Why subscribe?
Honestly? I’m not sure. I write very infrequently, as I often find I don’t have much to say nor do I have the motivation to do the research on a company or go through the writing process. When I do write though, I have been told that I do so well (and I’m told this over my objections). I’ll let you read back through old articles to determine that for yourself.
Perhaps subscribing means you won’t miss those infrequent musings? I also am very cognizant of how annoying frequent emails are. I have a very high bar for what I feel is worth having emailed to you, and I promise that I think long and hard of whether something I am sending out will merely annoy you the subscriber, or whether you will benefit in some way.
The newsletter/subscription also will not cost you anything. I have had people suggest that I should charge for what I write, and that idea very much appeals to me (who doesn’t like money for something you’d do for free anyway?), but on the few occasions I’ve tried, I have felt an obligation to write more often than I would otherwise want to. Not only does this lead to me spending my limited free time in a way I don’t necessarily want to, but I think it also degrades the quality of the product. Whatever value I provide to readers, I do so because I care about what I’m looking at and writing about, which makes it fun, and I think better to read. If I’m forced to maintain a regular schedule, I’ll inevitably write about things I’m not interested in while I’d rather be doing something else. This will lead to worse writing and less value to you.
Having said that, some people insisted that what I write is something they’d pay for. So there are paid subscription options. The free subscription provides everything the paid does, as I do not want the obligation of writing and different products for free vs paid would still give me that obligation. Instead, you can think of it as a donation. I’m not asking you to sign up for a paid subscription. If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t do it. But it is an option available to you if you see the value.
Between the cost (free unless you want it not to be), infrequent emails (so your inbox isn’t inundated with them), and a quality that I hope will match what you already see on this site, I don’t see much downside to subscribing.
