You want to know how I got here? Thank Ali Abdaal and Art by Louise. I’ve seen a bunch of Ali Abdaal’s videos recently and Louise’s YouTube video just popped into my feed from the algorithm gods because I asked this question: Do I need a platform like Mailchimp or ConvertKit to start a newsletter?
Yes. I’ve contemplated newsletters before. But today is the first time I had heard about Substack. And yes, I like writing but I’m always a bit concerned. Who I’m speaking to? What’s the subject matter? What language do I need to use?
Most of the people who know me and who listen to me throughout the week are Italian. They are people who study English with me or work in multinational companies here in Italy where I have been living for more than 30 years. It’s kind of a long story and we mostly speak English. There are also people I teach and practice mindfulness and yoga with. We generally speak Italian. And then the third group of people are who I call “folks in the rest of the world.” You and I have never met but I’d like. That’s why I have been contemplating this question of newsletters for some time.
In Ali Abdaal’s video, he said there were two main options if you wanted to get started for free. One was Revue by Twitter and the other was Substack. I was curious about Revue because free sounded like a good place to start and I already have a Twitter account. I had just posted a link to a YouTube short this morning and hadn’t noticed Revue. So I logged back in on my PC to have a look. This is what I found.
Too late. I was surprised but not particularly disappointed. I don’t actually use Twitter much so I headed back to Louise’s video to hear what she had to say.
She showed me a bunch of things about Substack. I got the impression that it was a relaxed fusion (Am I thinking in Italian?) of YouTube and Patreon. You can show or sell your work, have community discussions, do podcasts or set up any combination of the above. Louise described the eco-system as something that “can be as simple or as complex as you want” and I was sold. I quickly set up an account and went back to finish hearing what Ali Abdaal had to say.
His perspective was encouraging and he talked about how simple and easy newsletter writing can be. His advice reminded me of a Elisabeth Gilbert podcast I heard recently about why you “do your art.” Ali Abdaal called it “intrinsic and extrinsic motivation” and he left the door open to find ways to monetize content over time.
Louise’s description of Substack as organic and feeling like being part of small community of supporters and friends had already convinced me. I write every day. I’ll write here some days. I’m ready to listen and share with others.
But the clincher came when Ali Abdaal banged out a quick newsletter, hit publish and invited the viewer (me!) to send him an email. He said he’d sign up for my newsletter and save me the trouble of having to beg my wife and friends to subscribe. Done.
So here we are now.
If you’re still wondering who I am and why I live in Italy, it’s something I’d love to tell you about. Like I wrote above, it’s kind of a long story. But the shorter version is this: I’m teacher in a small-ish town in Italy and I came here more than 30 years ago from the US where I was born and grew up.
My work is supported by a small group of wonderful people who study with me (mindfulness, yoga a/o English) and support me the way people have always supported teachers. Some of those people I have met and we have built our relationships exclusively on-line.
I have been putting messages in bottles and throwing them out into the Internet sea for a number of years now. My hope is meet more people near and far in the not too distant future to work with and share.
So let me get my profile set up and poke around Substack a bit more so I can tell you more. In the meantime you can visit my website, check out my YouTube videos or connect with me on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Be well.
John