u/dummy1998

This might not be the right place to ask, but I have a friend whose significant other is getting really into Candace Owens. Said friend is very smart but mostly apolitical, in the sense that he doesn’t know anything about these weirdo grifters on the right.

I want to warn him, but I don’t know enough about Owens other than she’s an insane grifter. Is there like a condensed list of all the bat shit crazy things she’s ever said? Any behind the bastards-esque take downs?

Ok, I took a gummy and had a random thought so please bear with me.

What if Trump is actually being restrained by his own people and what we’re currently going through could be so much worse?

I mean, you can only imagine the type of stuff he says behind closed doors.

I think Trump has been told “no” more than we know.

Don’t you think he’s asked to be awarded the Medal of Honor? Don’t you think he’s already tried to nuke Iran and invade Greenland only to be told no? Don’t you think he’s ordered Biden’s arrest? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s ordered worse.

My slightly not in my right mind hypothesis: Trump makes so many batshit crazy proclamations and issues so many insanely illegal orders on a daily basis, and the bad stuff that’s happening (civil rights, ICE, Iran, tariffs, etc) is just what accidentally slipped through the cracks. Or was given to him as a consolation. “No, Mr. President, we can’t order US Marines to fire on unarmed protesters. Tell ya what, how about we kidnap Maduro instead?”

Anyway, I’m going to drink some water

For reference, I currently have 3,560 free subscribers and I’ve pledged to keep the newsletter 100%. That said, I would like to eventually monetize it with sponsors.

Growth has been slow but steady. It’s taken almost 4 years to get my current sub count. This is partially my fault as I rarely push it. It’s really just a companion newsletter for my podcast, which gets around 600,000 views/downloads per month. When I mention the newsletter on my podcast, I do see spikes in growth. So I THINK if I keep bringing it up every week, that growth accelerate.

I’ve also created a free quiz in hopes of drawing in new subscribers. I’ve demonstrated the quiz for a handful of listeners and they love it…I really do think it will bring in a ton of new subs…

However…

The quiz won’t work on Substack. At least not in the way I want it to work. Specifically, the email sign up. It’s just is too clunky and I’m afraid it will cause potential subs to become frustrated.

After doing a bit of research I’m pretty sure Beehiiv will allow me to do exactly what I need to do. But therein lies an additional problem: with my sub count I’ll have to spend $80 per month just to host my newsletter. That’s quite a bit of money for a free newsletter.

Unless, of course, I find a few sponsors. If I can grow my newsletter quick enough to make Beehiiv financially worthwhile, it won’t be an issue. But is that really feasible? Should I just wait and keep chugging along with Substack until I’m sponsored?

I’m focused on growing my newsletter and one of my growth strategies is to use a free quiz to induce people to sign up. I’m having a few issues, though. Namely with the email capture.

The quiz is not hosted on Substack (as far as I’m aware, that’s not possible?). It’s hosted on a separate website. At the end of the quiz is a “sales pitch” to sign up for my free newsletter before viewing the results of the quiz (there’s also another option, in a smaller font at the bottom, to view results with entering an email). Directly under the pitch is a box, sort of like a Substack widget (I’m not familiar with the technical term), that allows people to enter their email addresses.

In theory, as soon as they enter their email, I’d like their quiz results to appear on screen. Only problem is I’m not sure how to make that happen. As things currently stand, if you enter your email and click subscribe, it opens a new browser window for my newsletter. The user will then need to go back to their initial page and click “show results.”

I don’t know, it just feels clunky. I also have an older audience that occasionally struggles with technology. The fewer clicks and windows, the better.

Is this possible with Substack or should I pursue other options?

I just saw something on the news about people using portable power stations to run ac window units. I wasn’t aware this was possible. Anyone ever tried this? And what size power station would be sufficient? I’m looking for a way to keep at least one room cool in the summer in the event of a prolonged power adage. I have a small generator, but I like the idea of charging a battery with solar during the day and using the ac at night.

It was filmed in either the 70s or 80s. Suspense. It’s about a teacher who takes her kids on a remote field trip and they’re hunted by bad guys. In the end they fight back and keep parts of the dead bad guys as trophies.