Not a Newsletter will turn four in January. It started as a weird little side project; now it’s the single most important driver of business for Inbox Collective. Over the years, I’ve written more than 175,000 words for the Google Doc, built an audience of 8,000+ monthly readers, and stretched the Google-Doc-as-publishing format about as far as any one person can.
I can confidently say this: Google Docs aren’t meant for publishing. I get no data from them, they don’t show up in search (even though it’s a Google product!), and they don’t work well on mobile. This format has worked for me, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a publishing platform to anyone else.
But if there’s one lesson I hope people take away from my experience publishing the Google Doc, it’s this: Whenever you can, start small.
The Google Doc was one of the best minimum viable products I’ve ever created. It was small enough for me to quickly prove out the concept and the audience need; it was flexible enough that I could build a half-decent product from Day 1. I didn’t spend a dollar to launch this project, but still could create something that attracted an audience.
I never expected to turn Google Docs into a long-term publishing platform. (That being said, I’m probably stuck with the Google Doc format for as long as I write Not a Newsletter. It’s part of my personal brand now — I’m “the guy with the Google Doc”!) But I hope others learn from the strategy if they’re thinking of launching something new. Start small, start simply, start quickly — and see if you can prove out your concept. If it works, great. Upgrade your tech, invest in the project, and keep it moving forward.
And if not? Move on. There are always going to be other ideas for you to explore.
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