I have a question ab
[2023-02-12 09:42:14 AM] : I have a question about context mixtapes! I have a sequence that I started ~2 years ago called "Saturday Comics" with about 17,000 subscribers, and 48 emails that go out every week or 2 on Saturdays. It's been a big success but I've run into a few problems with it:
* People keep getting to the end of the sequence, and they're kind of disappointed that it randomly starts and stops
* I really struggle to keep adding things to it (theoretically there are like 100 great emails I could add to it, but I have a very hard time with this)
* People sometimes get confused and think that they're getting my newest work, when they're actually reading something that's 4 years old
* The more time passes, the more divergent the experiences of different folks on the list are
* At this point I'd like to redesign the sequence to be quite different (and highlight different things), but that's impossible to do because there are people at every stage in the sequence
I just reread the "content mixtapes" article (https://stackingthebricks.com/how-to-succeed-convertkit-2/) for the first time and I realized that it actually doesn't advocate for sending out such long sequences -- it's talking about shorter sequences (like maybe 10-12 emails) that go out over the course of a week. I'm looking for ideas for how to get this sequence under control.
Recently I've been trying out an alternate approach: a Mastodon bot (https://social.jvns.ca/@b0rk_reruns). What I like about that is everyone is seeing the same tweets at the same time, so it's easier to reason about and change the bot's behaviour.
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[2023-02-13 12:37:02 AM] : > People keep getting to the end of the sequence, and they’re kind of disappointed that it randomly starts and stops
Are folks skipping to the end of the sequence and not getting emails they should get? Or you’re referring to folks naturally reaching the end of the sequence?
I really struggle to keep adding things to it (theoretically there are like 100 great emails I could add to it, but I have a very hard time with this)You have a hard time choosing because you don’t want to end up with a sequence of 150 emails long? You could play with mixing formats. Some of my emails are standalone articles, others are a summary of 2/3. Afaik I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a 2 year long sequence (I believe 30x500 is 1.5y), if the content is still relevant and helpful.
The more time passes, the more divergent the experiences of different folks on the list areI think this is also true for the business as a whole in a way. People who find your stuff for the first time vs long time fans. Folks interested in different topics, at different stages in their career, etc.. I think that’s natural and don’t try to fight it.
At this point I’d like to redesign the sequence to be quite different (and highlight different things), but that’s impossible to do because there are people at every stage in the sequenceCheck this thread for a similar question https://30x500-academy.slack.com/archives/C0A68B9H7/p1668614553007879 [2023-02-13 07:38:58 AM] : Can you maybe split the 150 emails sequence in 4-5 or even 10 sequences, based on your zines or bigger topics? You would need to ask some questions in the subscription forms, or to link the person to one of the parallel queues based on the article or zine where they subscribed. [2023-02-13 10:00:43 AM] : some stuff to think about here, thanks! I do still feel like a 5-year-long sequence is unwieldy and that's the direction I'm headed in right now [2023-02-16 09:55:37 AM] : julia I'd be interested in what you do here. Every time I've got into the mixtape approach, all the points you're making have stopped me. I don't know what software you use but in CK you can add a snippet for the ps. so can customise that for people - I was thinking to do that weekly as I have tended to share "around the web this week" stuff which people enjoy.