Newsletter #30

This week has been good to me. I’ve been getting some encouraging responses for Newsletter Glue.

People are requesting invites on Twitter. And many who have installed and tried it have been genuinely enthusiastic about the plugin.

We’re still in the early days, and success remains both fragile and fleeting… But I’m glad there’s some genuine interest in what we’ve built.

What’s next?

I’ve been working toward submitting the plugin on the WordPress plugin directory on August 10, with the view of continuously “launching” across various platforms for the entire week, culminating with Product Hunt on 17 August.

I’m not sure if this is the best approach, or whether I should be launching on multiple platforms in one day. If you have thoughts on this, please let me know!

🔥 Highlights from this week

• People actually tried the plugin and liked it!
• Had some really helpful and positive feedback for the website copy and design so far.

💔 Lowlights from this week

• Looks like the ConvertKit integration is a no-go for now. Their API doesn’t have the requisite endpoints for the basic features of Newsletter Glue.

✅ Completed this week

• Website is 90% done
• Wrote a bunch of posts
• Completed 3 help docs
• MailerLite integration is 95% done
• Surfaced and fixed a bunch of tiny bugs

🎯 Goals for next week

• Complete website
• Get more trials and testimonials
• Finish onboarding demo post
• Finish 2 more help docs

🤔 Product thought for the week
After a handful of onboarding video calls, I was unceremoniously reminded that nobody reads microcopy. Instead, people just skim and click randomly. Where possible, I need to make notifications and alerts even shorter.

🍊Fresh From the Interwebz

I don’t always have a theme for my link roundup, but this week’s is about a bunch of unlikely heroes and their unconventional stories.

How Doordash got their first 1000 customers

It’s always encouraging to see how big tech companies got their start. It’s always unglamorous. Ali Abouelatta’s First 1000 newsletter is a nice reminder for me that even the big boys started small. Link to article →

The hacker who saved the Internet

Really enjoyed this article about how a 23-year-old hacker stopped the WannaCry virus from taking down the Internet. I love it when real life sounds like it’s straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster. Link to article →

50 years off-grid: architect built house from scratch amid NorCal redwoods

In 1968, Charles Bello and his wife, Vanna Rae, moved onto 240 acres of redwood forest looking to live a simpler life off the land. After living for decades in a simple hut, in 1991, they built an elaborate glass house with a curvilinear wood roof and two curved walls of windows. This is as magnificent and beautiful as it sounds. Link to video →

How A Girl From A Remote Nepali Village Became a World-Class Trail Runner

If you only have time for one thing, let it be this. Most women in Mira Rai’s Nepalese village get married by 18, or worse – sold. She beat the odds and became a top trail runner instead. Inspiring AF. Link to video →