{"id":3600,"date":"2011-03-09T08:09:52","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T14:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.masonworld.com\/?p=3600"},"modified":"2026-04-03T05:04:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T10:04:30","slug":"free-jonathan-leger-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.latenightim.com\/free-jonathan-leger-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Jonathan Leger Products &#8212; A Charity Giveaway That Raised $39,000"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Back in March 2011, my friend Jonathan Leger ran a charity promotion to benefit the Interurban Railway Museum in Plano, Texas. Jon is a software developer who lived near me at the time, and he put together an incredible campaign that combined giving away internet marketing software with raising money for a local museum that serves thousands of children each year.<\/p>\n<h2>What Happened<\/h2>\n<p>Jon offered a bundle of his software tools at a special price, with every dollar going directly to the museum. I helped spread the word by running a giveaway on this blog &#8212; four software packages for anyone who helped promote the cause. The internet marketing community came together in a big way.<\/p>\n<p>The result: more than $39,000 raised for the Interurban Railway Museum. That is real money going to a real place that hosts school field trips, story time events, and a beautiful model train exhibit that recreates a historic section of Plano.<\/p>\n<h2>Why This Still Matters<\/h2>\n<p>The specific software products from this promotion are long gone. Jon's tools were popular in the SEO and keyword research space of that era, and the landscape has changed dramatically since then. But the lesson from this campaign is timeless:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Your online audience is a force for good.<\/strong> If you have built trust with your readers and subscribers, you can mobilize that trust for causes that matter.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Charity promotions work.<\/strong> Jon gave people a reason to buy that went beyond self-interest. That emotional connection drove results that a standard product launch never could have.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Community matters.<\/strong> The internet marketing community in 2011 was smaller and tighter-knit, but the principle applies to any niche. When you show up for your community, they show up for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I am proud to have been part of this campaign. It remains one of my favorite memories from the early days of this blog.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"BlogPosting\",\n  \"headline\": \"Free Jonathan Leger Products -- A Charity Giveaway That Raised $39,000\",\n  \"datePublished\": \"2011-03-09T08:09:52\",\n  \"dateModified\": \"2026-04-03\",\n  \"author\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Person\",\n    \"name\": \"Mark Mason\",\n    \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.latenightim.com\/about\/\",\n    \"jobTitle\": \"Host, Late Night Internet Marketing Podcast\",\n    \"description\": \"Mark Mason helps part-time entrepreneurs build internet businesses one night at a time. 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Jon is a software developer who lived near me at the time, and he put together an incredible campaign that combined giving away internet marketing software with raising money for a local museum that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Jonathan Leger products","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Jonathan Leger Charity Giveaway: How the IM Community Raised $39,000","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"In 2011, internet marketer Jonathan Leger ran a charity promotion that raised over $39,000 for a local museum. The lessons about community and giving still apply.","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[284,772,784,816,817,25,996,1255,1418],"class_list":["post-3600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internet-marketing","tag-city-of-plano-texas","tag-internet-marketing-software","tag-interurban-railway","tag-jon-leger","tag-jonathan-leger","tag-marketing","tag-model-train-set","tag-railway","tag-software"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jonathan Leger Charity Giveaway: How the IM Community Raised $39,000<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2011, internet marketer Jonathan Leger ran a charity promotion that raised over $39,000 for a local museum. 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