FeedLetter Case Studies is a new series showing how FeedLetter users leverage the tool and thrive on the feedback they receive from their readers.
And I’ll start the series with one of the power users of FeedLetter and early customer Rodrigo. Let’s skip the blurb and dive right into it.
1. Who Are You, and What’s Your Newsletter?
My name is Rodrigo Ghedin; I am a 34 years-old journalist in Brazil, covering tech in an independent outlet I founded in 2013 called Manual do Usuário (it means “User’s Guide” in Portuguese).
It is a “slow web” website, handcrafted by me with a little help of many friends and readers. Its newsletter is the main point of contact I have with readers, as I avoid/dislike commercial social networks as a rule of thumb.
2. What Is the Newsletter About?
Manual do Usuário has a weekly newsletter. Every Thursday, I send an op-ed about some important issue or personal report regarding tech, alongside a few long reads recommendation from other websites.
On Saturdays, I send a manually curated list with fun, curious and/or interesting links, something lighter for the weekend.
2a. Do You Make Money With Your Newsletter? If so, How?
Indirectly. I run a patronage program in Manual do Usuário, but it doesn’t affect the content — everything I publish is free for all.
Those who pay get a few extras, like an invite to a Telegram group, where we discuss a long range of subjects and we record and broadcast, live, our podcasts recordings, and a monthly “backstage” newsletter, in which I show stats about the site, including its financials. We have about ~250 paying readers.
3. How Did You Get Feedback From Your Readers Before Using FeedLetter? What Did You Try?
Actually, I never bothered with this. I always appreciate replies, which was the most common (maybe only?) feedback I received via newsletter, but I didn’t encourage readers to do so.
I have great concerns regarding privacy, so I am intentionally in the dark: I don’t collect newsletters stats, like open rate or clicks.
When I stumbled on FeedLetter, it felt perfect for improving this area dramatically while keeping privacy at the top level.
4. What Insights Do You Get By Using FeedLetter?
First of all, it’s great to hear compliments and highlights from readers. Very awesome and something that refuels my enthusiasm every week.
In more practical ways, they call my attention to aspects of my text and ideas that otherwise I probably would miss and make suggestions that really improve the presentation and a lot of details.
By removing friction, FeedLetter made it much easier to have a conversation instead of a broadcasting inside my inbox.
5. What’s the Most Helpful Feedback You Got From a Reader?
I can’t think of any specific, but I value a lot those that challenge my opinions in op-eds (mostly of them respectfully) and those that call my attention to rendering problems (my “dark mode” layout was really broken and since I don’t use it myself, readers rang the bell on this).
6. What Was the Harshest Feedback You Ever Got?
Can’t remember any. I have great readers :)
7. Anything Else You Like to Share With Fellow Newsletter Creators?
Always be open to what your audience tells you, and show it — I mean, show them you want to hear what they have to say, make it easier to share feedback, and act upon these feedbacks. Communication is better when it’s a two-way path.