Returning to our roots

The constant battle between choosing the right publishing platform. With balancing so many startups I keep testing out publishing platforms and slowly but surely I feel I am choosing the right ones based on all the needs each startup needs.

Real progress

Dutch Brief didn't start as Dutch Brief. It started as Groningen Mail, one post a day about the north of the Netherlands, and it ran on Substack. We left a while ago because we felt we outgrew it. Turns out Substack has more than caught up, so we're back.

I can now say Dutch Brief has been through most of the top publishing platforms (Substack, Beehiiv, Ghost, now Substack again) and we're hoping this is the last stop. Substack is starting to take Europe seriously and we're all for it.

Nothing major changed

We've moved everything over. Every article, every old link still works, and the regular publishing is still there. I can honestly say this was one of the easiest migrations we've done. Shout-out to the team, you guys make everything fun and easy.

How subscriptions will work

Substack runs on paid subscriptions, but we're not doing that. Our content has always been free and will remain free, no paywall, nothing hidden.

However, we have set up a paid tier and every cent will go to orphanages in the Netherlands that we partner with. We use it to fill wishlists for Christmas, Easter, New Year, and King's Day, the time's of the year that should feel like something special to a kid. None of the revenue comes to us.

We've added the occasional exclusive piece and a community chat for paid members, but that's a bonus, not the reason it exists. This is the way to support Dutch Brief, and put people's money somewhere where it matters the most.

Other notes

We're doing more original reporting. Turning Dutch news into plain English will always be what we're built on, but we're also reporting our own stories from time to time. We're putting more into community pieces, the ones that come from people living in the Netherlands, not just the headlines. We're also starting a new weekly column for readers outside of the Netherlands.

We're also starting a Youtube channel where we'll be publishing our daily news and occasional long-form videos.

Final notes

The growth doesn't feel real, Groningen Mail was just a passion project with no funding and not much of a plan, but it grew to where it is now because people read, shared, interacted with us telling us how to improve, and we listened. I will forever be grateful to be running something like this.