Starting a Newsletter Is a Waste of Time for Inexperienced Writers
Resist the urge to start your own
I don’t have an army of loyal readers, and yet, I have to admit I still considered starting my own newsletter.
Reading articles about how you can generate extra money from it, was a fact I cannot ignore. In addition to the extra money, I also agreed with writers who explain how important it is to build your own audience on your own platform. However, I still resisted the idea of starting a newsletter simply because I’m not an experienced writer.
I had a moment of indecision, but that prompted me to dig deeper to understand where it was coming from.
It can easily lead to burnout
I don’t really have a good reason why I wanna start a newsletter, other than the extra money I can squeeze from my content.
I can easily lie to myself by saying, “starting a newsletter will push me to create more content and become a better writer in the process”. While there’s a logic behind that reason, it creates a lot of pressure I’m not ready for. I’m an inexperienced writer who is yet to build his stamina towards the pressure of deadlines while trying to produce high-quality content.
When the pressure is too much to handle, burnout will creep in.
And when I’m burned out, I’m less likely to produce more content.
“Less content” means “slower growth” as a writer. The slower I grow as a writer, the longer it will take me to be the writer who is ready to run a newsletter. You already know what happens when you set a goal that’s a little too ambitious:
You’re most likely to give up because you won’t notice the traction you need to keep going.
Does your newsletter offer unique value that no one else can?
My inbox is filled with newsletters.
It is a result of signing up for free writing advice or e-books on how to become a better writer. Now, do I read all the e-mails they send out? No. Most of them go directly to the trash — especially the ones who just rehash content.
I’m not afraid to admit it, but I’m one of those “freeloaders” on the internet.
As a freeloader of the internet, one thing I realized is that I prefer to read newsletters from people who I’m familiar with. The ones that give out very valuable information — the kind that makes you, “HOLY guacamole! I can’t believe this is free!”. The bar is high, which, makes me wonder, “Can I pull that off?”
The answer is a straight-up “no”, but, that doesn’t mean that the effort is a complete waste of time.
You’re better off publishing regularly on a popular platform
How different is posting regularly on a popular platform from starting a newsletter?
It’s obviously much easier. It’s the kind of “easy” path you want to take as a beginner — especially if you haven’t figured out exactly what you’re gonna consistently write about (for at least a year). Popular platforms have existing users you have access to.
But writing consistently is just a “surface” headache you’re gonna deal with.
It is much more challenging to convince others to sign up for your newsletter.
Sure, you can provide a lead magnet or free e-book to entice people to sign-up. But that doesn’t guarantee consistent engagement. The moment you stop providing value is the moment you lose your subscribers’ interest.
I’d ask myself, “How much mediocre content can my readers handle before they decide to unsubscribe?”
Conclusion
Starting a newsletter is a good way to make extra money from your writing, but that wouldn’t be the case for beginners.
As a beginner, your focus should be on figuring out the overlap between your interest and your readers’ interest. But if you decide to start a newsletter anyway, then I recommend signing up for the following newsletters:
- Ship 30 for 30 on writing
- Justin Welsh on Solepreneurship
- Rob Allen on Copywriting
- Stacked Marker on the latest marketing updates
- Alex Garcia on Marketing Teardowns
These newsletters can accelerate your growth as a content creator.
But more importantly, reading their content helps you understand what “valuable content” really means.
