It has been nearly two months since Hello Poetry started charging poets to add their work. The reaction to the announcement wasn't terribly surprising; some writers wouldn't pay, some writers did pay, and many writers couldn't pay. However, there were two things I didn't expect.

First, just how many writers there are that want to use Hello Poetry but don't have a means of paying online. Whether they don't have a credit card or a PayPal account, or they don't make payments online for privacy reasons, there were far more writers unable — but willing — to pay than I anticipated. This was horrible news, as I couldn't stand the idea of turning away so many great writers who want to use Hello Poetry.

Fortunately, it's not all bad news. What also caught me by surprise were the individuals that stood up and actually wanted to pay more. So much more, in fact, that their donations alone are enough to cover the majority of the cost of running Hello Poetry. Between their support, paid accounts and some fundraising I'll be doing in the coming months, I'm confident Hello Poetry can sustain itself.

Which brings me to the good news: we're no longer be charging to add work to Hello Poetry. Instead, adding poems will be completely free, and we'll bring back Pro accounts with access to detailed stats and a few other "pro" features. Everyone who has paid for their check-in card will have an opportunity to switch to a Pro account or have their money completely refunded. I'll get in touch with each of you individually over the next two weeks.

I must say, I couldn't be happier with the outcome; Hello Poetry remains free of advertisements, and is again free to use thanks to the support of our generous donors. Thank you to everyone for your feedback and support over the last two months. I'll keep you updated with more details in the coming months.

In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with me using the comments below, or on Facebook or Twitter.