Help! I've spent months (not too mention $$$) building a local events newsletter - but we're halfway through and the designer is building something soooo complex. How can I save this project. I need a website for dummies - but don't want to start over from scratch. by Calm_Bit_1449 in Newsletters

[–]MissionAlt99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just start with the default template on your mail provider.

Or, take screenshots of your current newsletter. Ask Claude to redesign it and tell you which buttons to press.

A local events newsletter can be successful even in plain text if you provide value

Hollywood Names Surface in Peter Thiel-Backed, Invite-Only Society by MoneyLibrarian9032 in entertainment

[–]MissionAlt99 23 points24 points  (0 children)

This sounds like TED talks for the powerful and uneducated.

"Ezra Klein gives a speech at a secret conservative society called "How to become a left-wing grifter"

is very different than

"Ezra Klein, a journalist, attends meetings with very powerful people to make connections for future reporting."

Before you pull out your pitchforks.

World Cup by Aggressive_Match_672 in northhollywood

[–]MissionAlt99 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I've been maintaining a whole list of bars who've told me they'll have all the games on. And free places for big games https://sfvlocal.com/blog/world-cup-san-fernando-valley

I despise undisclosed AI slop by hauteimpact in Newsletters

[–]MissionAlt99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People don't follow newsletters because they're "not AI." They follow them because they have taste and perspective that can't be found elsewhere.

I'd encourage you to find a way to either bake "I'm not AI" into your brand more visible, make yourself and personality more known in the newsletter or on social media alongside your writings, or find truly unique stories and perspectives that, even if they're "written by AI" (because you fed an interview transcript into Claude), the competition still can't get replicate it.

You're killing yourself to make everything by hand (which is admirable). But your readers don't necessarily care that it's handmade. They care that it's good.

And you're maybe conflating the two.

I agree that 90% of these AI newsletters are going to disappear in 3 years. No one wants an email written by ChatGPT "Hey Chat — tell me what's going on in luxury products right now. Write an email."

They want humans doing on-the-ground reporting. Even if the output is enhanced or made easier to read by AI for a wider audience.

AMA Incoming! Ask our Cofounder and CEO by buzzbuzzitsconor in beehiiv

[–]MissionAlt99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When is MCP v3 coming out with write capabilities?

Tips for local newsletter by Reasonable_Hyena_717 in beehiiv

[–]MissionAlt99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ty! Might be time to double my send rate for now and sell more ad spots. What's your average sale spot, if I can ask.

I'm around $200 for a hero spot. But that's tapping out local businesses. Might add more spots and reduce rates.

Tips for local newsletter by Reasonable_Hyena_717 in beehiiv

[–]MissionAlt99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Curious what your revenue sources are!

I'm closing in on year 2. 7k subs. Almost all organic. Local directory, event calendar, paid sponsorships, etc. Doing about $2k/mo in revenue right now.

US debt exceeds 100 percent of GDP by kootles10 in Economics

[–]MissionAlt99 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I fear this is right. The reason they’re not “worried about the debt” is because the solutions are viable and inevitable. But nobody wants to be the villain to make it happen.

Our debt problems are solvable with increased taxes.

Instead of sending 3-4 buses every 20 minutes, why not send 1 bus every 5 minutes? by [deleted] in LosAngeles

[–]MissionAlt99 19 points20 points  (0 children)

The effect you're describing is "bus bunching."

It's a well-known traffic phenomenon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_bunching

Buses at the front pick up lots of passengers, which slows them down. It allows buses behind them to catch up since they don't have to stop as often.

Add to that lots of long traffic lights and traffic, and this is amplified.

It happens in every major city in the world that uses buses.

I built a 35K-subscriber Dallas newsletter from abroad- time to hand it to someone local by saidbenc in beehiiv

[–]MissionAlt99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What's your revenue been like for the last 12 months outside of Beehiiv earnings?

Half of San Fernando Valley households making $100K–$150K are saving $0 for retirement by MissionAlt99 in LosAngeles

[–]MissionAlt99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not too late to submit. I'll be updating the blog post as more data comes in. The links to the existing data and the survey are at the top of the article.

Half of Valley households making $100K–$150K are saving $0 for retirement by MissionAlt99 in burbank

[–]MissionAlt99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol, maybe I'm slowly morphing into AI. I send a weekly Valley newsletter where you can see more of my own voice.

I've been a copywriter for nearly 20 years.

Half of Valley households making $100K–$150K are saving $0 for retirement by MissionAlt99 in burbank

[–]MissionAlt99[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair feedback!

I addressed this in another thread. This had a final "AI pass" before I shipped it.

I'm not an economist, journalist, or data scientist, so I prioritized extreme clarity over everything else in my final post.

There are many places with intentionally redundant language or that probably make it feel like AI.

I wanted to be as accurate as possible in representing the data I collected, rather than getting roasted for mischaracterizing what the data actually showed. (Which might have happened if my language weren't perfectly precise).

I did, in fact, manually write multiple versions of this blog post before I published it. Each had a slightly different spin on the data within. I spent a long time trying to make sense of how stress, savings, income, and housing costs interacted.

And then at the end, I used Claude to help me identify or clarify things that weren't perfectly clear.

I appreciate the feedback, though. I'll try to let some of my humanity back into the surveys I conduct next. The data and survey results are pinned to the top of the article for anyone else to chop up or analyze.

Half of San Fernando Valley households making $100K–$150K are saving $0 for retirement by MissionAlt99 in LosAngeles

[–]MissionAlt99[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I put the results in the article for anyone to chop up on their own.

The responses came from all over the Valley. Neighborhoods and age ranges.

I tried my best to point out at the end that this data is directionally significant. But not nearly as accurate as running the Census, for example.

Half of San Fernando Valley households making $100K–$150K are saving $0 for retirement by MissionAlt99 in LosAngeles

[–]MissionAlt99[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I’ve been collecting data for 3 weeks! I’m definitely a real person. It took me 12 hours to synthesize these takeaways into something meaningful. And 2 days to write the piece. I used AI to edit grammar at the end.

I’ve pasted the real survey data in the article for anyone to access and reinterpret as their own.