Selling my soul and paying for it myself

I just hate writing this shit, because it does not fuel me.

I am a very creative person who loves sharing what I make. My blog is 20 years old this week, which I think proofs that I am dedicated to sharing my art and craft projects with the world and have been for a very long time.

I love photographing, uploading, writing and thinking via text and images. I love documenting my creative journey and my makings. And I love sharing it all with whomever wants to read it, and get feedback via comments or link love.

I love that it might inspire someone to try something new, to think differently or to invite more creativity into their life. I think we as grown-ups have forgotten a lot about what life should be about when we ignore our creativity and forget about play, experimentation and being messy artists.

In any case, lots to love but also some things I hate about being online. And that, haha, is what my first Substack newsletter is about - what I do not (at all) enjoy doing online.

I don’t like asking for money.

Which is one reason that I really hate writing newsletters. They are, to me, a sales pitch that makes me cringe inside. To me they’ve been born out of necessity. I create things and services that I want to tell people about, and so I then “need” to send yet another newsletter out. I mean, that’s what the old fashioned newsletter is all about, right? Something that you need (!?) to pitch to your audience.

I know and understand the importance of a Newsletter to keep in touch with “your people”, especially now that only 3-5% of my thousands of instagram subscribers will actually be shown the photo or reel I post, and if I share a link on my Facebook page the algorithm hides it, so don’t get me started on that… No one will even see that post at all. So I know the importance of having your own platform, I have read enough articles about it for a lifetime.

I should market myself more often, and do it better and with more gusto. Because that is what the subscribers of iHanna’s Newsletter expects and wants. You guys really want to know when I have something new in my shop, when the DIY Postcard Swap that I host is open, and when I have created a service or workshop online or even posted a new YouTube video.

So I log onto the newsletter service provider I use, and I type in something generic and random. It lacks heart and soul, something I instead poor into my blog. Because I don’t actually hate writing, just the act of writing and sending newsletters. I have always avoided doing it as much as I possible can.

I think what I love about the blog is that is always been free, it is about the things I create and not the pitching of what I make - and I just do it whenever I want to. The writing of a newsletter always feels too forced for me.

Also, for years and years I have paid out of pocket to be able to send out Newsletters to my subscribers (on a paid service first on MailChimp then on MailerLite, similar to ConvertKit and AWeber and so on). On these services and similar, the more subscribers you have the more expensive it is to communicate with them! It feels crazy to pay to get to do something you don’t enjoy, right? Stupid even, if you ask me. And since I don’t have a job, I actually need to earn money - not spend it on doing something I detest.

But wait!

I love writing. I love communicating with you guys about art, craft and creativity in everyday life, as you already know. How can I hate writing Newsletters?

It is not only the selling (your soul) bit and paying (cash) to communicate that I don’t like, it is that my brain feels split open when I write away from my blog, probably because that is a twenty year old stubborn habit I can’t shake.

I also feel very vulnerable when i send out a Newsletter about something I have made that I also want to sell, like a handmade journal or notebook. I put my heart and soul into these things, and love making them but if my offering does not sell it feels a lot like rejection. That makes my shy way from all of this online biz for days. I need to keep working on that, I know, and I will. I just wanted to mention this, in case someone else also feels like hiding under a pillow at times.

But in these days of uncertainty I also understand that in order to keep in contact with those that want to hear from me, a Newsletter is a great thing to utilize. If only I enjoyed opening up a browser window to write it. Because at this time in my life, I have had to pay over $200 a year to send out a newsletter to my thousands of subscribers, so I am paying a high to me price to do something I loath, especially when I make so few things to sell as well. And I end up doing it so rarely that I feel like every time I go to compose a new newsletter it is time to pay the yearly fee again!

Gah, the online frustrations never end.

So let’s try something new here. Today, even though it feels strange and exposed, I am sending you this email via the platform Substack.

Most of you will have subscribed to the Studio iHanna Newsletter via the swap or my blog, and don’t even know what a Substack is and why I am using this as my newsletter provider from now on. Well, for one, it is free to use, no matter how many subscribers you have (!) and I just need that. A lot. So finally I jumped the boat.

But wait, what is a Substack?

Substack to me is a blogging platform that is created to be like a Newsletter platform, if that makes any sense, LOL.

It works like any other newsletter in the way that it is sent to your preferred email address, you can unsubscribe or change your settings via a link that is always included at the bottom of each email and if you have a Substack account yourself (which is free) you can, when you are viewing my Newsletter from the app or a browser, let me know if you enjoyed it by clicking the heart there - or even leaving me a comment for all to read! There quite a big community already, and I have shared a ton of notes already so check those out, via my page.

You can even read this via RSS if you prefer it that way, and don’t want to receive this newsletter email via mail but still want to keep up with it. There are many new options to explore and ways to use your Substack, and I have been reading up on all of them for over a year now (!), over-thinker much, Hanna?

I am already reading a lot of great texts via Substack, and have mentioned a few favorites on my blog last year, so of course I have great ambitions for becoming a Substack-writer too. But not right now, I am starting small with just this text about Newsletters, which feels draining to my soul but hopefully I can make it feel… less intimidating? Less soul killing. More joyful. At least that’s my hope with this - no links at all, no shop announcement, no sale pitch Newsletter. Although…

The “new” thing about this platform, that makes it different from almost all previous ones and definitely has changed my way of thinking about being online, is that you can have paid subscribers to your newsletter! Imagine that, getting paid for your creative work? As a starving artist I feel that would be very welcome and like a wonderful thing. You are offered a subscription for all or extra content, and I might do that in the near future but right now, this Newsletter is free for all. Enjoy!

I will mostly use it in the “old fashioned way” to let you know about my news, I think. I hope you will stick around and let me know if you have questions or suggestions for me. I’d love to collaborate, link up or hear about what’s happening with you at your crafting table lately, below.

Leave me a comment!

I hope you will want to stick around or at least wait a few Newsletters until you unsub, as I learn stuff and get going with this platform and the idea of it all. Thank you!

Next up: starting the much awaited DIY Postcard Swap and letting you know ASAP!