In Case You Didn't Know, It's Not You...

Hey there 👋

I set a goal to write weekly for a year—and as of last week, I’ve done it 🥳

I started this newsletter after realizing how much revenue my work newsletter generated. I figured: if I could do that for my company, surely I could do it for myself, no? Turns out the operative word was “no” 😝

But here’s what I found instead: clarity.

My work newsletter has an email list of approx 1M people, segmented by free and paying users. And it shares three digital products and one blog post (which I’ve created) every week, with the dual goal of being both useful/relevant and an upsell. It earns revenue every week because in my professional life, I make things that people need and want to purchase.

The creator newsletter business, I’ve learned over the past year, is the same. Which shouldn’t have surprised me, but somehow did. It’s about building an email list that you use to drive people to your digital products, which they purchase, *making you an impossible fortune in a ridiculous amount of time with less effort than your day job (*the line the digital hawkers are selling 🤦‍♀️)

I bought into the belief that building something for yourself should be easier. In reality, the same systems are in play.

Just without the paycheck.

The further along I got in this newsletter journey, the more I struggled with the monetization piece. I wasn’t doing the work I needed to do to monetize. I wasn’t relentlessly pushing the newsletter on social to build my list, and I wasn’t making digital products I could sell. I had spent six months building up a following on Threads for the purpose of driving folks to my list, but I lost the energy for daily posting and started relying too much on AI.

So, I set out on a journey with a coach to figure out why I wasn’t doing the things I needed to do to monetize. And I arrived at this answer: I wasn’t building from purpose. I was building from fear. Fear of being laid off. Fear of ageism. Fear of being invisible.

But everything I did at work? That was fueled by belief. That was rooted in passion, not panic.

I am choosing not to be motivated by fear.

Here’s what a year of writing about the hidden patriarchal systems at work taught me: the ways in which we doubt ourselves — our capabilities, our work output, our necessity to the organization — these doubts are not on us. They are not our failings. They are the byproduct of an ingrained patriarchal structure, and operate to keep us in our place. And while I maybe knew that on some level, spelling it out week after week really showed me the pattern. And I hope it’s illuminated it for you, too!

So, instead of beating myself up for not doing it all, I’m leaning into what I do best.

And it feels good.

Ask yourself: What’s motivating your decisions: fear or purpose? What would change if you chose differently?

I’m not sure of the future of this newsletter. My friend Vic, the hilarious illustrator for Still Ticking, suggested we come up with a new project. I asked her if she had any ideas, and she suggested: “Useless wisdom from fading redheads.”

I definitely think we could monetize that 😝

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining me on this journey. Not certain what’s next, but I’ll be sure to let you know.

With you all the way,

- Kara

P.S. Was there a particular bit that made something click for you? Reply and tell me what stuck. Your feedback will help shape what comes next!