This part of your letter caught my attention: "Craft drives growth, insights improve retention."
At first I wanted to refute it, but I also think you are right. So I think it's both. I think the first impression for writers is "what are you saying?" quickly followed by "how are you saying it?"
I think in some formats, like Linkedin posts or Twitter threads, this is is inverted a bit...people have come to expect a hook, which is more in the "how" camp than the what.
Ultimately, I believe that insights in the type of niche you are in (business writing) is what will prevent churn more than craft.
For instance, I'm paying monthly for this newsletter. But I'm pretty close at hitting the limit that I can reasonably pay for Substack subscriptions with my income. If I have to cut down, I will likely cut down on those pieces that don't provide me enough insight, unless their craft is so good that I need full access to their writing (but that's extremely rare).
I appreciate the candor and clarity in this letter. Super helpful!
Dear Evan, WHO are the investors you are referring to in this opening? Paid subscribers?
Would you write your newsletter whether it paid for itself or not? The history of print and paid media and journalism (and newspapers in particular as political avenues) has fascinated me for decades.
We need writers/journalists who research, pursue, narrate and tell the full story, report what they experience, and who can attempt to remain open-minded and neutral. Technology in the sense of innovation (dedicated monks copying and illuminating texts to the printing press to more modern methods of replicating and distributing writing, art, photography, and live action video) continue to evolve.
What is the reason you write and publish in the first place?
Must you adjust and add formats because followers ask for them?
While it may be wise to offer wisdom in written language as well as video formatting WHY is this necessary if video is not your preferred mode of expression?
"The most serious long-term headwind is that text as a medium continues to decrease in its importance. Every advertiser and fan I talk to asks for short-form video, long-form video, and a podcast. The current plan is to invest in short-form this summer to build “video muscle” and then spin up long-form/podcast in the fall."
As a long form writer (since elementary school), dedicated to writing (everyday, if only for myself), and passionate wordsmith and observer of the shifting world of self-expression, evaluation, and pursuing writing as a livelihood--WHY must I also do formats that are not natural to me?
For marketing and marketshare purpose?
Your "investor updates" are appreciated as is the candor. And, it's a little depressing to wonder who are you writing for on Substack and Every?
Re. is it the price? It definitely plays a role. As more and more services move to a subscription model, price will be key. I love your newsletter but at $14 a month, I had to think twice. I get NYT for I think $2 per month, The Times UK for less than £2 per month. I believe that micro payments/subscriptions are the future, you sign up without thinking if it's a service you're going to use often. And when it comes to reviewing my budget, and I got Netflix, Disney plus, amazon prime etc, if I'm thinking of cutting anything, it won't be the $2 per month, less than a cup of coffee, but that $14 subscription could get the chop
When something is too expensive, it means that the utility gained is less than the dollars expended. I think my content is much more actionable, enjoyable, and insightful than Disney plus. So either I am wrong in that assumption, or in the way I'm positioning the offering in reader's minds doesn't communicate that value. Something for me to fix!
Evan…I thought about whether I should write you or not as I am a firm believer in if you don’t have anything nice to say keep your mouth shut…old school to the max….
first let me tell you who I am…my name is Craig Gordon, have been an entrepreneur in the investment/market research business and part time professor for over 30 years. My entrepreneurial ventures good enough so that I can focus only on my true love which i in the business AI and creator economy area . I have been teaching non-tech Lehigh univesitiry students for over 10 years part time and AI in particular since 2016. During Covid I had Dan Shipper come in and guest lecture my students by Zoom in the Media Entrepreneurship course we created.
Let my start by saying I used to love your stuff and look forward to every time you published something on Every…insightful and great analysis sometimes in an area I wasn’t interested in but done so well was interested by the end of your piece. Although a very small time frame, you ( and also Every unfotunately) don’t seem todo that anymore for me although I am still a subscriber. I keep wondering why that is and have come up with some partial answers.
