Do the Opposite #59 - How to Start and Grow a Newsletter, Be Resourceful, Interview with Steven Pressfield, Digital Minimalism
Good News Everyone!
Welcome to the newest issue of the Do the Opposite newsletter, sent every Monday! If you like it, put a ring on it! Just kidding β> please forward this email to your friends or share this link with them: tinyletter.com/dotheopposite β this helps the newsletter grow! π
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How to Start and Grow a Newsletter
Recently, Bhavani Ravi asked me a question on Twitter: How do I come up with content for the Do the Opposite newsletter and if I could share any tips and resources for someone who wants to start their own newsletter. I've responded with a Twitter thread, sharing my process of sourcing content and writing the newsletter consistently β every week for more than a year now! (I am myself surprised at this)
I hope it's useful to you as well! Some of the tips here apply not only for newsletters, but also for podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels: basically anything that forces you to come up with interesting content on a regular basis.
So here is what I do:
1) I always release my newsletter in the evening every Monday no matter what happens (I even wrote one on my birthday).
2) I have a very specific focus for the newsletter (topics or meta-themes I focus on) and I think every newsletter must have a focus (the narrower the better) to attract the right people easier. Otherwise people will unsubscribe as soon as they see content they don't care about.
3) All week whenever I see something interesting I save it in my notes. Videos, quotes, articles, tweets etc. Then I maybe use 1/3 or 1/2 of these in the newsletter, others don't make the cut. Sometimes I don't collect enough and on Monday have to look for some content, usually a specific type, like videos or articles. I send random, curious one-off stuff I find into the Do the Opposite Telegram channel.
4) I always try to think about what the right meta themes for the newsletter are and how I can adjust overall content to fit these more. (less random interesting articles and more focused on newsletter topics)
5) I have a set of bloggers and authors that I know have great content that fits topics of the newsletter, and I keep growing that list. Some of their content makes it to the newsletter.
6) Whenever I have an idea for a potential topic to discuss in my newsletter, I write it down in notes app (For me in Telegram) right away. If I don't, I forget it 15 minutes later.
This point is probably the most important one. If I didn't write these down, I would struggle. But because I do, I always have a plethora of potential topics and thoughts I can discuss in the newsletter. I just pick one of the long list that I feel like I want to write about that week. The fun part is that the list of topics grows faster than I have the space in the newsletter to right about. I need to do the same for YouTube channel, but haven't yet (need to improve there)
7) I use Goodreads usually for finding good quotes. Sometimes I get a couple of good ones from the book I'm reading that week. Or from one of my old notebooks. For Goodreads, I look for specific authors and people there, and then go through their quotes (i.e.: I don't usually search by quote topic, but by author)
8) I try to focus all content in the newsletter to be useful to subscribers, something they can potentially use to improve their lives. That's the main criteria. I also try to find positive, inspiring things as well!
9) For now I use a free newsletter service called TinyLetter, but for some other sign up lists/newsletter I use Buttondown. I can't really beautify it much, so I am focusing on the content itself :)
10) I try to promote the newsletter in every way I can, but need to get better at it! I tried running a small promotion last year where if you retweeted & liked a tweet about the newsletter, you'd get a chance to win a self-improvement book of your choice, and that went OK but had a little less impact than hoped.
11) I am still figuring it out! I'm open for feedback and ideas on how I can improve the newsletter and especially my efforts on its promotion. I feel like I got good at writing it consistently but still haven't gotten good at promotion and growth! :)
P.S. If you have ideas on how I could promote the newsletter (i.e. partnerships with other newsletters (maybe yours?), contests, etc) please reply to this email with your ideas! Your help would be highly appreciated!
Articles
1) "But What Could You Learn Instead?" by Seth Godin
There's a big difference between being interested in education and in learning. Some people want to have an education - a degree or a set of certificates and don't care a whole lot about the knowledge they acquire through that. Others care more about the learning itself.
2) "Weβre All Monastics Now" by Leo Babauta
Leo argues that 2020 has forced us all to adopt a lifestyle of monks to a certain degree. It obviously has its downsides, but what if we explored the upside of being quarantined?
3) "What It Means to Be Resourceful" by Derek Sivers
If you're creating something and getting blocked, maybe all you need is a healthy dose of resourcefulness. Hey, Derek, take it away!
Videos
1) Interview with Steven Pressfield (2005) | Nick Williams
If you've been reading DTO for a while, you know that I am a huge fan of Steven Pressfield's work, both fiction and non-fiction. This interview I found with him is definitely the best I've seen so far. Nick, the interviewer, teases out Steven's whole philosophy. Must watch!
Any consistency in my life: with meditation, or other habits, and with writing this newsletter I can directly contribute to reading "The War of Art", "Turning Pro" and "Do the Work" by Steven Pressfield. I highly recommend all these books to anyone doing creative work: writing, drawing, acting, programming, running a business and more (= everyone).
2) "Steven Pressfield's Lessons from the Original Spartans" | Spartan Up Podcast
Another awesome interview I found with Steven, where he talks about warrior cultures like Sparta, and explores how they lived. Many drops of wisdom are included with this video.
3) "A Guide to Digital Minimalism" by Matt D'Avella
If you, like me, are overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of the task of getting your digital life (photos, files, apps) under control, watch this video for some practical tips!
Tweet of the Week
Ethos
Quotes
βContrary to what we usually believe, moments like these, the best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times β although such experiences can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a personβs body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen. For a child, it could be placing with trembling fingers the last block on a tower she has built, higher than any she has built so far; for a swimmer, it could be trying to beat his own record; for a violinist, mastering an intricate musical passage. For each person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves.β
β Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience"
"Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear."
β Cheri Huber
"The simple willingness to improvise is more vital, in the long run, than research."
β Rolf Potts, "Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel"
"Every man dies. Not every man really lives."
β William Wallace
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YOUTUBE: There's also a YouTube channel with weekly videos on the same themes that are covered in this newsletter. Subscribe HERE and let the ideas influence you into an improved and happier life!
TELEGRAM: Do the Opposite has a public Telegram channel. The content there is a little different than in the newsletter: faster to consume, a bit more random - basically anything weird or interesting that catches my eye - articles, tweets, videos, images, etc. Hope to see you there as well! :) Here it is: t.me/dotheopposite
ZERNO: I am building an app - sign up to get early access! zerno.app
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Keep doing the opposite,
Alex Kallaway
Website: dotheoppo.site
Twitter: twitter.com/ka11away