The Unschool Newsletter Experiments
One
After moving my blog from WordPress to Squarespace, I designed a tiny experiment:
I will write and send out some email newsletters, letting readers know when there’s something new on my website, to see whether it’s worth creating them.
I made a pact:
I will create and send three newsletters before making a decision.
After the third newsletter, I analysed the data:
24% of email subscribers opened the third newsletter, and only 4% clicked a link and visited my website.
Conclusion: those aren’t good numbers. I’m paying for a lot of emails that end up in the trash, unread.
Decision: I will discontinue my email newsletters to avoid wasting money. More accurately, I don’t want to waste the money my husband and generous supporters pay to keep this website online.
Action: I deleted the subscription feature on my website.
But I didn’t forget about newsletters. A few people reached out to me, saying they were sorry to hear there won’t be any more email newsletters. They’ll miss them. I will miss them too. I enjoyed putting them together.
Two
I wondered: could I create a newsletter that readers can download from my website?
After some pondering, I designed a new experiment:
I will create two editions of a Christian unschooling newsletter that can be downloaded from my website. I will analyse the data. If the numbers are encouraging, I’ll continue the newsletter.
After a lot of work, I finished the first edition of A Million Love Stories. I uploaded it to my website, and readers downloaded it.
To fulfil my pact, I’m now working on edition 2 of A Million Love Stories. But will there be a third edition? So far, the data is looking good. I’ve had some great feedback. Readers are sharing the newsletter link. So, it’s likely that the newsletter will continue.
Three
But creating a downloadable newsletter didn’t solve the problem of blog post email notifications.
I wondered: can I find a free way to send out emails to readers who want to subscribe to my website?
I did some googling and discovered Follow.it with a free plan that allows unlimited subscribers to receive unlimited emails. I signed up for an account. I posted a Follow-it link on my website's home page.
I told Erin from Ever Learning about my new subscription feature:
At the moment, I only have one subscriber, and that’s me! I subscribed to test things out… I want to have a subscribe option for anyone who’d like a convenient way to hear about new posts.
Erin subscribed to my blog, and I thanked her:
Thank you for following my blog! Now I have two subscribers: you and me!
Resubscribe
Yesterday, I had another thought: what if readers who subscribed to my last email newsletter, the one that few people opened, assume that I imported their details to Follow.it? I headed back to my website to add the following message above the subscribe button:
This is a new subscription feature. I’m starting again with a new email provider. I hope you’d like to subscribe or resubscribe so we can stay in touch with each other!
it’s not about numbers
So, how will I know if this third newsletter experiment is successful? Am I collecting data? Will the number of subscribers influence my decision to continue the newsletter?
I won’t be looking at numbers. The third newsletter isn’t about getting as many people as possible to sign up, so I have a big email list. That might have been my goal at one time, but I’ve changed.
As I said in A Million Love Stories:
Years ago, as I hit ‘publish’ on my first blog, I wanted to shout, “Here I am, world!” I imagined an earthquake-sized energy wave passing through the Internet and people saying, “What just happened?” They’d discover my blog and say, “How did we survive without Sue Elvis? The Internet will never be the same again.” I hoped readers would flock to my site to read my stories, which I thought were very clever and irresistibly interesting. They’d want to buy my books. I was going to be someone important.
Of course, life online didn’t change just because Sue Elvis started blogging. But that doesn’t worry me because I’ve changed since those exciting early days of blogging. I no longer want to jump up and down, trying to get anyone’s attention. I don’t want to research ways to become more persuasive…
All I want to do is write. Mostly, I’d like to write about love.
So, if you’d like a convenient way to hear about my latest love stories, other posts, and maybe some occasional news, please subscribe to my newsletter. And if you’d rather not subscribe, that’s okay.
I won’t be examining the data to determine whether to continue this newsletter experiment. Emails will go out whenever I have something to say, even if the only subscribers to my website are Erin and me.
My Other Subscriber
Only two subscribers? I can’t think of anyone better to share a tiny email list with than Erin. Perhaps you and Erin are already friends, but if you’re not, why not head over to her website, community, and podcast and say hello?
Recently, I was invited to join Erin and Ashley on their Virtual Kitchen Table podcast. We recorded four episodes on the topic What is Unschooling? Parts 1 and 2 are available to listen to. The remaining two parts will be published soon.
What You Can Do (if You Want)
Download a copy of the first edition of A Million Love Stories and share the link.
Subscribe to my website newsletter to receive email notifications of new posts and news.
Become friends with Erin on her website, community, and podcast
Listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of the VKT podcast, What is Unschooling?
Check out Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s book, Tiny Experiments.
Design an experiment of your own.
What’s Next?
Now it’s time to publish this post before heading over to Follow.it. I shall send out an email notification to Erin and me, letting us know there is something new to read on my website!
Would you like to join us?
