What is wrong with all these newsletter platforms!!!

 So... The battle to describe branding in the new breed of social media has started. But not everyone knows how to own their brands. So, I decided to start writing a piece about this.

Part of this was based around setting up my stuff so I had a brand to write about. I got a domain. I set up my community mailboxes on my Exchange server. I got my website started (It is basic. I know. And I am not allowed to put AdSense on it.) I got my analytics going. Awesome!

Now for a Newsletter platform. Sooo... what to use.

Well, Substack is really popular. I know a lot of people who use it. Jeff Tidreich, Erin in the Morning... It is really popular. But the owners shadow ban people... there are reach reductions... transparency issues with who they pay... Oh, and, promoting bigots... 

Yeah, I want to look at something else.

Well, what about Medium. Oh, I have to pay for Premium if I want it under my domain... Also, I have no chance to monetize unless I am established? What is wrong with you people? I am not a writer by any means, and if you want me to be encouraged to post, I need to have something. Oh, and premium accounts are for the site. There is no way to actually build a community out of this... no thank you.

So, where do we go from there?

Well, I have a Patreon. Maybe that would be a good start. Wait, I can't attach images in line with my text posts to illustrate an article? That is just plain sad. What about brand control and monetization? Well, I am monetized out of the gate with an 8% + "Taxes and Fees" structure... I can live with that as a small creator probably going nowhere. If I pay for Premium, I can have staff accounts to help me with content... that is cool. I don't need it, but still... I wonder, how much is premium? 12% (and fees) but I get dedicated support, staff accounts, and access to do merch. Okay, not worth it to me. I may never be that big.

Well, do they offer anything else under the basic tier? Oh, hey, I can integrate with Discord. That is useful. I can host video from Vimeo... I guess if I was doing premium access for supporters as a vTuber, that is nice. I can host a podcast to Spotify. Nice, but no one is going to listen to me. E-Mail notification is cool... But man, there is a lot missing here.

I want to appear as my domain. I want email to be my domain name too.

The search continues. MailChimp and similar services are not going to work for me. I need a site people can go to and see if they want to subscribe. I need a dual format newsletter. A few options exist. Postcard, ghost.io, and beehiiv are the ones that don't require me to do my own hosting. So that is a nice short list.

Let's look I will start with Postcard. It seems the simplest. At first, there is the price if I want to control the branding. $8/month so about $96/year. Let's just figure $100 so I don't have surprises. If I go with the free option, I can't use my domain or analytics. So... free is not an option. But there is no option for premium content like early access. No real details on if I can have things like ads to make some money. This is not going to work.

A view of Postcard's services and pricing.

Well, let's take a look at ghost.io. That seems pretty well reviewed. So, I think my first goal is custom domains and analytics. Well, the base plan starts at $11/month so about $121/year. Oh, that puts them out of my price range. Sad, because it looks so nice. But unless this hobby turns out to be a boon for me, it isn't an option. But, let's see what they offer, just for fun:

A look at the features for ghost.io

With a lot of good features, it makes sense if you are established, but that is not what I can do right now.

So, next we have beehiiv. Now, beehiiv is promising. I really wish it wasn't a platform that was flooded with CryptoBros and bragging about AI, but I digress. beehiiv has a lot of potential. There is a free starting tier, there is analytics support in the free tier. Sadly, custom domains only show up when it is a paid tier. and that is $42/month or over $500 a year. But you can have a blog network (referrals to newsletters you support) for free. That is cool to drive up traffic. Premium subscriptions only start after you pay. (That is a disappointment.) 

I did create an account on beehiiv just to see. After that, I found things I love. The custom domain can be used for emails. The ability to establish the site is easy. There is a lot I can do with it. But, being limited on how I can monetize as a new site. It really hurts me. Here is a look at their features:

The features and prices for beehiiv

 

Shameless self-plug here, if you want to see me move to a grown up platform, you can donate to my Ko-fi, become a Patreon, or if you are wanting to get on beehiiv I have a link that will help me afford a platform like that: https://www.beehiiv.com?via=krystal-dephrene but I am not holding hope on that making me any money.

So, what am I doing instead? Well, I am using Blogger. It is a Google platform that I can tie to my domain. I get free SSL since it is hosted by Google. I can put AdSense on it (which, since it is not capable of "premium" features means I can earn a few cents from this endeavor.) to make money. And, it works with my analytics. Which, I need, since I can't see what is popular or not. 

Blogger is basic. I know this. I used it back when Google first absorbed BlogSpot to create it. In fact, I am surprised it is still around. But if not for free services like Google Sites, Google Analytics, and Blogger... I couldn't get started on this journey. This blog will not be a permanent newsletter. But it is a start. One I hope helps me afford to get away from the Google trap. I want Blogger to just be my annoying "stream of consciousness page" that does not need to be on a better platform. But for now, this is a start.

Thank You for putting up with my rant.

-KrysieJ