So yesterday, on Sunday 19th April, something special happened. I have sent out my newsletter Creativerly to 100 subscribers for the very first time. 🙌
This was the long-time goal I had since I launched the newsletter back in February 2019. I wanted to reach that goal within 12 months, but now it took 14 months, so nevermind. 😃
Creativerly is a weekly newsletter about tools and resources, which boost your creativity and productivity, combined with useful insights, articles, and learnings from the fields of design and tech. I have built this newsletter for the creative community and it feels really good, that it gets so much good feedback. I am very thankful for every single subscriber. But I am also incredibly thankful for those two subscribers who visited my Buymeacoffee page and donated me a coffee. The feeling you get when someone appreciates your work and your content that much that he or she is willing to leave you a tip is just indescribable.
On my way to 100 subscribers, I have learned a lot, I have met incredible people, and I grew as a maker. Building an audience is hard, but it isn't impossible. There are several things which worked out for me, but there are also some suggestions from other people who didn't work as planned. It is trial and error. Try everything and see which tactics work and which do not.
One advice I can give you which definitely works out is the following:
Be active in communities and write about your progress
Whether you are writing updates here on Indie Hackers, or in specific Subreddits, in Facebook Groups, on your blog, or you join Communities like Makerpad or Visualize Value, just be active and share what you are learning on your journey. People will realize they get value from your posts, tweets, articles, etc. and you will start building an audience. Try to engage with your followers one by one, asking them for feedback, or sending them prototypes for example. Share your knowledge, share what you learn, it might be great value for others too.