This is a good story of how consistency wins the day. Back in May, I came off a 31-vote loss running for Mayor of my hometown. Afterwards, I was encouraged to continue to share my thoughts and ideas about our community. That was the impetus for the Civic Capacity Newsletter. Well, I figured I would be good if I could find something t…
This is a good story of how consistency wins the day. Back in May, I came off a 31-vote loss running for Mayor of my hometown. Afterwards, I was encouraged to continue to share my thoughts and ideas about our community. That was the impetus for the Civic Capacity Newsletter. Well, I figured I would be good if I could find something to write about every third day. Back in December, something clicked, and I found that there are enough stories in my hometown to write something 6 out of every 7 days in a week. It’s a tall order, but it has been fun.
I don’t expect Civic Capacity to grow much; 557 subscribers (36 paid) has been a nice surprise for a newsletter that is exclusively devoted to things happening in a small midwestern city of 26,000 people.
But, I am always surprised when a story takes off, or we get a flux of new subscribers or a meet a stranger on the street who talks about something that they have read on Civic Capacity.
Oh, those help, the loneliness comes in from the fact where there isn't a ton of people writing about the same stuff I am, so it's not always easy to bounce ideas off of others. Most of the interactions I have about my work come from off-line conversations I have folks that read and interact with my ideas, which is helpful, but it keeps the potential audience very closed. In other words, the audience ithat is being created will always be very narrow, but very, very invested.
This is a good story of how consistency wins the day. Back in May, I came off a 31-vote loss running for Mayor of my hometown. Afterwards, I was encouraged to continue to share my thoughts and ideas about our community. That was the impetus for the Civic Capacity Newsletter. Well, I figured I would be good if I could find something to write about every third day. Back in December, something clicked, and I found that there are enough stories in my hometown to write something 6 out of every 7 days in a week. It’s a tall order, but it has been fun.
I don’t expect Civic Capacity to grow much; 557 subscribers (36 paid) has been a nice surprise for a newsletter that is exclusively devoted to things happening in a small midwestern city of 26,000 people.
But, I am always surprised when a story takes off, or we get a flux of new subscribers or a meet a stranger on the street who talks about something that they have read on Civic Capacity.
www.civiccapacity.com
Wow, William. That's super exciting. Great paid/free ratio. Also super interesting that you're doing something NewsBreak does, local news!
Keep me posted and let's stay connected so I can feature you in a story this year.
Absolutely. It has been a great ride, often lonely, but still one that is very fulfilling to try.
It can be lonely. THat's why there's Notes, the social media platform on Substack :D
Oh, those help, the loneliness comes in from the fact where there isn't a ton of people writing about the same stuff I am, so it's not always easy to bounce ideas off of others. Most of the interactions I have about my work come from off-line conversations I have folks that read and interact with my ideas, which is helpful, but it keeps the potential audience very closed. In other words, the audience ithat is being created will always be very narrow, but very, very invested.