I am sending the 100th issue of the Creators of All Trades newsletter this Thursday.
Reaching that milestone made me think about the benefits I am gaining. Usually, People ask me why I invest so much time writing a newsletter that takes hours but makes zero revenue. I invest 6 to 12 hours in one issue about 24 times a year. That, multiplied by 9 hours on average, results in 216 hours per year.
216 hours per year you could invest in billable client projects. You are losing revenue year after year. No sponsorships for the newsletter, no paying subscribers.
– Friends of Fresh van Root
NOT SO FAST!
Here is a different look at this:
- I got several startups as clients contracting me because they somehow noted a mention in the newsletter
- I was invited by “VC screening firms” to give feedback on startup products they are considering investing in. This is not a significant revenue, but it is interesting contacts
- I have built relationships with other newsletter writers, marketing nerds, creators, and people who are into the same stuff. – If I did not publish, I would not discover or get discovered
- Existing clients: The side-effect of curating content and testing apps is I constantly gain knowledge that I can infuse into existing projects or offer to my current clients.
- Fresh mind: The newsletter is my personal education project – I consume content, digest it, reflect, and write about it
- Without that tinkering around, procrastinating, skimming newsletters and blogs, I would lose my motivation for the day-to-day job.
- Apart from that, I gained some street credibility and clout :)
All this was because I kept at it.
People found my newsletter, consumed the content, knew my name, remembered some of it, and reached out to me.
Yes, I want to grow the newsletter and might make it a paid digital product or offer sponsorships at some point in the future. But the newsletter is already creating lots of value for me.
Should you start writing a newsletter? Maybe. But building an online property outside social media is something I do highly recommend.
The clickbait title for this blog post would read: How a small newsletter audience helps me make big money and stay independent of social media reach. :)
Now, onward for the next 100.
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