Your Opinion Matters

Am I Making the Newsletter Do Too Much, Not Enough, or Something Else Altogether?

Dear Friends,

I need your help. No, it’s not life-or-death in nature, but it is important to me.

In a nutshell: I’m trying to figure out why readership of Second Drafts is declining.

And, I wonder if you would take a three-question survey to help me figure it out?

Some Background

Having been an early adopter of blogging, I started the Substack newsletter version of Second Drafts four years ago as a weekly news and culture commentary with a feature essay and round-up of random links thrown in for fun.

In the newsletter’s second year, I tried some monetization; that is, the newsletter was still free, but for $5/month, paid subscribers also got access to a new monthly podcast and separate in-depth book review.

I had 30 folks take me up on the offer (no doubt tempted by the free T-shirt with Peaches on it), and while I was grateful for the additional support, my hopes of eventually making the jump to afford to write Second Drafts full-time never materialized. At worst, I was hoping someone in the publishing world might take notice of my attempts and offer me a writing post, but that didn’t happen, either.

Instead, after over 70 straight weeks of publishing (the latter eight months of which included the additional monthly podcasting and book reviewing), I only added maybe 3-5 paid readers and had no writing offers from anyone. Discouraged, I decided to refund the remaining subscription fees, consolidate any future podcasts and condense future book reviews into a monthly publication, and figure out a new direction.

This chart of monthly views graphically tells the story. I pulled the plug on the newsletter with an explanatory post in September of 2022, sent out nothing in October, did a random podcast in November, and then just let December go. In January of 2023, I began publishing again, but on a monthly, not weekly, basis, but the “email open” percentages are 15% lower.

Through that four-month period from September through December of 2022, God was stirring the nest for our move from Montana to Illinois. I announced our plans—as well as the repurposing of Second Drafts as a personal and ministry newsletter—in January of 2023, keeping the newsletter’s topical essay and occasional podcast and review, but nixing the news commentary and planning to only write once a month.

This is where Second Drafts has been for the past two years. It may be time to change.

Take the Survey (Please?)

While the communication about what we’re doing here in Illinois has been consistent and appreciated (particularly by our financial supporters, since we’ve had to raise funds to do this), overall readership (that is to say, “email opens”) across the last quarter has averaged a 15% decrease. As a result, I’ve wondered if I’m trying to make the newsletter do too much…or not enough…or something else altogether.

Thus, after almost two years of this particular iteration of Second Drafts, in the interest of adjusting to keep readers (many of whom have been with me for the past four years, with some going even farther back when we used to “read blogs” by way of RSS readers and the like—for the youngsters in the crowd, look it up), I’d love to hear more about how you personally engage with Second Drafts.

I’m seeking your short (or long) answers to just three questions:

• What is the primary means by which you access Second Drafts each month?

• Has there been a perceived change in content or tone across the past two years that has affected your interest in reading the newsletter?

• Are there suggestions or corrections you would offer to improve Second Drafts?

I know it’s a busy time of year, but would you take time to do this for me? The sooner I hear from you with your feedback, the sooner I can make adjustments—maybe even in time for January’s edition. Of course, if everyone says they’re done, well, we’ll be done (though I hope not); still, no use trying to convince a corpse that physical therapy is the only answer to its problem.

So, thanks for your consideration…and thanks as always for reading Second Drafts.

Craig

PS: In case anyone is wondering, the survey is totally anonymous, so feel free to be as specific and honest as you like. I’ll be glad to share the most pertinent comments in January. That said (and as a good general rule), be kind, as Peaches and I are fragile.

PPS: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A close-up I took of our Nativity scene—a little on the Anglo side, but I still like the angle.