First, ever hear of Tragedy of the Commons? Well that is what AI publications are doing right now…..I probably look at over 50 a month on an ongoing basis and every quarter try to cut back by 50% because so many new ones come out and also I am starting to believe that the real ones I should be reading aren’t dedicated to tech but humans. My two favorite substack newsletter are Ted Goia’s and Noah Smiths which honesty touch on AI but have much bigger ideas. If you really want to bring truth, vigor and beauty to AI writing, i have to be honest with you…your stuff is becomig more and more oriented towards tech literate people and not ones that I teach ….that might be your biggest issue.
Second, over the last year I have used two major themes for my journalism students studying and wanting to write about tech/AI…the first one is a paraphrase of Henry Ford’s comment if I asked my customers what they wanted they would have said faster horses. And I say it this way, if you try to analyze data for what to do the data will tell you do more and get more data. Why is that ..because it is focusing on today’s reality not what is at the edge and changing. for example, I tell my students to start understanding quantum computing now but honestly haven’ seen an insightful article on how that is going to change AI (which is huge) in the 50 newsletter I read…although 30 plus including Every tell me about the Google or Open AI events which like investor presentations are spoon feeding you positive inputs. Quantum computing in my mind might make 90% of what is out there now absolute in the next few years. Just one example on what might be interesting because no one is talking about it to the general population.
I honestly think you have 3 approaches to truly be exceptional in your pursuit….Option one is have great investigative stories and don’t swamp us with all kinds of other stuff. Hammer the original stories and keep at them so people know you still believe and it is at the cutting edge. My friend Marty Baron who I went to school with did that at his newspaper jobs and became one of the best editors of all time with some of the stories he uncovered…so what are the ones that you might uncover good and bad? for example are LLM’s really the be all and end all solution…I’ve been examining the stuff Fei Wei Li is doing at Stanford with her new company in the nureosymbolic area…How about an investigative piece on those looking for different answers that llm’s. So investigative top notch pieces that don’t get drowned out with a buch of noise would be great as one option.
The other you mention but I don’t know if you really are committed to it except from a data analytics standpoint I fear…and that is find one or two exceptional writers or editors that can change your newsletter into the New Yorker for tech stories…..I love the New Yorker for one and only one reason…every issue I expect to read something I wasn’t interested in but was written so well it captured me. I think your humor comment alludes to that fact. But that is not going to come from just hiring an editor type…it is going to come from knowing when you read his/her stuff you like reading it even if you weren’t invested in the topic to start. I will plug an approach here and that is look in the best journalism/communication schools and find out who professors or their peers think are the best writers/editors then read there stuff…Here at Lehigh I’ve helped two, Fionna Car and Nina Cialone find places to start with their careers. I actually had Nina write Dan but she told me she never heard back. If you go this way that writing is the key I think you could be very successful because the writing with your competition is so poor..
Finally, and the way that might be best for you because I am thinking about how much I used to love reading your stuff, is start with the question of what is bothering you about the tech area and do some insight into how you might go about answering that or at least getting partial answers……I think your readers would love to hear about that…it is why I love Ted Goia’s stuff where he started with music but goes everywhere on what bothers him.
Anyway best of luck…as I think you have said make sure you are doing the stuff you think adds value and stick with it. I’ll leave you with the second theme for my students from a quote I hammer into my students and this comes from Mark Twain:
I didn’t have time to write a short letter so I wrote a long one instead.
Unfortunately too much of that is happening in your area.
Have you considered the formulation: 'Craft drives growth. Price drives retention.'? The relationship between readers' enjoyment of your work and their willingness to pay for it may not be fixed or predictable.
My guess is that building a Substack newsletter business is like trying to corner all three sides of the Speed/Quality/Cost triangle simultaneously. You would like to produce writing you love, at a price patrons are willing to pay, to earn an income you deem sufficient. I admire you and other creators willing to take on this experiment.
This part of your letter caught my attention: "Craft drives growth, insights improve retention."
At first I wanted to refute it, but I also think you are right. So I think it's both. I think the first impression for writers is "what are you saying?" quickly followed by "how are you saying it?"
