Category: WritingCategory: Writing

Put something new on your website, and link it in your next newsletter. Your newsletter isn’t your permanent address, it’s a delivery truck. Build an archive of work on your website and link to your stuff from your newsletter!

I contributed my “5 Rules For a Good Newsletter” to Carolyn Yoo’s ‘Rules to Live By: 18 Creative Manifestos’ risograph zine, available now in print or digital format. Limited edition, so get yours today!

It was fun to bust out the Sharpie markers and make sure I kept things inside the lines for this zine that features Coleen Baik, Dan Blank, Anna Brones, Lian Cho, Kristen Drozdowski, Kelcey Ervick, Petya Grady, Amelia Hruby, Nishant Jain, Adam Ming, Jenna Park, Meera Lee Patel, Michelle Pellizzon, Beth Spencer, Nina Veteto, and Mitchell Volk.

I sat down with Tim Bailey to talk about his “31 pieces in 31 days” experiment, and how making things regularly helps you notice patterns in your thinking instead of waiting for one “big” idea that never comes.

We also got into the tension between wanting an audience but doing it with grace, as in sharing what feels true right now, keep your sanity, and ignoring the algorithm.

So much of our conversation came back to making work you can live with, and letting the rest take the time it needs.

A lot of us are like a local shop with a non-descript name, no clear offering in the window, and nothing that sets us apart from anybody else.

If you don’t put a sign in your window that says COFFEE in big bright lights, people won’t randomly walk in and order coffee.

Instead, we’re hoping to attract as many people as possible, thinking we’ll win over a few fans by way of luck and self-selection.

We’ll link to a pre-order or a Patreon once, but we don’t wanna seem too pushy, so we won’t mention again for another few weeks.

It’s a lot easier when we send clear signals about what we’re looking to do and who we are. We then attract the right people, pulling them into our creative orbit.

So it’s not about going “viral” and crossing our fingers for more subscribers, it’s about getting the right subscribers on our list.

You don’t need a million followers, you need like 200 hardcore fans to make a difference. Then once you get those subscribers, deliver your best work to them on a consistent basis.

Those are the people familiar enough with your work who will understand that yes, you might post about our upcoming book a few times. To your fans it’s not annoying, it’s part of the way things work in 2025.

If they don’t like it, they can unsubscribe. Later.

For example, if you’re been reading this newsletter for awhile, you know I enjoy helping people get away from social media platforms, build an email list, resurrect their website, and build a community along the way to help each other accomplish this work.

• I send two newsletters a week.
• Paid subscribers can join my weekly Zoom calls.
• I offer Email Guidance if you’re seeking personalized help.
• Those are my photos at the top of every post.
• I make soundscapes for interplanetary commuting.

When you know what you’re doing, and who you’re for, it’s easier to find the other weirdos and freaks who get what you’re doing and want to come along on your adventure.

You don’t need a map or a manifesto for this, you just need a compass.

• There’s musicians that don’t play bars or link to Spotify.
• Authors who make block prints.
• Artists who only sell their work via their email list.
• Photographers that make videos about building fences.
• Teachers with French He-Man posters in the background.

The art of “being authentic” online isn’t just “sharing bad stuff, too” but building boundaries and sending the right signals for curious onlookers to recognize from afar.

It’s okay to not be for everybody, because you don’t actually need everybody to make a living, or get the word out.

A bunch of people who love your work could be enough, but those people might need to be reminded on occasion about the work you’re truly trying to make.

Here’s a bit of some Email Guidance I wrote someone recently, about launching a newsletter. They were wondering if they should plan out what to write, and I started riffing on stories:

But think of three stories you like telling people. Or even three stories that involve the wonderful people in your orbit. It all comes back to you, right?

The people you’ve worked with. Recorded with. Performed with. So many people!

BECAUSE then you can send that newsletter to those people! Re-connect, catch up, laugh together about it.

Maybe follow that energy. Instead of thinking about what you’ll write, think about who. Who lights you up? Who made you happy? Who’d you make memories with?

Because if you’re writing from a place of joy and good memories, it’ll probably be easier for your audience to connect with, you know? I mean, you gotta write the music for yourself first, right? Same could be said for a newsletter – write around the good energy of the people you’ve met, and the stories you’ve created with those people.

For artists of all types, it’s very easy to get stuck in this broadcast mode of talking the things we do, and who we are. We are interesting people, of course, but writing about ourselves is HARD. It never feels good, right?

Which is why I suggest writing about other folks in your creative orbit. Weave that into your newsletter, and see what unfolds.