Subscriptions

Where The Magic Really Is

Garth Beyer

You don’t need thousands of investors, subscribers or participants to launch, to be on the path toward success.

Skillshare, one of the largest educational online platforms started their first class with only 6 participants. Look where they are now: millions of people enrolling in classes, signing up to teach, developing hundreds of creative projects – oh, and they’re making a ton of money from subscriptions.

Many would argue a lot of magic happened in the middle of their story, between their first class and where they are now. They obviously refined a lot, trashed bad features and focused on developing a minimum viable product. While there may have been passion, I don’ believe there was much magic during their progressional phases.

The real magic happened when they decided to keep providing classes and improving the system after their first class of 6 students.

Think if you were in their position: only six students in your first class you worked hours and hours on? Would you press on? Or would you be disappointed with the number who showed up? Obviously it’s not a good idea if so few people sign up at the start, right?

Poor turnout is often a passion killer, but you don’t have to let it be. Remind yourself that those 6 participants have 10 friends, and there’s an insane amount of magic there.

 

Stay Positive & Press On

Subscription

Garth Beyer

I’ve made the decision to close off my blog to subscriptions. In particular, email/RSS feed subscription and for two particular reasons.

Yes, a blogger absolutely benefits from having subscribers. That’s all good and great, but by subscribing, you – the subscriber – benefit less. What?!

I used to be subscribed to about a dozen blogs and I would get updates on them every few days. After only a couple of months, I found myself deleting the emails; some without opening to see what the newest posts were about. The reason for this leads to the first reason why I closed off subscription to my blog.

I quit needing their particular form of motivation. I stopped needing their information, their persuasion, their enthrallment. In other words, while I never stopped loving their blogs, I found myself reading them for the sake of just reading them and not for the sake of them helping me or bringing me to make some action.

I don’t want you (my readers) to enter this lull or habit. In a sense, it can even be self-defeating; one is more interested in learning how to improve their life than they are in improving it. If it’s between you taking a risk to do something in your life and reading my post for the day, well, you know which one I would pick.

The second reason for ending subscriptions I only realized a couple of weeks ago after someone said, “I’ve been on your website. I don’t read everything you write, but I hop on their every now and then.” I went on to tell them that they shouldn’t feel guilty for not reading every day, I don’t write so the same person can read every single post. I have this idea that I am simply here when you need me. I’m not going to force you to show up by making you feel guilty or reminding you to read my content through subscriptions. If you don’t show, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that it’s probably best you didn’t.

If you want to read what I have written, then you can type www.garthbox.com in your web bar or add me to your favorites bar. I’m looking for connections, not subscriptions.

 

Stay Positive & Let’s Connect (@)

Garth E. Beyer