support mean the world.
Wait, Before You Leave!
Progress Report has raised over $7 million dollars for progressive candidates and causes, breaks national stories about corrupt politicians, and delivers incisive analysis, and goes deep into the grassroots.
None of the money we’ve raised for candidates and causes goes to producing this newsletter or all of the related projects we put out. In fact, it costs me money to do this. So, I need your help.
For just $5 a month, you can buy a premium subscription that includes:
Premium member-only newsletters with original reporting
Financing new projects and paying new reporters
Access to upcoming chats and live notes
You can also make a one-time donation to Progress Report’s GoFundMe campaign!
Thank you so much for doing this!
Jordan, I have been one of your subscribers for years. I just want to take this moment to say thank you and let you know how much I appreciate your column. I am an "in the weeds" type of person, so when you tell me what is going on down ballot, regardless of which state, or have an interesting progressive candidate to introduce to us, I take note, do a little more personal research, and often will end up donating. You are so much more interesting than a dozen shows all commenting on the same click bait events...thanks again for your hard work. I am still a subscriber and will undoubtedly continue to do so.