How do you reach out to people to get them to be on your newsletter? I imagine now that you have a following it's easier, but what motivates people to actually say "yes", especially when you were starting out?
And somewhat related because you don't do this, but for newsletters that are more "news aggregator" types that collect various blog posts/info, do they typically reach out to the authors before including the links in the newsletter asking for permission?
Early on it was all Twitter DMs. I would DM handfuls of designers, developers, founders, etc each day. Once I had a few published spaces this became easier as I could quickly link to an example of what I was looking for.
Nowadays, it's mostly inbound requests to be featured. Every time I send a new edition out I get 1-2 requests from readers to be featured as well. This has led to the current backlog of 70+ spaces that I am currently working through.
Re the news aggregator type newsletters... I'm honestly not 100% positive. However, Workspaces as a whole and also specific editions have ended up in some of these and I was only notified after the fact (not a big deal IMO).
I've had multiple people comment on my workstation setup at the office, mostly because I have a variety of input devices on the table top that always catches peoples eyes: magic trackpad, Contour Roller Mouse Red, Goldtouch right hand semi-vertical mouse on a mouse bungee, and a Philips foot pedal. I have a left hand vertical mouse too but something with the driver or USB hub nullifies it while some another device is connected.
Since work from home took over I've moved all that equipment to a budget Costco standing desk that seems to be a popular model on the warehouse floor
https://www.costco.com/tresanti-47%22-adjustable-height-desk.... I think I paid like $275 on sale sometime last year.
I've modified that desk by fabricating a bracket on it to secure a Workrite Banana Board keyboard tray. I've also ceased using the mouse bungee at home since the bracket serves as a cable holder with a cable clip routing the wires. There's some other minor stuff like an old KVM switch and a DC barrel plug switch to restart the KVM switch when it misbehaves.
Does that sound like something interesting to feature?
I'm not on twitter. I'll sign up to the substack and reply to the next feed. I understand they're configured to go to some email that forwards to the author, is that accurate?
for newsletters that are more "news aggregator" types that collect various blog posts/info, do they typically reach out to the authors before including the links in the newsletter asking for permission?
I've run a network of around 10 newsletters of this type for about 10 years now and no, extremely rarely (usually only if something is obviously being kept on the down low or if a flood of traffic would be likely to cause problems, such as personal projects that use a lot of bandwidth). It hasn't been a problem though. People are generally very happy to get the attention and visitors in my field, but all of our links are positive and shining a spotlight in style, not criticism or making fun, etc.
And somewhat related because you don't do this, but for newsletters that are more "news aggregator" types that collect various blog posts/info, do they typically reach out to the authors before including the links in the newsletter asking for permission?