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This is fascinating because while tools like Substack lower the technical barrier to entry for starting a newsletter, they don't make it easier to create good c

This is fascinating because while tools like Substack lower the technical barrier to entry for starting a newsletter, they don't make it easier to create good content. That part is still a grind. On a few occasions I've thought about creating a newsletter on a whim, only to think better of it when I consider how long it would take to create great content.

pryelluw 6y ago
The grind will always be there, but can be offloaded to ghost writers. The focus then lies on building the theme of each issue. Which itself is another grind. People dont realize that running a newsltetter is akin to publishing a magazine. They tend to see it more as publishing a blog, but are super wrong. Blogs are suspended in time. Newsletters expire (most do).
dhimes 6y ago
The Marshall Memo [1] is one I happily subscribed to for a while. Kim Marshall went through the journals and gave a summary of the research and news most important to educators, weekly. [1] https://marshallmemo.com/ https://marshallmemo.com/
mrjivraj 6y ago
You're certainly right. It takes quite a commitment to write a good newsletter. I started writing one last year myself. I have always been passionate about investing. And having grown up working in the tech and venture world, I've always had this theory that approaching stocks like Venture Capital can outperform the market, so I decided to write about it. It's been an interesting journey. Time goes into 4 areas: 1) Research (figuring out what to write about...in my case, investment ideas and philosophy) 2) Writing (developing your writing style, actually putting your thoughts down on paper, and simplifying the topic as much as possible) 3) Outreach (actually finding the people who will find your writing interesting) 4) Discussion (email, dms, zoom calls with readers can be insightful, fun and motivating, but take time as well) That's in addition to a full time job (if you do it on the side). Best of Luck if you decide to start one :) Here's a link to mine: https://playingfordoubles.substack.com/ https://playingfordoubles.substack.com/
ghaff 6y ago
>how long it would take to create great content And do it on a schedule. In a prior job, for a time, I was responsible for a weekly newsletter we created for a client. Even if you have some flexibility (which we really didn't in this case), sending a newsletter every Tuesday morning (or whatever) through travel, other projects, life, and so forth really got pretty old. I do a lot of writing but it's mostly in the when I have time and inspiration vein.
deleted 6y ago
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pryelluw 6y ago

The grind will always be there, but can be offloaded to ghost writers. The focus then lies on building the theme of each issue. Which itself is another grind. People dont realize that running a newsltetter is akin to publishing a magazine. They tend to see it more as publishing a blog, but are super wrong. Blogs are suspended in time. Newsletters expire (most do).

dhimes 6y ago

The Marshall Memo [1] is one I happily subscribed to for a while. Kim Marshall went through the journals and gave a summary of the research and news most important to educators, weekly. [1] https://marshallmemo.com/ https://marshallmemo.com/

mrjivraj 6y ago

You're certainly right. It takes quite a commitment to write a good newsletter. I started writing one last year myself. I have always been passionate about investing. And having grown up working in the tech and venture world, I've always had this theory that approaching stocks like Venture Capital can outperform the market, so I decided to write about it. It's been an interesting journey. Time goes into 4 areas: 1) Research (figuring out what to write about...in my case, investment ideas and philosophy) 2) Writing (developing your writing style, actually putting your thoughts down on paper, and simplifying the topic as much as possible) 3) Outreach (actually finding the people who will find your writing interesting) 4) Discussion (email, dms, zoom calls with readers can be insightful, fun and motivating, but take time as well) That's in addition to a full time job (if you do it on the side). Best of Luck if you decide to start one :) Here's a link to mine: https://playingfordoubles.substack.com/ https://playingfordoubles.substack.com/

ghaff 6y ago

>how long it would take to create great content And do it on a schedule. In a prior job, for a time, I was responsible for a weekly newsletter we created for a client. Even if you have some flexibility (which we really didn't in this case), sending a newsletter every Tuesday morning (or whatever) through travel, other projects, life, and so forth really got pretty old. I do a lot of writing but it's mostly in the when I have time and inspiration vein.

deleted 6y ago

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