Blog or Newsletter?

[Reynard]

This summer I am going to ramp up.some indie design and publishing, and I want to do some outreach to help build an audience with whom I can converse. For years I kept up an intermittent blog about all the geeky things I found fun or thought provoking, but it has been dead for a couple years.

In starting to try and cultivate a fresh audience and potential customers, should I go back to blogging, or should I do the Newsletter thing? I am subscribed to a few and I like the format, but I have never done one.

I'm especially interested from folks who do either or both, but also from folks who read either or both as a way to stay connected to creators they like.

Thanks.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

I lean toward blogs myself, but that's just me and I'm not really doing them for making business connections - closest I ever got to that were showcasing some painting commissions when they were done.

 

[J.Quondam]

I'm the reverse, preferring weekly-ish to monthly-ish newsletters. I almost never visit a blog unless there's something specific mentioned in a newsletter that catches my eye. So....
Have you considered doing the blog AND sending out a newsletter with a brief recap of whatever you did on the blog? It's a little extra work, but that way you get both audiences.

 

[Reynard]

I'm the reverse, preferring weekly-ish to monthly-ish newsletters. I almost never visit a blog unless there's something specific mentioned in a newsletter that catches my eye. So....
Have you considered doing the blog AND sending out a newsletter with a brief recap of whatever you did on the blog? It's a little extra work, but that way you get both audiences.

That is probably smartest.

 

[schneeland]

Thinking about my own consumption habits, it's a bit tricky - I do read blog articles and often enjoy them (mostly in the OSR sphere), but this is only when they are posted or recommended by someone I follow on social media (mostly Twitter and a bit of Bluesky); newsletters on the other hand I will read more regularly, but it really takes a while until I subscribe (e.g. in terms of roleplaying things, the only non-publisher newsletter I'm subscribed to is Questing Beast's Glatisant).
Potentially you could use substack and do both. But I don't have any personal experience with it. And if I ever get back to writing something on the web, I'd probably just try my hand at blogging.

 

[payn]

I'd consider a discord server in addition to either a newsletter or blog.

 

[Reynard]

I'd consider a discord server in addition to either a newsletter or blog.

I only use Discord for game comms and such. What do creators tend to use them for?

 

[payn]

I only use Discord for game comms and such. What do creators tend to use them for?

I joined up one for a Fantasy Football advice product. I didnt plan to go to the discord at all, but then saw the creator posts there regularly. Updated news, community notes, etc.. Its a good way to engage with your customers, followers, etc...

 

[Morrus]

I'm the reverse, preferring weekly-ish to monthly-ish newsletters. I almost never visit a blog unless there's something specific mentioned in a newsletter that catches my eye. So....
Have you considered doing the blog AND sending out a newsletter with a brief recap of whatever you did on the blog? It's a little extra work, but that way you get both audiences.

A lot of blog platforms will do that for you automatically.