Infill Thinking Lifting the O&G knowledge curve
2017 was Infill Thinking’s first full year in business. Readership growth this year has far exceeded my initial expectations, and the Infill Thinking team is honored and grateful to have earned your trust in our market intel.
This year, we turned down multiple requests from oilfield companies interested in advertising on our website. Infill Thinking’s reach has grown quickly, and this has not gone unnoticed by potential advertisers.
I created Infill Thinking because I saw a need for readable oilfield research published free of corporate influence. By writing for readers not the corporate interests who splash blinking ads across O&G websites everywhere else, we continue to remain unbiased. Moreover, the uncluttered reading experience we deliver has resonated with thousands of oilfield decision makers.
This differentiated approach is our competitive advantage and it will never change. Subscribers that pay to support Infill Thinking will never be exposed to advertisements on the website or in email inboxes. And we will continue to turn away advertising requests from the companies that are our subject matter here at Infill Thinking so that we may remain unbiased.
Servicing Inactive Subscribers
In addition to our core paying subscribers that get the ad-free product, Infill Thinking has attracted a growing list of non-paying readers this year. More than 35% of readers that start a free trial become permanent Infill Thinkers, but there are some folks who sign up to read an update and don’t continue after the trial for one reason or another.
These folks are like-minded in their industry interest, but they may not have a business case to pay for full access to the research like you do. As this group has grown, we’ve been thinking carefully about how to serve a non-paying audience alongside our prized paying subscribers.
Once per week, we send inactive subscribers a small excerpt (a few paragraphs) from our research archives as a reminder that they can renew to join the hundreds of executives that now have full access to Infill Thinking daily.
This free e-newsletter is just a fraction of the research you (as a paying subscriber) read in full a week or two before. Because of our depth, these small and aging excerpts are still of great interest and value to many people in the industry.
We Asked Westward Environmental, Inc. To Sponsor Our Free Service
Today, I’m pleased to welcome Infill Thinking’s first and only sponsor: Westward Environmental, Inc. With the support of Westward Environmental, we will be able to cover the cost of the free service described above while maintaining our independence and keeping our core subscriber newsletter and website ad-free.
Over the course of 2017, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know this highly respected consulting firm and their distinguished principals. Our two organizations share some common philosophies: high standards of excellence, emphasis on independent thinking and truth seeking, steadfast dedication to clients, and a strong sense of corporate ethics and responsibility.
As I embarked on the search for our first sponsor, I quickly realized that very few companies checked all our boxes. We were searching for:
- a first-rate company providing valuable services to readers in the O&G and mining sectors,
- a company that would never be the subject of Infill Thinking research (directly or indirectly),
- a company with extremely high ethical standards that would not try to influence our topic selection or conclusions,
- a partner that we could add real value for by creating awareness for their brand and service.
Flipping through my Rolodex, the construction consulting firm Westward Environmental quickly rose to the top of my list. In fact, they are the only company I invited to sponsor Infill Thinking, so I was thrilled when they said yes!
While Westward Environmental offers technical consulting services to the same O&G and mining companies that we write about, they do not directly participate in the competitive landscape that is our subject matter. Given the nature of their practice and their ethics (which I know firsthand to be beyond reproach), I can confidently reassure all readers that this new relationship will have zero bearing on Infill Thinking research conclusions and direction going forward.
So a big thank you to Westward Environmental for helping Infill Thinking to deliver a valuable service to the industry. Please check them out here if you need to outsource expertise to assist with any issues or challenges in these key areas: environmental, geologic, & engineering consulting, safety & health training, and natural resource management.
What Does This Mean For Me As A Paying Subscriber?
As a paying subscriber the only change you might notice is better service. Westward’s support strengthens our commitment to grow Infill Thinking so you have more of the high quality research updates you love to read. I reaffirm the following commitments to you:
- As long as you remain a paid member in good standing, you won’t see any ads as you consume our research updates – that goes for both the website and the e-newsletter.
- We will never disclose your individual personal information or contact info to any of our sponsors.
- You can rest assured that our unbiased coverage of the industry will continue free of corporate influence.
Interested In Being Considered For Future Infill Thinking Sponsorship?
We do not have any more sponsorship opportunities available at this time, but that may change in the future. So if you are interested in reaching our audience and you do not work for a company competing directly in the markets we cover, please email [email protected] to be added to our sponsor waiting list. This will ensure you are the first to know if availability opens in the future.
Our core goal is to maintain the independence and objectivity that readers have come to count on in our subscriber product. Thus, we take sponsor selection very seriously to avoid corporate influence. To that end:
- Companies competing directly in the markets we cover cannot sponsor Infill Thinking.
- We will only work with sponsors whose value propositions we understand and believe in.
- We will only work with sponsors that have demonstrated high ethical standards.
Thank You For A Great First Year!
From all of us here at Infill Thinking, thank you for reading and supporting our work this year. And a special thanks to our new sponsor as well.
Infill Thinking is nothing without the access and insight so many of our readers have given generously to us. Thank you for every enlightening conversation, every text and email exchange, and every invitation to visit you in the field. Most importantly, thank you for every chance you’ve given us to earn your trust.
Encouraged by the support of our fast growing base of paying subscribers and Westward Environmental Inc., we look forward to serving you with high caliber oilfield research updates for many more exciting years ahead.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Joseph Triepke
Founder & Principal Research Analyst | Infill Thinking, LLC
