We’re here!

Half a year. 26 issues. No skipped weeks!

When I started The Clear-Eyed View, I told myself I’d stick with it for six months, no matter what. I didn’t know where it would go or if anyone would even read it.

This week, I’m pausing the career tips to reflect on the journey so far—what I’ve learned, what’s changed, and what didn’t go as planned.

I’m also dropping links to each post in case you missed one that might hit differently based on what you’re working through.

If you have any reflections on your experience as a subscriber - what’s resonated, what you think I should do next, etc., I’d love to hear it! Just respond to this post and let me know

What I’ve Learned After Six Months of Writing

Takeaway 1: I didn’t care about subscribers until I saw the numbers…

When I first launched The Clear-Eyed View, I had two goals.

1. Bring more clarity to corporate life.

2. Help people feel confident navigating their careers.

I told myself if this helps just one person, it’s worth it. I didn’t need a huge audience. I wasn’t chasing big numbers.

But in reality, I was refreshing my subscriber count every 20 minutes that first week.

It turns out I care more about the numbers than I thought. I’m competitive, especially with myself. So, I started setting subscriber goals to measure whether the newsletter was a success. Based on initial returns, I set a goal for 200 by Christmas…..I was a little ambitious.

Today, well past the holidays, I’m at 190 subscribers - a respectable number, but certainly not a rapidly scaling newsletter.

Gaining subscribers is not easy. Subscriber growth depends on the quality of the content and your reach.

I’ll let you tell me if the content is any good….

But reach is HARD. Reach requires being a marketer, showing up on LinkedIn, promoting your work, and consistently asking for sign-ups even when people may be annoyed. That’s been hard.

And since this is a labor of love, I’ve asked myself if I can or should keep pushing for more growth. Why and to what end?

Or maybe growth doesn’t matter? I’m still debating.