The numbers, in brief:
Subscribers: 267 (–25 +12 new)
Stories published: 17 (+10 new)
Last month (you can check it out here):
Subscribers: 280 (–25 +5 new)
Stories published: 7 (+7 new)
As you can see, subscriber growth is very small (and old subscribers I imported from the previous newsletter keep unsubscribing).
There's a small increase in published stories, but it's too early to draw conclusions there. For now my goal is at least 15 new stories a month.
What I did this month (in no particular order)
Pinterest. Posted 75 pins. Experimenting with different formats: plain text, infographics, images, short videos. Total views for the month: 2,400. Still too early to talk about any real effect. View Pinterest →
After verifying the domain through a DNS TXT record at the registrar, Pinterest reset all the stats on half the pins, while the overall view count stayed at the old number. They've now started picking up views again.
I also started adding a Pin-friendly image at the end of stories along with a "save as pin" button. Looks like this:
YouTube. Posted 6 Shorts. YouTube currently counts a view from the first second, so the numbers look high, but real views ("engaged viewers") are around 12%. Not bad for a brand-new account. View Youtube →
Instagram. All the Shorts go straight into Reels and Stories. There are views, but not many. At least it barely takes any time. View Instagram →
These Shorts also become extra pins, which takes another 5 minutes.
LinkedIn. +110 new contacts this month. I keep posting; view counts are small, ranging from 40 to 130. View LinkedIn →
Moved the site to the tinyfound.com domain. beehiiv, as always, runs you in circles – everything scattered across different sections. But I figured it out and got it done. On top of that, a new subdomain for mail, mail.tinyfound.com – hoping subscription confirmations will land in spam less often for readers.
Ran a survey among the story subjects. I'll quote part of the latest reply as an example that sums up the feedback and suggestions:
... Since I work in a creative field myself, I find I'm drawn more to stories tied to different art directions and creative work than to topics outside my own field.
As for the promotion-focused parts (channels, tactics, numbers) – for me as a reader, the craft/person/project side pulls me in more than that.
...
Overall I think the format itself is interesting. One thought, just a casual suggestion: once there are a lot more stories, it might be worth being able to browse or search by category – so instead of scrolling through everything, readers could jump straight to the category they're interested in and go through those cases ...
The idea from this reader (and another respondent) about browsing/searching by category confirmed a plan I already had in mind – which is really nice to see.
What didn't work
Indie Hackers. Posted 2 posts. Two days in, one post had 12 likes, 190 views, and 52 comments (including my own replies). One commenter even asked about submitting their own story – I gave them my email, but they never followed up.
Overall, the experiment didn't work out – no site traffic, no subscribers. I think it's simply not my audience.
Hacker News. Submitted 3 posts. Zero effect. Not one comment, not one subscriber. There were some site visits, but same story as with Indie Hackers – it's not my audience.
Facebook. A few posts in relevant groups (Etsy-related, for instance). Zero effect.
Summary and plans
Every new subscriber came from story subjects' own accounts, where they shared their tinyfound piece. Aside from newsletters, that's the only source of traffic so far. The "respondent-as-channel" system is working best, for now.
In August, despite 10 new stories, there was less contact and less engagement overall – hoping it's a seasonal thing. The last week especially was quiet.
The newsletter is working, but it's worth keeping in mind that 95% of subscribers are imported contacts – people who signed up for a completely different topic. Still, here's one of the recent successful sends:
I've moved toward visual promotion for a text-based project. After a few experiments, I concluded that promoting on text-centric platforms has become either very labor-intensive or requires real money. So I decided to promote on visual platforms instead!
I don't know – maybe this is what's called "madness and courage," but the decision's made. I should also mention I've barely worked with visuals before: my hope is that there are plenty of tools out there now.
Distribution and promotion remain the most important task and my "Achilles' heel." So right now my platforms and formats for promotion are: LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram (Reels), YouTube Shorts – I'll keep working on all of them. I need at least another month of solid work and experiments before I can draw conclusions and adjust the plan.
I still need to work on the homepage and the site: add a block for requesting to be featured, so people can request the questionnaire right away and/or forward it to someone. I've already gotten requests like this:
... Could I encourage others to share their stories? Do you have a 'Submit' button, so I don't have to give out your email address?
I also need to put the About page somewhere more visible.
The problem is that beehiiv doesn't offer many tools on the free plan, and I'm not ready to upgrade yet. So I end up "reinventing the wheel."
I've also planned to tag posts and put a tag cloud on the homepage. That'll be the first step toward a structured database.
I have some thoughts on adjusting the story format based on survey feedback and my own thinking. Here's another response that illustrates what readers are looking for:
... I have read other articles and I must admit that I am less interested in numbers. I am more interested in how a particular person, their personality and inner path allow them to find their own way to be free and do what they truly want ...
I think these are important signals. It seems a story needs to speak not only to work-related needs (promotion examples) but to the soul too.
I'd really appreciate it if you'd reply to this email, rate my work (+ or –), and offer any advice.
Found your own audience or customers without a serious ad budget?
Email Alex at [email protected] if you'd like to share yours – he'll send over a short questionnaire, and your answers become a story just like this one, free. Past respondents have picked up real, tracked signups and sales just from being featured.