I wrote 100 Newsletters (so you don’t have to)

Welcome to the 3 digit club 🚀

This is Issue 101 of the Orbit newsletter and this milestone prompted a few conversations in the last few weeks.

So today I’m gonna share with you why and how I started it, what has come out of it and the challenges I’ve experienced a long the way. So you might have an easier time starting, reviving or continuing your newsletter.

First of I just want to mention that creating 100 of anything is an achievement in itself. Before getting there I didn’t think much of it but I saw it in the reactions of others that 100 is a magic number. Signaling to people you have real grit and commitment. While quantity does not guarantee quality it is a very simple way of sharpening your edge. And this publication is the first time I have produced anything of this quantity. (Except for a two year period of cranking out corporate videos that dulled my blade)

Why did I start writing weekly and how have I been able to stick with it?

When starting Orbit for Creators I approached it with a very strong business perspective and I knew the backbone of any business is a newsletter.

It’s the only way to reach people online on your terms. So growing an email list was the most essential task if I ever wanted to earn a reliable income from an otherwise faceless audience.

I’ve also seen first hand how effective newsletters are in getting me excited about an offer and making me pull out my wallet to buy it.

Just last week I bought George Blackman’s AI scriptwriting toolbox - because of an email.

Understanding this created an internal commitment to writing and sending an email each week.

It also acted as a place to practice writing. During my time in school teachers continued to make me belief that I could not write. Where I was dyslexia was talked about but in no shape did it affect grades, or opinions. Now that it’s very obvious I’m on the neuro-spicy side of things and no one is evaluating my writing skills on a pass or fail basis I took it as a chance to get better at expressing my thoughts on paper.

Having ChatGPT available at that time as a non-judgmental coach was definitely a big part in my ability to stick with it.

What has come out of it so far?

First of all I feel more confident in my writing and hopefully you find these words easy to read.

Without the last 100 emails I don’t think LinkedIn would’ve become my favorite social media platform and it has developed into a weekly ritual to close off the week. As long as I’m not traveling I sit down Friday morning, give myself an hour to write and send it out. Once that is done — my week is done.

But what about the business side?

Honestly, I’m doing a very poor job at selling you something. Partly because I don’t have a very clear sales funnel but also because the weekly reflection I get from it is more important to me that turning this into a sales channel.

But when I launched the Orbit Creator Community earlier this year, email was the only way people actually signed up for it.

So as soon as I have something in the works that provides value to you, you’ll be the first to hear about it.

What are the challenges of writing a weekly newsletter

Most people would assume that the hardest part is to make time for it each week. But because I had that internal commitment and because writing is way simpler than creating video that part never really challenged me. In a handful of instances I had to prepare an issue or rely on a guest post but overall the writing was the easy part.

The challenge of continuing with a weekly newsletter is actually that it often feels like sending something into the void.

Unlike all the social media platforms that show you if someone liked your latest creation seconds after you posted it. Newsletters get very little immediate feedback.

Yes you see open rates and click through rates but no one can double tap to like. There is no indicator if someone shared it with a friend and there is absolutely no way of knowing if someone just opened it to skim and trash it or if it left a genuine impact.

Occasionally one of you takes the action of hitting reply but judging from the frequency this is even harder than leaving a comment on a YouTube video.

What is next for the Orbit Newsletter?

Just like the show, the newsletter was modeled after Colin and Samir’s publications. And so my intention was to turn this into the best newsletter for professional content creators, this side of the Atlantic.

But if you made it this far you can probably tell it turned more into long from reflections about being a solo content creator.

What I’m thinking about is where these letters ist in relation to the video content and social media posts. Is it an incubator for script ideas or does it come after the video is out and acts as a distillation of it, or should I just go back to the roots and use it curate cool content?

And with that I also keep asking myself if this publication deserves it’s own name or if The Orbit Newsletter clearly connects it to the channel. Keeping it obvious that it’s part of the same universe.

Beyond that, all I know is that I will continue to write and send an email out each week for as long as Orbit for Creators exists.

Sorry this turned out way longer than expected but if you are still reading why don’t you hit reply and tell me what you appreciate about these weekly communications.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

💛 Valentin