Wait a sec! Substack?!

Handpicked is moving! Gulp. Let me explain.

Here’s the whole story.

It sounds silly, but this is scary!

As you know, I’ve been writing my newsletter every week for four years. Throughout that time, it has taken on different looks and even different names (A Photo for You, Alex Emails, and now Handpicked), but I’ve always used the same wonderful email service provider: Mailchimp. It’s been great, and I have nothing but good things to say about Mailchimp. So why the change? (Plus, who cares? An email is an email, right?)

I’ve decided to switch to Substack for two reasons:

1. I can reach more readers much more easily, but things don’t have to change for my current readers.

2. Substack offers a feature that makes it possible for me to get paid for Handpicked. This summer, hopefully by my birthday in July, I’ll have a paid offer for readers who want to spend a few dollars a month to support my work and get some extra goodies. More on that later.

So, is Handpicked going to be super different?

Short answer: No. It will still be the same friendly smattering of links it’s always been. Ideally, it will look and feel very familiar and you’ll hardly notice a difference.

Long answer: If you like Handpicked but don’t want to pay for it, that will always be an option. If you love Handpicked, want more of it, and want to support my work, now you’ll be able to, with a paid subscription through Substack. I’ve long dreamed of making money through my newsletter, and this is the first step toward that. Honestly, I don’t actually know if it will work. My priority is to keep Handpicked delightful. I want it to be a sunny spot in your inbox no matter what, and, again with the honesty, I’m hoping that some of you love it enough to pay a few bucks a month for it. (I’ll likely price it at $50/year for the first year and see how that goes!)

An ice cream analogy

I think of it kind of like, I’ve been giving you vanilla soft serve, and I’d rather give you double mint chip with homemade chocolate sauce on a waffle cone. I have so many ideas for extras I want to offer, some of which, like an interview series with some *amazing* women, are already in the works.

What my mentor said to me

Over the last few months as I’ve been prepping for this change, I’ve been so scared that it would flop and I’d embarrass myself. That could absolutely still happen, which I can’t even bring myself to think about…

For twelve years, I tried to grow my audience (mainly on Instagram) to a large enough number that I could leverage it to get paid sponsorships. That obviously has not worked. Haha. But my mentor Rachel and I agreed that, actually, I don’t need a humongous audience. And frankly, I no longer think I want one. She said: “You don’t need to be a famous person to have a really cool, creative business that is sustained by people who really value what you do.”

What I really want to say

I am so grateful for each one of you reading this. I’ve connected with dozens of people I never would have met or stayed in touch with if it weren’t for Handpicked, and those connections mean the world to me. Thank you so much for reading my newsletter, for replying to it, and for sharing in this funny little internet neighborhood. Thank you for cheering me on and having fun with me, through some of the hardest times (covid, miscarriages) and happiest times (creative projects, moving to MB, new babies) of my life.

This year, since I started sharing commissionable links, it has been such a thrill to see a few dollars adding up (I’ve earned $39.23 through you this week!) and I truly mean it when I tell you how thankful I am for your support. I’m thankful you choose to open this newsletter, to read what I have to say and to click on the things I share. I’m so thankful for you! Without you, I wouldn’t have the guts to dive into the deep end and try to turn this project into a business. From my heart, thank you.