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- I'm tearing the curtain off the rungs
I'm tearing the curtain off the rungs
I'm building a newsletter in public and opening the ledger.
So much has happened since I opened the doors on this new publication that is the personification of everything I’m up to.
I decided for this newsletter/blog where I will write daily to the blog and then send out my bi-monthly recaps of everything shared to peruse at your leisure.
I always tell people how effective newsletters can be in helping grow a creative business, and this is me doing that exact thing to prove that it can work.
However, there needs to be more meat here, something to chew on that makes your subscription worthwhile beyond going back through these archives, and for that, we need data.
Along with sharing the things I’m working on and my thoughts on the state of things regarding my business, I want to share some transparency on the growth of this publication.
I’ll also talk about how I’m promoting all my projects, but for this newsletter, I’m trying to grow it with limited social media promotion. I don’t know exactly what that means, but because most social media feels like a hamster wheel of death and despair, I want to see if I can get by without it.
The Breakdown
Considering I just started in February, the data in this table will be pretty unimpressive. Most of the subscribers listed came because I shared this newsletter on The Hungry. I will continue to use that strategy, but only if what I’m writing here makes sense to be included there.
January | February (so far) | |
|---|---|---|
Subscribers (total) | 2 | 21 |
Posts | 0 | 13 |
Emails Sent | 0 | 2 |
Revenue | 0 | 0 |
Expenses | 0 | 0 |
Although I am sharing my revenue and expenses, if that ever starts to feel braggadocios, I’ll rethink it. The point of sharing this data is to spotlight how I’m growing and if there is a benefit to my growth strategy. I don’t ever want it to be a point of contention for subscribers.
I don’t have a revenue plan for this space yet. Still, there will eventually be expenses because Beehiiv will start charging me after I reach 2,500 subscribers or I need more functionality than the free version allows.
Growth Plan
Because I’m skipping social media, I need to find people interested in what I’m sharing here in other ways, and part of that depends on you.
Newsletter #1 - As I grow The Hungry, I will occasionally share links from here within that newsletter.
One-to-One - I will be reaching out to people directly about subscribing. This means sliding into the DMs directly, so if you see me, that may be what’s happening.
Collaborations - I’m always on the lookout for like-minded publications, and if any of them are open to my contribution, I’ll try to pick up some new subscribers that way.
Medium.com - I don’t use that blogging platform nearly enough, but I’m hoping to pull some people from there to here with a more regular posting schedule. I won’t be sharing those links here or even on The Hungry because I only want that traffic running in one direction.
Advertising - If I use Meta for ads, does that still count as social media? I’m still debating whether I want to go down this road, but I may use Meta ads to promote the newsletter (more likely use them for The Hungry). I may also pay for space on other newsletters… but not until I have something to sell here.
Referrals - This is where you come in. At some point, I will craft a referral program that allows you to get something from me in return for sharing this newsletter with others. I also don’t know what this means yet. I’m considering art-related offerings (stickers, prints, and small originals for total bosses), but I’m open to suggestions.
For now, if you click that button below, that will start logging any referrals, and when I get the details ironed out, you may be in for some sweet rewards.
The Recap
Going forward, this is where I’ll share everything I’ve posted directly to the blog. Because I’m sharing daily, not everything will be the most profound or poignant, and I reserve the right to leave some stuff out if I don’t want to share it here. You enterprising types can investigate on your own to see if anything isn’t mentioned.
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