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A follow up to @mattbirchler on why opting for Newsletters instead of a blog? (#blogger #blogging #writing #substack)
In a recent blog post, the well known blogger and content creator, Matt Birchler, wants to understand why so many people are opting for emails (newsletters) over the web. I want to give my perspective on each of his questions.
What about writing in a newsletter is more enjoyable than writing for a blog?
My Numeric Citizen Introspection newsletter is a monthly one. I start writing the next issue at the beginning of each month. I hit āPublish and sendā at the very end of each month. It gives me four weeks to nurture its content. When the end of the month approaches, the newsletter content is mostly complete and I like how it evolved from the beginning. It is a satisfying process. Then, I take a pause and look forward to start the next one. I like the regular beat of all this process. I wouldnāt do a weekly newsletter, though, as it requires much more time to do.
Are newsletter audiences more engaged than blog subscribers?
Iām not sure about this one in general. For me, it is too early to tell. My gut feeling is that people are more or less engaged the same way as they are with blogs. Iād like to be wrong, though, and have people engage more with newsletters.
As a reader, do you prefer reading in your email app to an RSS app (or just the web in general)?
I use Substack to build and send my newsletters. Each of them are also available via an RSS feed. Depending of the client used, the reading experience can be enjoyable on both type of clients. Personally, I do subscribe to Hey and reading newsletters with their client is really nice and provides a nice clipping feature which is very handy.
Do you not miss things like link posts and āgoing viralā which are much harder, if impossible to do with emails?
Link posts can be done in newsletters and they wonāt go viral for sure. But, Iām not really looking for this kind of fame to be honest.
Is it easier to get people to sign up for a paid subscription compared to the web?
Iām still building this stuff and my newsletter is free for now. I get new subscribers regularly but not as much as I would like. I guess I still have to get the word out and be more āfamousā.
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Secured. (@medium, #blogger, #blog)
A word about my other home: Medium, which I love. Following their latest update, they now offers publishers to secure their own domain name as well as allows better customization of publisherās profiles. This is mine).
Im still pondering how I’ll make use of Mediumās new love for bloggers.
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Iāve been robbed by... @duggu24 (#bloggerlife #blogger)
For the first time in my numeric life (at least, from what Iām aware of), one of my article has been robbed by another guy. After discovering it, I asked for immediate removal but without success. So, today, Iām calling him out.
The robbed article is the one about upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 4 to Series 6 published on my main blog on October 3 of 2020 and on Medium. You can see the stolen article there. This article was then pushed on this fake Twitter account with 1628 followers. This Twitter account is apparently owned or operated by this guy, the thieve who is following four people and has only one follower (poor guy).
This hosting website seems to enjoy quite a bit of traffic. Good for him. All his articles is stolen stuff without any mention of the source. He must be proud of himself, I wonder if his parents are, though?
The main take out: Iām must be a good writer after all so people are starting to notice and copy my stuff.
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On newsletters rising popularity #blogger #blogging #writing #writers
The rising popularity of paid newsletters is good news for many reasons. First, it’s a signal that people are willing to pay for great content without ads all around it. Second, some people value the direct relationship feeling with the writer compared to a traditional website. Third, the popularity of independent writing is rising which is giving back control to the writers.
In a recent article by Nick Heer on Pixel Envy, the author writes:
Yet, despite all of these clear advantages, I still find it difficult to think of my email inbox as somewhere I will go to find something enjoyable to read.
I find newsletters a wonderful medium that cut the noise from social networks. The reading experience can further be improved with a great email client like Basecamp’s Hey which provides a specific reading mode for newsletters call The Feed. You can read my review of this email client here.
Read more comments from Mr. Heer in his blog post. I started a newsletter a few weeks ago. For now and the foreseeable future, it will be free. I have to prove myself that I can meet the deadline every month with quality content. I’ll see how it goes.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
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On Ulysses Latest Release for iPadOS 14
Using the latest release of Ulysses for iPadOS 14, it is a joy to write on the iPad. Now, what am I writing, you might ask? More than 1700 words to express my current view of iOS 14 widgets: where are we, whatās left and where it could be going. It was supposed to be a 5 min reads… now Iām at more than 7 min. Oh well. Should be out in the coming days on my main blog at https://numericcitizen.me
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Iām currently testing the beta of the upcoming reimagined Medium mobile app and I love it š„°. For once, a redesigned experience is not synonymous of going backward. More on this soon.
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My Numeric Citizen Introspection newsletter is out! Check it out, it’s free! Lots of stuff about Apple, photography, privacy and climate change! #newsletter #apple #photography #privacy #climatechange
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The second edition of my Numeric Citizen Introspection Newsletter is on the launchpad!
My upcoming (and free BTW) Numeric Citizen Introspection Newsletter for September is done. I’m just waiting for September to conclude before hitting the send button. Crafting newsletters like this is so fun. Meanwhile, why not give a look at the first edition?
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Micro.blog 2.0 - Testing, 1-2-3, Testing...
I really like what I’m seeing here on macOS. Only request is the default view of a New Post window should show the Title and Categories by default. On the web, the improvements are massive. I’m surprised the Bookmarking feature is available in a new Premium tier only. I want this feature but not the others (podcasting, richer media support). I’ll give it a try while it is free and I’ll see. On iOS and iPadOS, the workflow of selecting a photo from the library is still broken, otherwise, I love the changes. There seems to be speed improvements too. In other words, it is snappier!
All in all, I like where Micro.blog is going with these updates.
Testing an embedded bookmark here.
For the Micro.blog 2.0 launch week, weāve enabled the new bookmark archiving and highlights feature for everyone to try out. You can upgrade to Micro.blog Premium at any time and also get podcast and video hosting.
Read: www.manton.org
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Thought of the day for bloggers and written content creators
Competing against Googleās YouTube, Facebook, Instagram et al. In order to grab users attention is impossible, even with great content to a certain degree. Coupled with the general trend towards more visual content instead of written words, Itās hard to build things like newletters or even simple blog with a reasonable readership. I guess this is the numeric world we must accept to live in. Your thoughts?
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While I’m already preparing for released of the second Numeric Citizen Introspection Newsletter, slated for the first week of October, I’m pleased with the visitors and subscribers numbers. Thanks to you all! #newsletter #blogger numericcitizen.substack.com
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When you get the hang of it, Notion is very powerful and can be what you want it to be.
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Just in case you missed it, I started a newsletter touching subjects like Apple, photography, privacy protection and climate change. You could be surprised to see how often these are interrelated. It’s free. #newsletter #blog numericcitizen.substack.com
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There you have it. #newsletter #blog #writing #blogger Hoping for a long series.
https://numericcitizen.substack.com/p/numeric-citizens-introspection-newsletter
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And we’re ready for launch, tomorrow! All systems are ready! Weather is a go too! Don’t miss the officiel launch of my newsletter and subscribe NOW! It’s exciting! #newsletter #writing #blogging #blog #apple #photography #privacy #climatechange numericcitizen.substack.com
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It came to my mind that preparing and sending my first newsletter is like putting a message in a bottle and dropping it in the sea. #writing #writer #blogging #blog Picture from Javardh from Unsplash. numericcitizen.substack.com
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Iām close to finishing up my first newsletter on Substack. I’m quite happy of the end results for a first try. Can’t wait to share to my subscribers this week-end! It’s time to get in the train, ladies and gentlemen! numericcitizen.substack.com
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Finding my newsletter purposes. #blogging #blog #newsletter #writing
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I’m building something new. Again. Can’t wait to share the final results and the start of something new. Why not give a look at the beginnings. #newsletter #blogging #blogger numericcitizen.substack.com
