How Stitchdown Stays Alive

Stitchdown was born of a consuming love for shoes—and represents a passion project in the purest sense. But passion takes a lot of work, and abundant time…and costs some money, too.

To continue providing you with the best quality footwear reviews, news, interviews, features, and more, Stitchdown must continually figure out ways to generate revenue to support its operation. As a fully editorial and journalistic operation, we always want to be as transparent as possible about how all that works—so, below you can find a helpful framework. And if you ever have any questions at all, please feel free to email hello@stitchdown.com and we’ll be more than happy to answer any specific questions you’re wondering about.

Stitchdown Premium

Over Stitchdown’s life, plenty of people have messaged me to express their thanks for a specific article, or the work in general—and I love that they’ve found something that they love, and get a ton out of. Stitchdown Premium allows people to give their thanks in another way—by making monthly or yearly donations to support Stitchdown’s content and operations.

But on top of that, Stitchdown Premium members get a host of other benefits. Discounts, on shoes, socks, laces, and other such things we and our feet need. Giveaways from top established and emerging brands. Exclusive access to Stitchdown shoe/boot collaborations with hitter brands, as well as early access to other footwear that will be long gone if you show up late. A Discord live-chat community that’s talking about shoes and boots literally all day long.

And also: whatever you want! (Within reason, obviously.) We’re here to listen, and see what we can make happen through brands or shops or in the Discord community. So just ask! And if you’re interested in joining or learning more, here’s where you can do that.

Advertising

Not the newest idea! But from time to time, you’ll see ads on the Stitchdown site, Instagram, and newsletter. Sometimes that will take the form of your classic banner ads. You’ll also sometimes encounter clearly marked content that aligns with Stitchdown’s mission—but which was created in collaboration with a great and trusted brand that shares the same outlook as us. If we’re doing it correctly, that content should be every bit as engaging and useful as the fully editorial content on Stitchdown. It takes more work to do it that way, but we think it’s worth it.

Affiliate Partnerships

Slightly newer idea! You’ve almost certainly encountered affiliate partnerships before while surfing that world wide net. How they work on Stitchdown is this: certain products (mostly shoes and boots, but also other things from time to time) will be linked to what’s known as “affiliate” links.

Which means that if you end up purchasing the recommended product, Stitchdown will get a small percentage of the sale price as a thank you from the retailer. No brand or retailer is under obligation to engage in these relationships—although many choose to because they find it beneficial for them as well. Affiliate partnerships like this are one of the main ways that publications like Stitchdown can continue to exist.

Other Things You Should Definitely Know

-All content on Stitchdown is 100% editorial and no content decisions—from what we cover to how a shoe is rated in a test—are made based on any external considerations.

-While many shoes and boots tested and reviewed by Stitchdown have been purchased the good old fashioned way, at times we do accept products from brands for testing purposes. Given that we are a young, bootstrapped (pun intended) publication, our budget to purchase test footwear is far from unlimited, and so accepting product is periodically necessary to understand what those shoes and boots are really about—and to give you, the potential buyer, an accurate picture.

-All brands who send us shoes and boots for testing are fully aware that all Stitchdown reviews are 100% editorial, and will not be influenced in any manner by the fact that the product was gifted.

-Any time a shoe or boot is provided by a brand, we will clearly disclose that fact in our reviews. Again, it won’t make any difference in our assessment of the shoe—but we 100% feel that you deserve to be aware.

-Obviously we have to pick somewhere to link to when we recommend products. Sometimes those links will be to retailers with which we have an affiliate relationship. But even then, every decision is made with you in mind: we look for reliable, trusted retailers with appealing shipping policies, who stock of a large amount of sizes—so if you like the shoe we recommend, you can buy it right there without trying to search for lots of other sites.

-Every time you buy a product through an affiliate link, or engage with an advertisement, you’re helping this publication out immensely. And we appreciate it! We’re here for you—someone who cares deeply about quality footwear and wants to ensure you buy the best pair of shoes, for you, every time—and we want to keep it that way. So, thank you.