Tag: community

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About Toi Newsletter

The Dreaded Newsletter part 2: Mistakes Were Made

You ever have one of those moments when you think something really cool is about to happen and you’re really excited, but then you find out it’s not what you expected? That’s what’s happening to me right now, but it’s mostly my own fault and I can totally accept that.

So, in my last post, I talked about my scheme to develop a Patreon page (which I still plan to do) instead of a newsletter. I had it all planned out but I didn’t have all the right information. Plus, I made some pretty broad assumptions along the way.

Patreon isn’t new to me. I participated in one a few years ago as part of a group effort. Needless to say, the platform has changed a lot since then and I didn’t take that into consideration. Then, I cited an article, that while very informative, was a bit misleading in its use of the idea “pay what you want.” Also, I came across a Patreon creator letting potential patrons know they could simply follow them for now if they weren’t ready to become a paid patron. It was totally my assumption that came with some form of benefit to the potential patron.

Basically, a feature that used to exist no longer exists and it throws my whole plan off. You can no longer offer content for free on the platform. And giving people the chance to follow a patron just means that person will see that creator’s profile whenever they happen to visit their own profile page.

So much for avoiding a newsletter. Time to come up with a Plan B that helps me develop my Patreon community ’cause I’m still moving on with that.

*Fast forward a few years. Now my original plan is in effect. Yay!*

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

Categories
About Toi Newsletter

The Dreaded Newsletter

Everyone, all the experts, and even the newbies keep telling me that an email list and or newsletter is the key to creator success and marketing. I’ve had newsletters before, and they were a headache and a complete disaster. I honestly didn’t know what to do with a newsletter or how to build an audience with it, but I’ve learned a lot over the years and think I get it now.

Now, here’s the problem I’m faced with. What service to use and how to make the process part of my creativity and not just another task to do? How do I make this process accessible to all with minimal cost? And how to address the potential for growth? So, what I write next may sound a bit crazy, but hear me out.

I’ve decided to set up a Patreon instead of a newsletter, and here’s why.

-Readers and fans can follow a Patreon easier than they can sign up for most email lists and it’s FREE. People who follow will have access to anything I post publicly.

-It keeps me from having to manage an email list. Pretty sure Patreon takes care of all that.

-It’s a platform build on the intent to create. If someone decides to upgrade from follower to supporter, they will do so with the clear expectation of the various kinds of content they will see. I don’t have to worry about whether I’m sharing something that some of my contacts want to see but not others.

-It’s a platform built for financial and community growth.

Well, if you haven’t said it out lout yet, go ahead. Yes, this is an odd little experiment.

Worst case scenario, I gather a bunch of followers who never upgrade to financial supporters and I have access to a community who’s rooting me on. That doesn’t sound so bad.

Best case scenario, some of my followers become financial supporters and tell some of their friends and family about what I’m offering. Sounds like a win-win to me.

I’ll be blogging more about this process in the coming days and weeks.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

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IWSG

#IWSG December 2020: The Best Time of Year to Write

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?

I used to have a job that made me cry every day, but it came with lots of vacation time and summer’s off. I used to get so much writing done on my paid vacations that I stayed in that horrible job for 10 years. I now work a job I love, but it comes with no time off. It’s really a pain for me to plan to take time off and then enjoy my time off because it’s always so brief. I have no time to write (I know that doesn’t make me special or unique in any way, but it’s harder for me to write now than it’s ever been). Still, I don’t cry 5-days a week on the way to an abusive job, so that’s nice. Not sure I’ll ever get to a point where I write like I used to. I’ll always be a writer, just not sure I’ll ever get to publish anything again.

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WEP October and December Challenges


It was an honor to come in as Runner-up in the October “Grave Mistake” challenge. Be sure to check out the emotional guest post from challenge 1st-place winner Rebecca Douglass.


Briefly, the December challenge “Unmasked” was canceled due to time constraints and stressors of the season, but the WEP admins have come up with a very casual and laid-back approach for this challenge to continue for anyone interested. Click the image to see what’s in store for 2021 and see any stories that may be shared for the December prompt. You can read my entry here if you’d like.

IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Our book club is changing things up!
We will have quarterly book selections now, giving us more time to read. We will also have one fiction book selection and one writing craft book selection. Members can read both or choose between them. Finally, we won’t be offering 5 optional discussion questions anymore. Instead, we will be utilizing the polls that our members enjoy, so there will be one poll question for the fiction book and one for the non-fiction book on Discussion Day.

Our December/January/February reads are…

Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor, a book written in second-person. Since many readers haven’t read a book in second-person, and many writers haven’t written in second-person, we figured this is a great chance to explore something new.

 

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Preparing to Write Settings that Feel Like Characters by J Lenni Dorner. This will be our writing craft book, with a focus on settings.

 

 

Discussion Day for both books will be February 24, 2021! JOIN US! 

Now, on to the personal updates.

I’ve been reading a bit and writing a bit, but not as much as I’d like of each. Honestly, it’s not as bad as it would usually be because it’s 2020. I’ve simply decided that this is a trial year- everything will pretty much be a do-over in 2021. In 2021 I’ll work on actually reaching some writing goals, I’ll give my Goodreads challenge a legit effort and post reviews on time, and I’ll stop phoning in my blog efforts. For now, I’m just focusing on getting to 2021 without a complete breakdown, so that means I read less, write less, and blog less. At least I’m still moving forward- even if I’m moving very slow and don’t really have a destination.

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Is there an ideal time of year for you to write?
If you don’t write, have you considered it?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Pat Garcia,
Sylvia Ney,
Liesbet @ Roaming About,
Cathrina Constantine, and
Natalie Aguirre!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #37).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter