Dave Conrey

I’m asking myself this one question every week now.

What is a story I can share to help others better understand [insert idea or concept]?

Sharing personal stories is a fantastic vehicle for creating change in others.

Big things happening this week starting today. This requires fancy sneakers.

People who sell at in-person art/craft/etc markets:

If you were gonna invest in the most basic setup for doing a standard size table selling prints up to A4 size plus stickers... what sort of display stuff for that table would you recommend for someone's first handful of times out?

#artmarket

Words are agnostic. It’s people that turn them into religion.

The real scourge in this world is entitled middle schoolers in e-bikes

I Lack Social Grace I'm reposting this piece from The Hungry newsletter because I wrote it and I can do what I want.

All it took was a petite Vietnamese woman with a mean stare and a gentle heart to turn this knuckle-dragging Neanderthal into a somewhat civilized man—a work in progress.

open.substack.com/pub/daveconr...

I found a more effective approach to writing email newsletters is to keep them between one and three sentences max with hard breaks between paragraphs.

This creates better flow for the eyes and is easier to read computers and devices.

One mistake I see people make with their newsletters is they write them like a college essay, with long paragraphs of three or more sentences.

The average online reader struggles to digest large bodies of text. It tires the eyes and hard to focus on especially on busy user interfaces like Gmail

I’m no longer referring to the sequence of emails that somebody gets after they sign up for my list as a “welcome sequence,” but instead as a benefit sequence.

They allow me into their private space, so I am the one that is welcomed, and I must show the benefit of allowing me the privilege.

Procreate has an iPhone version called Pocket. It’s essentially the same but the interface is a little different.

I don’t think I use the app as it was intended by the creators.

Received the best email from one of my good friends and accomplished writers, @spdickson71.

All compliments are appreciated but some carry more weight.

I miss the chaos that is ODB.

The most common email I get from readers now?

“Hi Dave, I find you from Substack Notes.”

Appropriate for a coffee mug, I suppose.

My biggest question is around growth. I can’t seem to convince loyal readers of my free newsletter to jump into the community. We have a small group now, but it’s not growing and I’m certain it’s how I am framing it.

I’ll expect this answer in a YouTube video next week. 😉

Yup, exactly.

Most people who make comments about The Comedian, the “art” piece featuring a banana taped to a wall, don’t have any idea or context about why it could possibly sell for $6 million.

They aren’t buying the art, but the provenance, and you have to know Maurizio Cattalan to understand that.

Seriously, if you do anything with digital products of any kind whatsoever, your best first step is to read DotCom Secrets by Russell Brunson.

I used to be a doubter about him, but I was so wrong.

Phoebe Bridgers came out with one of the best solo albums ever in 2020 and then disappeared.

The house is empty.

There’s mellow soul music playing in the background.

Coffee is hot

I’m ready to lay down some words.

It’s a good morning.

Dude walking around the gym like he owns the place, except he’s wearing gloves.

Oh yeah, that’s definitely a problem. I know a few people suffering from that situation right now.

They take me back to Hawaii element I smell them.

BONUS

Newsletter I should love but don’t: Patagonia

I’ve bought from Patagonia and believe in the founder’s mission to leave this planet a better place than we found it, but their emails leave me flat.

Uninspired and boring, their messages often are just sales push.

Frequency: daily

3. VANS

Truthfully, I buy more Nike than I do VANS, but I don’t enjoy Nike emails nearly as much. VANS is nostalgia for me and I identify with everything the company represents.

Frequency: multiple times per week

2. Liquid Death

Why would anybody subscribe to the newsletter of a water company? Because the company has both a sense of humor and knows their target market better than any company I’ve seen recently.

Frequency: 1-2 per week

1. True Classic

I’ve bought over two dozen shirts from. They hooked me with their “fit right” advertising, and they deliver a solid product. Their shirts are pricey, but the quality is so good, they’re hard to ignore. Plus they hand out good deals all the time.

Email frequency: daily or more.

Junk emails are only junk emails if the senders content and reputation are junk.

I subscribe to many “junk“ email list because I believe in the person or the product.

Here are three examples. 👇👇👇

Every visual artist and graphic designer should take a photography class!

It’s like going to the gym. You have to keep showing up even though you don’t feel like it.

Repeating ideas to yourself even if they feel foreign, reminding yourself of your potential is how you build the muscle.