Black Crossword: Help us grow!

ABOUT:

• Launched in January 2023, Black Crossword is a daily mini crossword puzzle that places emphasis on terms and clues from across the diaspora. Puzzles are available to play at blackcrossword.com, as well as in book form via Amistad/HarperCollins.

WHY BLACK CROSSWORD?

• A 2020 data project analyzing the subjects of crossword puzzles found that “men were disproportionately more likely than women to be featured, as well as white people compared to racial and ethnic minorities.” (Via Associated Press)
• Crosswords are a widely popular and accessible format, and focusing on Black culture engages an underserved market.

CURRENT REVENUE STREAMS:

• Advertising
• Syndication
• Book publishing
• Events
• Donations

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP:

• Black Crossword is owned and operated by one person: myself (Juliana). I’ve been managing this business solo as best I can with the limited income my business has received from various revenue streams. My goal is to diversify our revenue streams, grow Black Crossword’s audience, and offer them an engaging and meaningful experience.

HOW DONATIONS WILL BE ALLOCATED:

• Web development + launching an app (40%)
  • We currently use a third-party tool to host our puzzles on our website. We’d like to create and own the tools we use so that we can customize them and create a better user experience. Engaging features like leaderboards and streak-tracking would increase our return rate and encourage more site visits. More site visits would improve our advertising income. We also want to launch an app.
• Launching a subscription service (20%)
  • We offer currently offer free daily minis and midis. We want to launch a weekly subscription service offering standard size 15 x 15 puzzles. These puzzles take much longer to construct compared to the minis and midis. Your contribution would help us pay freelance constructors regularly.
• Expanding marketing efforts (20%)
  • Our audience is very passionate about Black Crossword and the gap we’re filling. We want to build on this positive reception by increasing our marketing efforts, especially on social media. We’d like to hire an assistant to post content that provides context to the terms, clues, and figures we highlight in our daily puzzles. Growing our audience will grow our ad revenue, as well as our book sales.
• Keeping the lights on (20%)
  • Running a small business in New York City is very expensive, and prices are increasing. While we do receive revenue, Black Crossword is not yet profitable. Our first step towards building new revenue streams is supporting our current foundation.

Thank you so much for your support!