Sharing Personal Notes in a Newsletter

Lots of things have been happening lately in my life. Not that you should care, but I had to start this letter somehow.

• I'm trying to recover a website from a Google update
• I'm extending my family's cash runway before going broke
• I'm creating a ton of content (the 'ton' is two videos a week for me)
• I'm planning for a family trip next week while in financial trouble
• Physical and mental health taking serious hits

Lots of problems. And I need to solve them. So, I'm documenting everything for my sanity.

Purpose of the Newsletter

One minor problem I have had is the purpose of my newsletter. And I don't mean if I should turn it into a product. At the current state, it's more like a donation thing.

Every letter is free. But whoever feels generous and wants to return the favor of my content, helping them in some way, can pay my monthly (or annual) phone bill, so to speak.

These recent letters have led a few of you to reach out to me. People who have been following me for twenty years! 😲

I read some very kind words that encouraged and lifted my spirits. Thank you for that. You know who you are.

Yet, they were worried that I may paywall my newsletter. Well, I can tell you that I have a long way to go for that. First, I need to prove I can provide value with these letters. The result of that would be more people subscribing to my letters.

Because now, judging by the number of people subscribing, it seems I'm not providing lots of value. Or am I just promoting myself in the wrong way? Well, bragging and selling myself haven't been my strengths.

Anyway, you've probably noticed that my recent newsletter issues have been changing in format. The reason is exactly that. Trying to find what works both for me and for you. My loyal fans.

This is yet another iteration. But I'm going to stick with it and build on consistency. If I keep changing things up, I cannot reach any conclusion.

So, I decided to share some of my most important personal notes with you; notes that I took down and things I learned in the last seven days. 👇