Long-time readers of this blog will remember that I used to publish a newsletter, and I stopped it a good few years ago now. Part of the reason was that the platform that I was using, MailChimp, had some issues that made it quite difficult to use, and also, the changing global rules around newsletters and signups were too much to manage for me at the time. But I’ve decided to bring the newsletter back, only this time it will be a little different.
New Platform, New Style
First up, I’ll be using a different platform. I’ve chosen Substack because it’s the most popular and the easiest to use. (And it’s free.) I’m sure some people will have issues with Substack, but no matter what platform I choose to use, someone will have an issue with it. Anyway, it's what I’m going with. When I ceased the previous newsletter, I deleted all the mailing lists to comply with GDPR, so I can’t import the old subscribers. If you want to subscribe, you’ll have to subscribe again.
The old newsletter was mostly automated too, taking its content from the RSS feed and publishing a weekly digest. I also manually put out content, but it was mostly automated. The new one won’t be like that. I am hoping to make it like a kind of journal or diary, with a more personal, behind-the-scenes kind of take. I will still be doing a weekly roundup of what was shared on the blogs, but it will also be paired with unique stories and the like. That’s the plan; anyway, we’ll see how it goes.
The beauty of Substack too is that it’s much better designed than other options, as it functions both as a Newsletter and Website, so it can work as both. Reading it both in your mail and on the website is pretty well designed and laid out, which was one of my issues with the way Mailchimp used to format things.
It will be completely free for now. At some point I may do exclusive content for it, but if I do, it will only be select stories, and the core newsletter will always be free.
Why Now?
Having a presence on the web has become increasingly difficult. With platforms like Google putting everything into AI, it’s come at the detriment of those of us trying to run websites in our own little corner of the internet. And apparently Google’s own detriment too. My traffic continues to decline as more and more visitors are redirected to AI summaries instead of actually visiting the website. And relying on social media doesn’t work any more either, because the algorithms on those platforms want more and more to keep you on those platforms, and punish and downplay any external links. The only way to have any chance is to try and take back control of one's audience, which is what I’m trying to do with this newsletter. If you subscribe, you’ll get the email, and you get to decide if it's something you want to read or look at, not some algorithm.
Depending on how this goes, I may decide to bring back my Patreon too. That will also help you take control of what you see and read, and give you a way to support this content too, if it's something you want. But I’m still making up my mind on that. It’s a pretty difficult world out there right now for creatives, and I’m doing my best to come up with ways to keep making content (and earn some kind of a living), but I won’t lie, it’s not easy. It’s not just AI either; it’s a combination of lots of things, including an uncertain world. At the end of the day, I just want to make art and share it, so I’ll keep plugging away.
Anyway, for now, you can check out and subscribe to the new newsletter here on Substack. It’s free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.