Hello everyone! It’s almost been six months since How About This debuted - hard to believe! I’ve been pleased both with the growth of the newsletter and the engagement of wonderful readers like you! My original goal was to reach 300 subscribers by the end of 2022. Things are on target to exceed that goal by 200% or more.
When I started this newsletter I had some vague ideas of showcasing my own ideas and writing. The concept of How About This has been refined several times along the way to incorporate interviews as a staple of each week’s content in addition to my own writings and looking at other great things on the Internet.
Two things I would like to preview with you in this newsletter: more marketing/cross-promotion, and… something else.
Marketing/cross-promotion
I’ve tried some cross-promotion with other newsletters over the past few months - thanks to those kind souls for their participation. I’m going to continue with more of this, including some cross-promotion with some much larger newsletters. Because of the size difference and the nature of the opportunities, I’m going to experiment with some cross-promotion which is more… obvious.
Right now I have a Cross-Promotion section on my Friday How About These Links newsletters but it’s kind of low key. Some new promotions will be more obvious (i.e. harder to miss) but a) they will be promotions with newsletters that I think H.A.T.T.E.R.s might enjoy and b) they will be limited experiments at this point.
You’ll see what I’m talking about tomorrow (Oct. 28). It won’t hurt, promise!
I’d like to point out that being a Substack newsletter provides a tremendous marketing advantage because there are great opportunities to spread the word within that network: many of you reading this newsletter became aware of it via another Substack publication. But there’s lots of other places out there to explore and so I’m going to evaluate and pursue opportunities that make sense.
Another big announcement
How About This is a free publication and it will remain free for the foreseeable future. It’s a labour of love for me and I get great personal satisfaction out of everything involved. But I would certainly like to do more.
In early November I intend to introduce paid subscriptions as an option for H.A.T.T.E.R.s who would like to provide monetary support to this endeavour. Following the Substack model there will be monthly and annual paid subscription choices, plus another tier for really incredibly supportive (and generous) readers - I guess we could call them TOP H.A.T.T.E.R.s or something. :)
I’ve considered putting out a tip jar like I’ve seen other writers do but I decided to use the model built in to Substack because they provide a great platform for what I want to do and this can help them cover a bit of their costs.
VERY IMPORTANT: I have no plans to put any of my regular content behind a paywall at this time. At this stage it’s far more important to me to keep the newsletters I’ve published available to anyone who might want to read them.
I am thinking about ideas for paid-only content but I need to give this much more thought before I proceed with anything. There might be some limited experiments but you will still receive the same level of content that you receive today, free of charge, if you remain a free subscriber.
I am also working on acknowledgements, thank yous, rewards, etc. for those who choose paid subscriptions that don’t involve paywalled content, more to come.
There is absolutely no obligation on you, dear reader, to contribute financially. I am just putting it out there to anyone who would like to contribute to the future growth of this newsletter.
Should any kind souls decide to subscribe, here’s how I would use the money (short term goals):
Promotion and marketing of this newsletter (to continue to spread the word and attract additional subscribers)
Graphic design for the newsletter (not one of my strengths…)
Additional hardware/equipment to support the newsletter (i.e. dedicated laptop computer, etc.)
Any/all of these things would help expand both the quality of How About This and this newsletter’s reach.
NEXT WEEK
I’ll be celebrating my sixth anniversary next week with both the giveaway of a free Leuchtuurm1917 hardcover notebook to a lucky subscriber plus my month 6 update, which I’ll be publishing on Nov. 3. I plan to make paid subscriptions available starting Nov. 3.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I’m nervous about publishing this post! I’ve been thinking about taking this step for weeks and have gone through pros and cons several times. This model that I’m proposing will be an interesting experiment and I’m very curious to see how it goes. The only way to know for sure is to give it a try!
The last thing I want to do is to discourage anyone from remaining a free subscriber if that’s their preference.
I’m grateful to anyone who has taken the time to read my posts and, once again, thank you for that.
If you have any questions or concerns about these plans, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at markdykeman@gmail.com.
Great post, Mark - it's good to read how it's all going, and how it's all GOING to be going!
Particular congratulations on smashing your subscriber target! I have a target of my own which is nearly in the bag (albeit a smaller bag than yours!).
Congrats on taking the next step, Mark! I think evolving the newsletter and taking some risks is important for any writer. As long as you are still enjoying the endeavor, then I say go for it! I'm excited to see where 2023 takes you 🌟