Let Me Buy You A Coffee

Summary

Jim McAulay describes his practice of using ko-fi.com to receive and give support to fellow writers.

Abstract

Jim McAulay, a writer, shares his method of using ko-fi.com to receive financial support from readers, detailing how he treats himself to a coffee with the money he earns daily from his stories. He emphasizes the joy of both receiving and giving, as he maintains a list of followers with ko-fi links to whom he can pass on the kindness by buying them a coffee in return. McAulay provides a step-by-step guide on how to set up a ko-fi link, including registering on ko-fi.com, choosing a payment method, and linking an image in a story to the ko-fi payment page. He encourages his followers who have a ko-fi link to potentially receive a coffee from him when someone buys him one.

Opinions

McAulay expresses that receiving a coffee (monetary support) from a reader significantly uplifts his mood and motivates him to spread positivity by supporting others.
He finds a second wave of joy in the act of giving back to the community, highlighting the importance of mutual support among writers.
McAulay's preference for using ko-fi.com over traditional payment methods like PayPal is evident, as he suggests using Stripe for those who are signed up on Medium.
The use of ko-fi.com is presented as an easy and effective way for writers to receive support directly from their readers, fostering a sense of connection and appreciation.
The act of buying a coffee for someone else is seen as a symbolic gesture of gratitude and community among writers, beyond the monetary value.

Here’s how to facilitate it.

This evening when I opened my email (I open email once per day) I discovered that somebody had clicked on the link in one of my stories and had bought me a coffee (sent me $1).

Every day that I publish a story I get at least $1. That’s because I use ko-fi.com to pay myself. Every once in a while somebody likes a story enough that they send me money.

That really makes my day. But more importantly, it causes me to do something that I know will raise my spirits even higher. I get a second wave of joy because it triggers me to pass it on. I am going to make somebody else happy.

I maintain a list of people who follow me and who happen to have a ko-fi.com link. I pick somebody and send them a coffee.

Here is how to set up a ko-fi.com link.

Go to ko-fi.com and register.

They ask for a PayPal email address. If you are signed up on Medium and have a stripe account you don’t need it just enter your regular email address then choose to have the payment sent through stripe. You can add PayPal too if you want to.

Once you are registered

find and save an image you want to link to. The ko-fi.com logo works well but you can choose something else.

go to your ko-fi.com home page

click on support.

copy and save the address https://ko-fi.com/yourname#paymentModal.

at the end of your story add your saved image.

select it and you will see the alt text banner.

hit control k

last, paste the paymentModal link.

If you follow me and happen to have a ko-fi.com link. When somebody buys me a coffee I just might pass it on.

Buy me a coffee

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Jim McAulay🍁says, “I am going to enjoy a synonym bun with my coffee. Just like the ones Grammar use to make.”

Let Me Buy You a Coffee

Here’s how to facilitate it.