My First Newsletter

It is a golden age of newsletters. Everyone who has something worthwhile to say and share, are jumping into this medium. I, too, am taking the plunge. I am pushed to take this plunge because of the online writing bootcamp.

I am supposed to create a newsletter in Substack, which is the most natural part. Then, I needed to write a captivating and straightforward "About" page for the newsletter. It is not so easy but doable. Finally, I needed to shout out and get at least 20 subscribers. I need to send a message or mail or put it in social media about this and get subscribers. And, this is the toughest part. It is like eating glass.

I am quite shy, and I am not like Gen-Z millennials who take online sharing like a fish in the water. I have always had passive and sometimes a mildly loud presence in social media. My inner critic always questions, whether I am unnecessarily flashy, showing off, flaky and all things to guilt the hell out of me.

One of the reasons for this online bootcamp is to lean into the non-comfort zone. I put out a message in WhatsApp to family, friends. I posted the same in Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I was so surprised that people are kind, friendly and always welcoming. I got close to 50 subscribers 😇.

My inner critic started pestering on what will write and share? Will it be interesting? Is it novel? Won't the subscribers will be laughing their asses off reading my newsletter and judging me?

I took a deep breath and realised one thing. What is the biggest downside of this newsletter experiment? People will unsubcribe. People might not read. People might read and be making fun of me. In all of these cases, it is not that bad at all. We are not hurting anyone. When South Africa lost in a crucial world cup semi-final, their star batsman Lance Klusener was grilled by press people about the loss. He calmly responded, "Nobody died, did they? So cool it". That's what I was reminded off.

I finally did create a twice-a-month newsletter and sent out my first issue. Do check it out and please do subscribe to it. If you have any comments or feedback about it, please do share it.