Writing to No One
The trials and tribulations of getting started
Hi there.
Right now, I’m writing to no one.
There are zero subscribers on this list (other than me, using a test account).
Even though I have a much more robust group of readers in my regular newsletter, it’s still difficult to write into the void for a new group, made up only of imagined future readers.
I hear this often from clinicians who are starting a newsletter from scratch.
People feel unmoored, unsure, and even a little bit foolish writing their first message (and often their second, third, and fourth ones as well).
In some ways it can feel like journaling, but in public.
My suggestion is to remember three things if you find yourself writing to a teeny-tiny list:
Pretend you’re writing an email to a specific person: a client who you’ve loved working with. My brain & heart understand that this specific person I’m writing to may or may not read my message right away, but that eventually it will reach them. Visualize that person and write a message that they might find helpful.
The beauty of a teeny-tiny list is that hardly anyone will read what you write. You get to be awkward. You get to change your tone and careen from one format to another for a while as you find your style and rhythm. It’s best to do this with a small audience if you can.
There is no way to make this less awkward other than posting your first newsletter. And then your second. And then your third. Truly, there isn’t a shortcut or a hack to make this part easier.
Now it’s time to publish that first/next newsletter. Even though it’s awkward. And hard.
Put one foot in front of the other, and it’ll get easier soon.
Happy writing.
Camille