From 21 to 1000 - Lessons in Growth

Reaching milestones is gratifying, but the growth that comes from sharing your work is the real difference maker.

This week, 💌 Tiny Improvements hit 1,000 readers!

It's a milestone I couldn't have imagined when I sent my first dispatch to just 21 friends in 2020. The first newsletter went out months after I set up a mailing list, and it was almost 2 full years before I started sending them regularly.

Growth has been uneven - spurts, plateaus, and lots of introspection - but every new dispatch and reader is a reminder of why I started sharing my work.

Here's what this journey has taught me:

1. It takes guts to start. Sharing your work feels vulnerable at first. My first newsletter sat in drafts for months before I hit send. But once I did, the real growth - for the newsletter and for me - began.

2. Feedback is fuel. Hearing from readers is always validating, whether it's close friends or strangers. If you've ever hit reply to one of my emails, know that your words mean more than you think.

3. Writing changes you. This newsletter has made me more thoughtful-about my own work and about the content I consume. I notice lazy clickbait more than ever but also have a deeper appreciation for simple, impactful writing.

One unexpected highlight lately has been Bluesky. It's a refreshingly open and real space right now, and I've been connecting with incredible new people there. (Follow me: @mikebifulco.com).

Whether it's an article, video, app, or something else - sharing your work can feel daunting, but it's a great way to grow. Your journey will be different from mine, but every step will be valuable.

If you've been waiting for the “right time” to start, this is your sign: start today.

To each of you: thank you for letting me into your inbox. I'll keep writing, learning, and sharing, and I hope you'll do the same.

• Migrating from next-sitemap to sitemap.ts I've been starting the process of migrating my personal site from Next's lovable Pages directory to the new App directory. While doing so, I put together a guide on migrating your sitemap, if you're looking to do the same.

• APIs You Won't Hate: Mr. Bluesky the latest newsletter from APIs You Won't Hate is all about Bluesky, and has some great articles about the platform and its API. You can find APIs You Won't Hate on Bluesky, too!

• Speaking of lumpy growth and uneven solutions - I recently published a video series on using Posthog to improve conversation rates for 💌 Tiny Improvements signups. It was a fun experiment, and results were mixed! All part of the journey.

• 📕 Good Services by Lou Downe - as recommended by my friend and colleague Niki, Good services is all about building services businesses, looking after customers and employees, and building systems that benefit both.

• 📗 Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg - This was a great lead in the run up to the election - coming to a better understanding of how great communicators listen to people and make connections. If you have challenging relationships at work, with family members, neighbors, or friends, this book has the capacity to be transformative.

• 🎙️ Getting Ready to Interview Trump - an exercise is the latest episode of the podcast Question Everything from Brian Reed, who you may know from podcasts like S-Town and The Trojan Horse Affair. Question Everything is an ongoing analysis and inspection of Journalism's role in society. Each episode so far is well-worth a listen.