Since last week's first issue of 'Encourage Meant', impatience has snapped at my heels as I ponder the perennial dilemma for writers. How often do you impose upon people? How much is 'enough'?
I chose fortnightly for The Writer's Walk for similar reasons. Monthly felt like too long a gap – I might lose momentum and people might lose interest. And weekly felt like it might be a lot as we all have so many emails pinging in and I wanted to be mindful of that. I'm subscribed to quite a few newsletters and there are some, like Feasts and Fables, that I look forward to and that's helped by both the quality of the newsletter and the regularity – when I know what to expect and when to expect it, it gives me something to look forward. Hope helpful!
Sarah, that's super-helpful. Thanks so much for peeking into our Feasts & Fables newsletter. I guess some of my uncertainty stems from the fact that that is really well-established; the weekly rhythm seems to suit the 'magazine' style curation and the Sunday, 6pm seems to hit the spot. Fortnightly feels about right; I have plenty that I can write in between and then try a 'you might have missed' section. It feels good to be learning afresh. Thanks so much for the hints and tips. Barrie
I don’t think a schedule is necessary for the reader. There is no shortage of stuff to read. Just write when you feel compelled to do so, when those ideas spill over the brim of the cup of inspiration. When they can’t be contained. If you schedule everything then it becomes a task, it becomes too easy to write about thinking about writing just to tick a box.
Very nicely put, Sean. And I think that puts a finger on it. The difference between here are what I do every week with 'Field Notes for Curious Minds' is that the writing here is the focus and I need to remember that. 'Field Notes' is a curation, more of a Sunday Supplement, so the original writing either belongs to someone else or it is the glue that joins the disparate parts into the whole. Good reminder, thank you.
As a newsletter novice, I feel ill equipped to yet gauge how often anyone would like to hear from me, let alone others! I'm pitching monthly at the moment. I had the skeleton for newsletter #2 down a day after sending the first, but it's actually been a slow burn writing it out, and so feel reassured that anything more frequent would put me under the sort of pressure that would see me or it buckle. I'll be adding weekly 'extras' soon, exclusively focussed on the photography instruction side, but the more creative writing at once a month feels about right. I also think it's worth thinking what you look like in people's in-boxes and how coherent and strong each separate strand of what you offer is.
Thanks, Matt. I, of course, have way too much time on my hands so the 'idle hands type fast and frequently' risk is always there. Very interested in your last line ... giving that some serious thought. Much appreciated, as ever, Barrie
That's a tricky one Barrie. Given you already do a very fine weekly email on a Sunday at 5.59 sharp, would you find it becomes too much if you did an additional one each week? Perhaps one every fortnight? And if you posted midweek, it would give us a welcome jolt of encouragement in between your Sunday pick-me-up.
That chimes with my thinking, Andrew. Even though they are different styles, I don’t want to overreach myself and potentially compromise quality. Fortnightly feels like a nice rhythm. I quite like the idea of a Wednesday too. Deconflicts from ‘Field Notes’. Thanks so much for the ideas. Barrie
As someone who struggles with consistency, I'd say just post when you have something to say - if it's twice in a day, or twice in a month, so be it. Don't feel confined to arbitrary cycles.
Thanks, Dave. Really appreciate that ... I guess my furrowed brow is as much geared around the regularity we've woven into the Feasts & Fables newsletter and whether that translates across here. I love the notion of posting when I have something to say but I'll need a filter ... I ALWAYS think I have something to say ... haha! Barrie
I chose fortnightly for The Writer's Walk for similar reasons. Monthly felt like too long a gap – I might lose momentum and people might lose interest. And weekly felt like it might be a lot as we all have so many emails pinging in and I wanted to be mindful of that. I'm subscribed to quite a few newsletters and there are some, like Feasts and Fables, that I look forward to and that's helped by both the quality of the newsletter and the regularity – when I know what to expect and when to expect it, it gives me something to look forward. Hope helpful!
Sarah, that's super-helpful. Thanks so much for peeking into our Feasts & Fables newsletter. I guess some of my uncertainty stems from the fact that that is really well-established; the weekly rhythm seems to suit the 'magazine' style curation and the Sunday, 6pm seems to hit the spot. Fortnightly feels about right; I have plenty that I can write in between and then try a 'you might have missed' section. It feels good to be learning afresh. Thanks so much for the hints and tips. Barrie
I don’t think a schedule is necessary for the reader. There is no shortage of stuff to read. Just write when you feel compelled to do so, when those ideas spill over the brim of the cup of inspiration. When they can’t be contained. If you schedule everything then it becomes a task, it becomes too easy to write about thinking about writing just to tick a box.
Very nicely put, Sean. And I think that puts a finger on it. The difference between here are what I do every week with 'Field Notes for Curious Minds' is that the writing here is the focus and I need to remember that. 'Field Notes' is a curation, more of a Sunday Supplement, so the original writing either belongs to someone else or it is the glue that joins the disparate parts into the whole. Good reminder, thank you.
As a newsletter novice, I feel ill equipped to yet gauge how often anyone would like to hear from me, let alone others! I'm pitching monthly at the moment. I had the skeleton for newsletter #2 down a day after sending the first, but it's actually been a slow burn writing it out, and so feel reassured that anything more frequent would put me under the sort of pressure that would see me or it buckle. I'll be adding weekly 'extras' soon, exclusively focussed on the photography instruction side, but the more creative writing at once a month feels about right. I also think it's worth thinking what you look like in people's in-boxes and how coherent and strong each separate strand of what you offer is.
Thanks, Matt. I, of course, have way too much time on my hands so the 'idle hands type fast and frequently' risk is always there. Very interested in your last line ... giving that some serious thought. Much appreciated, as ever, Barrie
That's a tricky one Barrie. Given you already do a very fine weekly email on a Sunday at 5.59 sharp, would you find it becomes too much if you did an additional one each week? Perhaps one every fortnight? And if you posted midweek, it would give us a welcome jolt of encouragement in between your Sunday pick-me-up.
That chimes with my thinking, Andrew. Even though they are different styles, I don’t want to overreach myself and potentially compromise quality. Fortnightly feels like a nice rhythm. I quite like the idea of a Wednesday too. Deconflicts from ‘Field Notes’. Thanks so much for the ideas. Barrie
As someone who struggles with consistency, I'd say just post when you have something to say - if it's twice in a day, or twice in a month, so be it. Don't feel confined to arbitrary cycles.
Thanks, Dave. Really appreciate that ... I guess my furrowed brow is as much geared around the regularity we've woven into the Feasts & Fables newsletter and whether that translates across here. I love the notion of posting when I have something to say but I'll need a filter ... I ALWAYS think I have something to say ... haha! Barrie