Good morning,
Last week, I introduced you to the women who built PROVOKED. This week, I want to talk about what it takes to keep building it—and why I'm asking for your help.
Here's the honest version of the media landscape right now: It's a mess. The platforms that once connected publications like ours to readers have either collapsed or been hijacked by AI-generated content that's cheaper, faster, and soulless. Facebook’s algorithms continue to disappoint. Google search is barely recognizable.
At PROVOKED, we made a different bet.
We bet on women writers our age who have something to say. On stories that carry earned authority—the kind you get from being in the room, making the mistake, surviving the thing, and coming out the other side with something worth saying.
That bet costs money.
Real writers cost money, and we pay all our writers, because women deserve to be paid for their labor. Good editing costs money. Building something that lasts costs money.
We have sponsors and advertisers and we're grateful for both. But sponsorships follow audience, audience follows trust, and trust is built one reader at a time over years.
So today, we're launching PROVOKEDplus—our membership program.
Not because we want to put content behind a wall. The Thursday newsletter stays free. The articles stay free. What we're building with PROVOKEDplus is something different: a closer, more direct conversation between you and us. A new Sunday newsletter that goes deeper. Quarterly gatherings with me. A book club launching this spring. Early access to everything we're building next.
The Founding Member tier is intentionally small. Fifty seats. When they're gone, they're gone. Because a founders' circle only works if it's actually a circle. Close enough to matter. Small enough to know each other. Your name goes on the Founders' Wall. You'll be part of the conversations about what comes next.
Here's what I know about the women who read PROVOKED: You don't do things halfway. You’ve built careers, families, lives. You know what it takes to build something that lasts.
When you're in, you're in. When something matters to you, you show up for it.
This matters to us. We're asking you to show up.
PROVOKEDplus starts at $8 a month. Annual membership saves you 17 percent.
We built this for you. Now we're inviting you to build it with us. Thank you.
