Happy Birthday Five Things!
I hope everyone has had a really great July, I know I have. I am so excited to be back in your inbox celebrating three years of Five Things, the newsletter.
More than usual, I have been asked, “What is Five Things?” in the last few months. My response is usually, “I don’t know it’s just Five Things that I like, or whatever.” A better elevator pitch is in the works. It’s just Five Things. When it started as an Instagram story it was, “Five Things I would recommend.” And while I feel like it’s still largely recommendations, I would maybe posit that it’s Five Things for your consideration. I don’t want to tell you how to live your life. Mostly because I think if anything, Five Things has helped me love living mine.
By taking an inventory every week of what I have loved, or found interesting, or I think is worth kicking the ball around on, I have found my life to be so much more fun and wonderful. It’s been the sweetest gift.
When I started this newsletter in July 2018, I was coming out of what was easily the hardest year of my life. So much of what I had built my identity around had fallen away, and I had like four friends in Kansas City, and everything sort of felt like mud. Also I had a bad attitude most of the time.
I could cry thinking about how grateful I am for the last three years and all of you who have read what I have to say through it. Thank you, love you, mean it.
Every six months I give myself permission to quit. I think this is just a good policy for any project - go at it for six months, and then if you want to quit you can. So far I’ve renewed every time. Last week, I told my cousin that I wanted five years of Five Things, it has a nice ring to it. So, I’m not making any promises, but it looks like there will be at least 100 more issues. 500 more things. Here we go.
Since August is a five Sunday month, we’re doing paid subscribers only next week, then the usual programming the rest of the month. This week I’m talking Five Things about Five Things. It’s a little on the long side, so thanks for rockin with me.
There’s still a subscriber deal happening through the end of July, so if you’ve even been on the fence about being a paid subscriber, now is the time.
This sentence now has links to the my instagram, and old issues of the newsletter.
If you need to feel something this week, I recommend putting on your favorite sweatshirt, laying down on your bedroom floor and queueing up “It Shouldn’t Matter but It Does,” from John Mayer.
Number One: That you’ve actually taken my suggestions
I will always remember when Hannah Kenton took my suggestion for Trader Joe’s brand of sparkling water. Or maybe I took her suggestion for it and gave her a shout out, and she got back to me about it. The memory that I will always remember is unclear. But that was the first time it felt like, “oh people are paying attention.”
I am somehow always a little surprised when people are say, “oh I listened to that podcast episode you talked about,” or “I now own 25 wash cloths because of you.” Like, I see the statistics, logically I know people read this newsletter, but it’s still just so fun.
There is this weird sort of phenomena, where this audience hears from me every week, but it’s more or less a one way communication. It’s great because I get to keep in touch with a bunch of people, but at least once a month I have a moment of, “wait, who told you that?” And then I remember I wrote about it, but the feedback is delayed so I forget. All that to say, I love hearing from you, and I am so grateful people actually read this thing.
I would also like to say I am grateful for the people that don’t read this thing, namely Elissa. Elissa is a five star friend and totally honest about how she doesn’t read the newsletter, which is just a great reminder that this newsletter is not me, and I am not the newsletter. You can love me and not the newsletter. I am still trying to get Elissa to guest write an issue about “inflammation” because I would love to know the story there.
Number Two: The statistics
Honestly, the stats are the juiciest part, you want to know, I want to tell you it’s proprietary information for my advertisers. Which of course, there never will be any advertisers, just my Outdoor Voices link, so I will just tell you some fun things now.
I don’t look at who unsubscribes, that’s just not helpful information to me. Plus I truly want people to feel guilt-free for opting out. I personally love unsubscribing from e-mails.
I do look at the top openers every week. Mostly because inevitably someone opens an email 149 times across two devices, and that is interesting to me. The vast majority of you opens an e-mail one time on one device, but there are some outliers.
Ever since one unnamed guy friend clicked on the link for the menstrual cup I recommended, I don’t look at who clicks what link. But I do track what links get clicked the most. Y’all love recipes and do not share my admiration for the New York Times, it is what it is.
I can’t think of who wins by me keeping the subscriber count a secret, so I will tell you now. As of writing, there are 324 regular subscribers. The list grows by about 3-4 people each month. The average open rate is 78%. When I made the switch from Mailchimp, I culled a little over 100 addresses of folks that never-ever opened their emails, so the open rate is possibly falsely inflated, but I like it that way. About 60% of the audience is people I know in real life, I have their phone number. Another 25% is people I don’t know, but I have figured out how they know me. The last 15% are perfect strangers.
Every single one of you matters to me.
Number Three: The Promotions Folder
An even bigger secret is how to keep this e-mail in your main inbox, but I don’t have access to that information, even for my advertisers. I’ve found that when I include more links, and especially links to products, the e-mail is more likely to end up in promotions folders, so I am trying to be a little less link-y.
But if you want to give it the ole college try, you can:
Drag the email to your main inbox, and keep doing this for a couple weeks
Add hellofivethings at gmail dot com to your contact list
Set an alarm for 8:01pm CST on Sundays, and alert yourself to check your promotions folder
Number Four: Your Support
I wish there were words stronger than “thank you” for the supporters of this newsletter. But thank you will have to suffice for now. I am seriously so grateful that people have invested their dollars in this newsletter. In my Barbie Dream House world, I would just get paid to write, after my morning tennis match, but only have to write what I want to write, and y’all have laid the foundation for that.
I really enjoy have a smaller audience once a month and having a place to share some non-Five Things-y writing.
“YMCA 10: A Collection of Short Essays on Life Well Loved,” is still very much so a pipe dream/fun joke/a little in the works. However, more women are rollin up to the Y during the 5pm hour, and I feel like I can honestly and humbly say I am a North Kansas City YMCA 9, MOJO Cycling Studio 4.
I LOVE when I see the Five Things stickers and magnets out and about. When I saw the sticker on the Hageman’s cooler I may have gotten a little misty. There’s still like 40 stickers and 20 magnets left, so if you want one, or four, e-mail me back.
Number Five: The vision here
I am increasingly aware that there isn’t some life hack or Amazon buy that is going to magically upgrade my life. We cannot fine tune ourselves into everlasting peace, that’s on God. Even if I read the New York Times back to front every day, there will still be someone more interesting to talk to at the dinner party. But my hope for what Five Things is, is that it’s a place of joyful consideration. That is makes your inbox the tiniest bit brighter. That for at least two more years you will read about my Five Things and share yours with me. And that we can all enjoy good salads and take care of our skin and vote thoughtfully and Venmo each other for coffee on bad days and go on walks and hold tension well and listen to “Come Over.” And just maybe the sky will be a little more blue.
Just for laughs: part of our house fell off
Mere days after the landlord paid for a new roof. West Plaza Forever.