This year has been a time for the ImmInst community to look inward. And whenever we do, one conundrum is evident: On the one hand the ImmInst forums are bristling with discussions about nutrition – exchanges about supplements, vitamins, diet and related lifestyle are consistently the most popular and often attract some very high quality contributions.
On the other hand, ImmInst is a radical organisation, aspiring to nothing less than “conquering the blight of involuntary death”. Yet most agree that whereas nutritional supplements can certainly help you in getting to advanced, healthy age, these compounds will not extend your lifespan to any significant extent. They may even, some worry, lull people into a false sense of ‘doing enough’ by just taking a pill each day and hoping for the best. In fact, has not the ‘anti aging’ industry hijacked the term from serious biomedical science?
This scepticism has deep roots into the very core of ImmInst: on the one hand, we make some money from adverts –all of then related to anti-aging– and we gladly accept it, so that we can plough it back into science and activism. In fact, we are just now running the biggest fundraiser in our history, trying to raise money for research into an ambitious stem cell therapy against Alzheimer’s and brain aging – every dollar donated will be matched thanks to the advertising revenue that we managed to collect this year.
So what do we say when potential collaborators from the anti-aging sector approach us? Do we turn them down in favour of not blunting our ‘radical’ edge or do we embrace them, caring little for the potential dilution as long as its all for a good cause?
The answer, of course, is neither. We think about each potential collaborator very carefully and try to find a match that is of like spirit and adds true value.
We on the Board think ‘Stop Aging Now’ are such a partner. Why? Well, for one thing consider the name. I look at my bookshelf and my eye is easily drawn to the 1996 (first British) edition of ‘STOP AGING NOW!” by Jean Carper.
The distinct yellow cover, the bold lettering, the exclamation mark. There is no equivocation here. I remember seeing the book, many years ago on a bookshelf. Flicking through, I decided –maybe arrogantly- that as someone who follows the literature it didn’t have a lot of news for me. And yet I bought it anyway, because I liked the boldness of the title. I have kept the book, now somewhat out of date, through some moves of abode, because I really like seeing it on my bookshelf – a clear, uncompromising clarion call.
SAN’s bold marketing is one aspect why it seems a good fit to an outfit that – even through there is a major rebranding on the horizon – remains, at its heart the ‘Immortality Institute’. But its not the only positive. In the discussions with SAN it became clear that they were not treating ImmInst like any other potential advertising outlet. They were genuinely interested in our community and in how we operate. And they seem genuinely interested in supporting us.
In that context, I felt entirely comfortable in telling SAN some difficult news: whereas some of their products would be a great fit, others might not quite hit the spot with the very well informed, but sometimes cash-strapped and generally younger ImmInst constituency. This was a departure, perhaps, from SAN’s usual customer base.
SAN could see that and were very interested when we suggested to gather some users feedback to help them develop their products. This willingness to listen clinched the deal.
And we think it’s a great deal for ImmInst.
In exchange for an unobtrusive banner promotion, on our site:
- SAN will promote IMMINST’s book, The Scientific Conquest of Death, for purchase on SAN’s website and will receive no commission for any sales generated by this effort. SAN may also offer free copies of the PDF for the book on its Special Reports page.
- SAN will include IMMINST with a brief description and logo on the SAN Partners Page.
- SAN will write a feature article on IMMINST, which will be included on the SAN website and in a SAN Newsflash email to the full email list. The article will include an interview with one of the IMMINST leaders.
- SAN will make a $500 donation to IMMINST dedicated research fund (and SAN’s CEO, Josh Corn, will become a lifetime member)
- SAN will offer a link to a special landing page on the SAN website with a coupon code offering a 30% discount to IMMINST members and 10% discount to IMMINST non-member visitors, during certain periods as agreed jointly.
- SAN will pay IMMINST a 30% commission of the gross revenue of any customer that originates from the IMMINST website and email promotions.
- SAN will listen to the ImmInst user community as to how it might further improve its products to benefit dedicated life-extensionist customers.
Sounds great doesn't it? So if you want to improve your nutrition, slow down your aging process AND support this community and the grass roots activism and science projects – PLEASE check out SAN.
Together, we can work to ‘Stop Aging Now’!
Members click here (link not yet active).
