I’ve been doing content marketing since I started my business back in 2014. I love it. I even wrote a book about blogging way back in 2018 and have delivered countless talks, presentations, and training sessions on the subject. But this year, I decided to start a new experiment.
At the end of 2024, I was creating content for three different businesses, and I was trying to share updates from a single email account. I needed to separate the content and my email list.
I also wanted a place to share content that wasn’t business-related - I wanted to write about things that interested me or were important to me. I tried Medium for a couple of weeks, but ran into some problems so I was looking for an alternative.
Substack seemed to be the one most people were talking about, but Beehiiv and Ghost were also getting great feedback. I had no idea which would be best for me - they all had different pricing structures and features. They all sounded good.
So why not try all three?
I had three websites with three target audiences, and now I’d found three platforms - it seemed like a no-brainer.
But rather than just set them up and quietly get on with it, I decided to share my experiment with the world.
I share the good stuff and the not-so-good stuff, the successes, the challenges, the mistakes, the learning. Everything.
How easy is it to set up and use these platforms?
How do these platforms compare in terms of pricing, ease of use, functionality, features, scalability, customisation, and monetisation opportunities?
Which platform is best suited to which goals or objectives (e.g for sharing a hobby blog versus promoting your business versus making money from the newsletter itself)?
How much time and effort is required to create content and attract new subscribers?
What are the best strategies for attracting and retaining subscribers?
When is the right time to start a paid subscription?
How easy is it to get paid subscribers?
What other opportunities are there for monetisation?
How easy is it to make money?
What type of content works best?
If you’re interested in writing or content marketing, are considering using email to promote your products and services, or are looking for an additional revenue stream, these emails are for you.
What to expect
You’ll receive an email from me every Friday with a round-up of what I’ve been doing, what worked and didn’t work, things I’ve learnt, resources I’ve found useful, and the results I’ve been getting.
I’ll also be creating additional content and guides where I’ll be going more in-depth into specific subjects (such as pricing, strategies for attracting subscribers and monetisation opportunities). I’ll be sharing links to that content in my weekly emails.
I will also occasionally promote my paid products and services (got to make a living somehow).
Everything I share is written by me personally, and I will always be honest about my results.
I could be exhausted and broke by the end of the year. I could be making millions as a content marketer. Or I could be somewhere in between.
If you want to find out which, hit subscribe and follow my journey.
My other publications
This publication - My Content Marketing Experiment - is hosted on Beehiiv. You can check out my other publications here:
On Ghost:
The Freelance Fairytale Newsletter - tips, advice and general observations on running your own business.
On Substack:
New Brew Thursday UK - a publication all about beer.
Write With Lisa - a publication for anyone who writes