I think in some formats, like Linkedin posts or Twitter threads, this is is inverted a bit...people have come to expect a hook, which is more in the "how" camp than the what.
Ultimately, I believe that insights in the type of niche you are in (business writing) is what will prevent churn more than craft.
For instance, I'm paying monthly for this newsletter. But I'm pretty close at hitting the limit that I can reasonably pay for Substack subscriptions with my income. If I have to cut down, I will likely cut down on those pieces that don't provide me enough insight, unless their craft is so good that I need full access to their writing (but that's extremely rare).
I appreciate the candor and clarity in this letter. Super helpful!
Thanks for subscribing Camilo! Yes, the nuances between craft and insight are tricky to get right.
Dear Evan, WHO are the investors you are referring to in this opening? Paid subscribers?
Would you write your newsletter whether it paid for itself or not? The history of print and paid media and journalism (and newspapers in particular as political avenues) has fascinated me for decades.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_newspaper_publishing
We need writers/journalists who research, pursue, narrate and tell the full story, report what they experience, and who can attempt to remain open-minded and neutral. Technology in the sense of innovation (dedicated monks copying and illuminating texts to the printing press to more modern methods of replicating and distributing writing, art, photography, and live action video) continue to evolve.
What is the reason you write and publish in the first place?
Must you adjust and add formats because followers ask for them?
While it may be wise to offer wisdom in written language as well as video formatting WHY is this necessary if video is not your preferred mode of expression?
"The most serious long-term headwind is that text as a medium continues to decrease in its importance. Every advertiser and fan I talk to asks for short-form video, long-form video, and a podcast. The current plan is to invest in short-form this summer to build “video muscle” and then spin up long-form/podcast in the fall."
As a long form writer (since elementary school), dedicated to writing (everyday, if only for myself), and passionate wordsmith and observer of the shifting world of self-expression, evaluation, and pursuing writing as a livelihood--WHY must I also do formats that are not natural to me?
For marketing and marketshare purpose?
Your "investor updates" are appreciated as is the candor. And, it's a little depressing to wonder who are you writing for on Substack and Every?
Re. is it the price? It definitely plays a role. As more and more services move to a subscription model, price will be key. I love your newsletter but at $14 a month, I had to think twice. I get NYT for I think $2 per month, The Times UK for less than £2 per month. I believe that micro payments/subscriptions are the future, you sign up without thinking if it's a service you're going to use often. And when it comes to reviewing my budget, and I got Netflix, Disney plus, amazon prime etc, if I'm thinking of cutting anything, it won't be the $2 per month, less than a cup of coffee, but that $14 subscription could get the chop
When something is too expensive, it means that the utility gained is less than the dollars expended. I think my content is much more actionable, enjoyable, and insightful than Disney plus. So either I am wrong in that assumption, or in the way I'm positioning the offering in reader's minds doesn't communicate that value. Something for me to fix!
I subbed paid today.
I entered the checkout 3 times before I bought from different email.
I think while you post actionable stuff it also feels quite high level.
Almost like a philosophical take that is boiled down to action at some point.
But it still feels less actionable then “10 steps to make million dollars”
Now that stuff is all BS I know but people have an easier time to justify paying for that.
Also I’m subbed to every too that feels like more value because of the products and it’s only like double?
Feels like a steal compared to just a newsletter.
Evan…I thought about whether I should write you or not as I am a firm believer in if you don’t have anything nice to say keep your mouth shut…old school to the max….
first let me tell you who I am…my name is Craig Gordon, have been an entrepreneur in the investment/market research business and part time professor for over 30 years. My entrepreneurial ventures good enough so that I can focus only on my true love which i in the business AI and creator economy area . I have been teaching non-tech Lehigh univesitiry students for over 10 years part time and AI in particular since 2016. During Covid I had Dan Shipper come in and guest lecture my students by Zoom in the Media Entrepreneurship course we created.
Let my start by saying I used to love your stuff and look forward to every time you published something on Every…insightful and great analysis sometimes in an area I wasn’t interested in but done so well was interested by the end of your piece. Although a very small time frame, you ( and also Every unfotunately) don’t seem todo that anymore for me although I am still a subscriber. I keep wondering why that is and have come up with some partial answers.
