It’s been a touch over a year since I launched the paywall and removed all ads from the site. I’ve checked in to let those interested know how things are going, but for an update: it’s static. When I started the paywall I had 250 members after a month, and today I have 246 members. I’ve only ran one promotion (I sponsored Rocketink.net for a month) and done nothing much else to promote that people should become members.
What I want to do now is two things:
1. Ask for your support. If you know of someone who might enjoy the site, send them my way and, if you can, support the site by [becoming a member](http://brooksreview.net/members/).
2. Send me an [email][1] telling me something you would like to see more of, or any advice/ideas you have for the site. Anything goes, I’ll read them all.
## Contest
This wouldn’t be much of a membership drive without a giveaway, so all members will be entered into a contest to win some great swag — well actually just *one* prize: a backpack.
Boring right? Nah, because I am entering you to win *the best* backpack.
The winner will get to choose between the Goruck [GR1][2], [SK26][3], [Radio Ruck][4] (a good choice for women), [SK20][5] (ditto), or the [Tom Bihn Smart Alec][6] *with* a [Vertical Brain Cell][7] for *your* laptop. ((I’ve reviewed most of these, with exception to the SK line and the Radio Ruck, but I have no doubt those are also excellent bags. The SK26 is on my to-buy list in Pinboard.in. If you win I’ll get in contact and you can let me know then, or quiz me about the bags.))
There’s just one winner because I am not getting these prizes for free, I am buying them with my own money as a thank you to all members. ((I thought about getting a bunch of stuff for free to giveaway, but in the end that’s just a different form of advertising and didn’t feel right to me.))
Thanks for your support and here’s to another year.
[1]: mailto:ben@brooksreview.net
[2]: https://www.goruck.com/Gear/Details/gr1-black?cat=41
[3]: https://www.goruck.com/Gear/Details/sk26-black?cat=41
[4]: https://www.goruck.com/Gear/Details/radio-ruck-black?cat=41
[5]: https://www.goruck.com/Gear/Details/sk20-black?cat=41
[6]: http://www.tombihn.com/backpacks/TB0103.html
[7]: http://www.tombihn.com/PROD/TB0390.html