Farewell to the Newsletter, Hello to Meaningful Blogging

Cross-posted from my last e-mail newsletter.  Post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase using them, I get a small commission that helps support running this blog.

Reflections on Passion

About two years ago, I wrote the Renovated Learning Manifesto.   At the time, I was getting caught up in a fervor of learning about blogging productivity, SEO, utilizing social networks, monetization, etc.  At the time, I was considering the possibility of being an educational consultant full-time and using my blog as a source of income beyond just a side-hustle.  That blog post was intended to be a push back against this, but in hindsight, I realize that I remained caught up in these things.

I took courses, read eBooks, watched webinars.  I made content upgrades, lead magnets, and kept working to grow my e-mail list, grow my follower count. But why? Honestly, at some point I stopped caring about the numbers. I have to look at my Twitter or Instagram accounts to tell you how many followers I have.  I rarely look at my blog stats and I have no idea how many people visit on average. And yet, I was working on eBooks to sell, planning out an eCourse. It kept making me feel more and more pressure which was keeping me from my actual writing

Here’s what I do care about: I love writing blog posts.  I love sharing my ideas and thoughts with others.  Helping others start makerspaces and rethink their spaces brings me joy. I enjoy getting to travel and speak to small groups and explore new places.  I like being able to direct people to my books, which helps them more. Having a small affiliate income as it helps me to cover expenses related to the blog so that I’m not going into debt to do this stuff.  And I’d like to write another book (or two or three). I found a lot of joy in that, even though it doesn’t really make much money.

I’m over the rat race

Yet at the same time, I’m tired of the rat race.  I don’t care about making money off of my blog (aside from affiliate links and selling books).  I don’t want this to be my full-time job. It’s a platform to share, not a place to make money.  I started a newsletter because everyone said that’s what you should do. I created lead magnets because every said that’s what you should do.  But I dread writing them. And I don’t think it really connects me with my readers. Plus, $75 a month (which is how much I pay for Mailchimp) is a lot of money for something I’m not passionate about.

Remember when I wrote back in July about the power of slowing down?  Clearly, this isn’t a lesson you learn all at once.  It’s a slow process.

Farewell to the newsletter (for now)

So the newsletter I sent out yesterday will be my last newsletter for awhile (and maybe ever).  I’m planning on de-activating my MailChimp account and I’ve removed my sign-up links from the blog.  I will still be blogging plenty (and maybe more frequently, if it doesn’t feel forced.)  And if you want more regular updates, I usually post something on Instagram once-a-day-ish.

Does this mean I’ll never write a newsletter again ever?  No. I might come back to it, if it becomes something I find value and joy in and if I feel it’s bringing value to others.  But right now it just brings me anxiety and stress, so I’m letting it go.

P.S.  I think reading Derek Sivers’ book, Anything You Want, this past week is what helped give me the courage to let go of some things to bring focus and clarity to my life.  It’s a fast and powerful read and I highly recommend it

P.P.S (or P.S.S.?) If you get blog posts delivered to your inbox, that won’t be affected by this as it’s run through WordPress.