Adding Memberships & a Newsletter to my Blog

I have dabbled with blogging personally, but I never stuck with it with or set a schedule. I have made new years resolutions and tweeted that I would blog more, but it never amounted to more than a few articles sporadically.

This story isn’t much different from that of others online who have freely written about their lives on medium or personal blogs. Back then, you would write something online, and you knew someone would read it. The internet was smaller and had less noise. Now, it’s a lot bigger with more blogs, more social media, and more people writing freely. I still want to share my thoughts, start doing more insightful and long-form writing that I enjoy. Some of this aligns with articles and tutorials I’ve written for companies or clients in the past year.

Leveraging the Ghost blogging platform, I have been able to “easily” add memberships, a newsletter, and still publish my off the cuff articles. The “easily” part is because I had to manage the Ghost blog via the command line. I also had to edit a little code to adjust the signup page, but that was relatively easy. Most of the work revolved around getting Mailgun setup in the Ghost config and updating Ghost after having to search for a few commands.

What is the membership?

In a way, the membership is a Patreon where I am going to share stories, share what I am reading, and share what I’m thinking via the blog and a newsletter. Better yet, think of this a netflix for my blog. I plan on putting together some wirecutter-esque guides (WFH gear, software, travel, etc.) based on the items I use every day. I will also share longer-form content that I have put together on how to manage paid ad platforms,

It’s the fundamental idea that will hold everything together for the blog and membership.

I’ve experimented with YouTube, streaming on Twitch, hosting a podcast, and more. I haven’t stuck to any which one, because, well, each of them is a full-time job alone. They’re not easy endeavors; you cannot just do YouTube or a podcast without the full-time hustle. But now I am putting myself on a schedule, finding more topics I enjoy writing, and, more importantly, writing about things that matter to me.

Trello is the place where I am adding ideas, putting due dates on posts, and keeping up on where I am with the blog. I am making the process organized. Before, I never took these steps to ensure I was honest with myself on if I am doing work.

The net net:

1. You’ll support me with the work I do online.
2. You’ll get a newsletter sent to your inbox.
3. You’ll get exclusive long-form articles.
4. I will add more value to the membership as time goes on.

What value do I add?

I am asking a lot of questions in this post. This question, however, is essential. What value do I add?

For a long time, I didn’t know. I was a college drop-out. I didn’t know what skills I had for a career. What I didn’t realize is I founded a business, grew the sites SEO, and networked with some of the best technology writers around. I leveraged these skills and accomplishments to land a full-time job doing social media and paid advertising.

Now, I am the lead digital strategist at a marketing firm in San Antonio, Texas, that works with small businesses and startups. I lead a team of 6 people who currently manage both paid ads (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.) and SEO. Some quick stats:

• The paid side has over $100,000 in monthly ad spend in management on Google Ads alone.
• The SEO side has sites in categories from coffee wholesalers or podcasting production/networks.
• I managed over $1 million on Google Ads in 2019

The opportunity I have to learn and test skills within the paid marketing side is massive. I want to share some skills, thoughts, and stories from the experiences I’ve had managing a team and growing a marketing agency.

TL;DR

I want to build a small community of people I want to share ideas with, text with, and even play Fortnite with.

I am committing to posting more, sending a newsletter out, and doing long-form content. However, I am not saying its weekly or bi-weekly. I am going to go on my schedule, posting when I find there is time and when I can enjoy it.

I am looking forward to sharing experiences, thoughts, and stories with members and the public who read the blog.