First, ever hear of Tragedy of the Commons? Well that is what AI publications are doing right now…..I probably look at over 50 a month on an ongoing basis and every quarter try to cut back by 50% because so many new ones come out and also I am starting to believe that the real ones I should be reading aren’t dedicated to tech but humans. My two favorite substack newsletter are Ted Goia’s and Noah Smiths which honesty touch on AI but have much bigger ideas. If you really want to bring truth, vigor and beauty to AI writing, i have to be honest with you…your stuff is becomig more and more oriented towards tech literate people and not ones that I teach ….that might be your biggest issue.
Second, over the last year I have used two major themes for my journalism students studying and wanting to write about tech/AI…the first one is a paraphrase of Henry Ford’s comment if I asked my customers what they wanted they would have said faster horses. And I say it this way, if you try to analyze data for what to do the data will tell you do more and get more data. Why is that ..because it is focusing on today’s reality not what is at the edge and changing. for example, I tell my students to start understanding quantum computing now but honestly haven’ seen an insightful article on how that is going to change AI (which is huge) in the 50 newsletter I read…although 30 plus including Every tell me about the Google or Open AI events which like investor presentations are spoon feeding you positive inputs. Quantum computing in my mind might make 90% of what is out there now absolute in the next few years. Just one example on what might be interesting because no one is talking about it to the general population.
I honestly think you have 3 approaches to truly be exceptional in your pursuit….Option one is have great investigative stories and don’t swamp us with all kinds of other stuff. Hammer the original stories and keep at them so people know you still believe and it is at the cutting edge. My friend Marty Baron who I went to school with did that at his newspaper jobs and became one of the best editors of all time with some of the stories he uncovered…so what are the ones that you might uncover good and bad? for example are LLM’s really the be all and end all solution…I’ve been examining the stuff Fei Wei Li is doing at Stanford with her new company in the nureosymbolic area…How about an investigative piece on those looking for different answers that llm’s. So investigative top notch pieces that don’t get drowned out with a buch of noise would be great as one option.
The other you mention but I don’t know if you really are committed to it except from a data analytics standpoint I fear…and that is find one or two exceptional writers or editors that can change your newsletter into the New Yorker for tech stories…..I love the New Yorker for one and only one reason…every issue I expect to read something I wasn’t interested in but was written so well it captured me. I think your humor comment alludes to that fact. But that is not going to come from just hiring an editor type…it is going to come from knowing when you read his/her stuff you like reading it even if you weren’t invested in the topic to start. I will plug an approach here and that is look in the best journalism/communication schools and find out who professors or their peers think are the best writers/editors then read there stuff…Here at Lehigh I’ve helped two, Fionna Car and Nina Cialone find places to start with their careers. I actually had Nina write Dan but she told me she never heard back. If you go this way that writing is the key I think you could be very successful because the writing with your competition is so poor..
Finally, and the way that might be best for you because I am thinking about how much I used to love reading your stuff, is start with the question of what is bothering you about the tech area and do some insight into how you might go about answering that or at least getting partial answers……I think your readers would love to hear about that…it is why I love Ted Goia’s stuff where he started with music but goes everywhere on what bothers him.
Anyway best of luck…as I think you have said make sure you are doing the stuff you think adds value and stick with it. I’ll leave you with the second theme for my students from a quote I hammer into my students and this comes from Mark Twain:
I didn’t have time to write a short letter so I wrote a long one instead.
Unfortunately too much of that is happening in your area.
My very best, Craig Gordon
Have you considered the formulation: 'Craft drives growth. Price drives retention.'? The relationship between readers' enjoyment of your work and their willingness to pay for it may not be fixed or predictable.
My guess is that building a Substack newsletter business is like trying to corner all three sides of the Speed/Quality/Cost triangle simultaneously. You would like to produce writing you love, at a price patrons are willing to pay, to earn an income you deem sufficient. I admire you and other creators willing to take on this experiment.