Newsletter Update
Some thoughts, some changes, and introducing referrals
I want to share some updates with you on the state of the Critical Consent by Robert Urbaschek newsletter.
As I explained in when I announced paid subscriptions, my current aim is to upload a new post at least every other week, usually around Saturday-Sunday. I am glad to say that I have for the most part managed to stick to this schedule, and that I have even found the time to write some extra posts. The past few months I wrote articles on AI, did a deep dive into some of the misleading ways the war in Ukraine is being discussed, and kept my paid subscribers updated on some of my thoughts and activities through my Monthly Musings.
Your likes, comments, and shares are part of what makes my writing possible, and while I am not yet able to depend on my writing and reporting to make a living, you are helping me stay motivated to realise those ambitions. Thank you for that. Eventually, as this newsletter grows, it can feel more and more like a real community, where we discuss our thoughts and share ideas with one another.
Balancing ambitions with available time
I will always try to put as much time and effort into my newsletter as I can, since I wholeheartedly believe in its importance and because writing and reporting matter a lot to me. However, as I mentioned in that announcement, I must also be realistic in these ambitions and accept that I need to make money too, like we all do. Unfortunately, that is the way that this society values our worth, which is also part of the reason why so many of us are chronically stressed, overworked, and miserable. I see my writing and reporting as my way of trying to change that. Basically, what I am saying is that while my motivation will always be here, and with writing in general, this cannot be at the detriment of, well, surviving in this world. It sounds weird to put it like that, but that is what it comes down to in the end for all of us, isn’t it?
Of course, I am trying to unite these two as much as I can. Each one of you that decides that my work is worth paying for therefore contributes not only to that ambition, but also towards me being able to devote more attention to my work and thus offer you more and higher quality content. It is only sensible to balance the time I can spend here with other work that I need to do to make a living. Of course, as this newsletter grows and more people decide to pay for it, this balance can start shifting more and more towards what I love doing most.
What the best way to realise that is, I don’t know. I see many journalists that I admire make much of their work only accessible to paid subscribers. In a way that does make sense, since this kind of work is not easy and should be valued. On the other hand, however, if you do that you are restricting what could be important information to people with enough money to pay for it. For now, as my newsletter still needs as many readers—and therefore word of mouth—as it can get, it makes sense to keep as much of my content accessible as possible. That, combined with wanting to keep information accessible to all, is why I made the decision not to restrict access to my main content, and to offer extra or more personal content to my paid subscribers. That calculus might change in the future, especially as I improve the quality and professionalism of my work and become more financially independent. What will not change, though, are my values when it comes to the openness of information, freedom of thought, independence of journalism, and the importance of trust, authenticity, and integrity. Because that is who I am and what I believe in. Why I am doing this and why I want to keep doing this. So that will always be part of any decision I make. One of the reasons I write is for people to read it, to be informed, and to make a difference. I suspect that in the end, for me at least, it is going to come down to a balancing act between the two.
That is also why I think it is important to be open with you about the ways in which this newsletter develops, namely through trial and error as well as constant reflection and re-evaluation. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, nor is there ever a clear path towards achieving what you want. The only way to get there is to try, to keep coming back day after day, and to change course when necessary without losing sight of the horizon. If you are a free subscriber and think this content is as important as I do and if you can afford it, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
Rewards for bringing in new subscribers
Thankfully, at the moment Substack is a great platform to help me realise these goals, and for my writing and reporting to have an impact. They recently introduced a new feature, which is hopefully going to help more people find my work but which is also going to reward you for spreading the word. Starting now, if you share this newsletter to people around you, and enough of them decide to subscribe, you will receive special benefits. While these benefits could change in the future along with my newsletter, for now these referrals can give you a paid subscription free of charge. Of course I do not want you to be sharing this newsletter only because you’ll be rewarded, but because you sincerely believe in what I do and want to share the topics that I write about with others. I see these referral rewards as a way for me to show you my appreciation.
—> How does this work?
1. Share Critical Consent by Robert Urbaschek. When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends.
2. Earn benefits. When more friends use your referral link to subscribe (free or paid), you’ll receive special benefits.
Get a 1 month paid subscription for 3 referrals
Get a 3 month paid subscription for 10 referrals
Get a 6 month paid subscription for 25 referrals
To learn more, check out Substack’s FAQ.
Some newsletter housekeeping
Each email will now include a header in which I briefly describe what this newsletter is and what you can expect from it. This is to remind new subscribers of what the newsletter they signed up to is all about, as well as to make it more accessible for people who you decide to share these posts with.
This year, the focus of this newsletter has been shifting and the amount of content increasing. This newsletter has also been growing a lot. The global distribution of my audience has meant that writing in Dutch makes less sense than it used to, since it is time spent on content that is going to be read less. That is why I am in the process of making this content less prominently visible, and removing some posts which are no longer relevant to the shifted focus of this newsletter. Eventually, there will no longer be separate sections for English and Dutch, but only 1 main section that holds all the content. This has the added benefit of making it easier for subscribers to keep track of my content and not accidentally unsubscribe from content they actually want to read. When I do create content that is in Dutch, which for as long as I still live in the Netherlands remains a possibility, I am going to link to this content from the main (English) post. You may have seen the section ‘English’ disappear from your account settings. Soon, the Dutch/Nederlands section will also disappear. Please check that you remain subscribed to the main newsletter, so that you do not miss out on any posts.
—> If you are using the app, go to ‘Library’, select Critical Consent by Robert Urbaschek, click the three dots in the upper-right corner, then click ‘Manage Subscription’.