You're in Their Inbox. They Respond to You. And So You Get Feedback

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I was a stay at home dad. My mother was really busy. So I couldn't have a full time job. And you know, again, just trying to be a blessing because my kids are thinking about college now and like I look back and realize that time with your kids is the ultimate luxury,. especially while they like you. They don't really like you when you're a, when they're teenagers, but it's a whole different podcast discussion.

Bill Bishop likes to make clear he’s not a journalist. Instead, he’s a China analyst who brings his deep understanding of the country to an English-speaking language through his newsletter, Sinocism. In 2017, Bill became the “original Substacker” after teaming up with Substack’s co-founders to be the first newsletter on the platform.

On this week’s episode of The Rebooting Show, Bill and I discuss his independent path, and how a subscription model has created different dynamics as opposed to his experiences in the dot-com era as a co-founder of Marketwatch. What’s telling to me is that Bill is also now considering advertising. The Substack model of “only ads” doesn’t make much sense long term for most writers. Even if they convert 10% of their audience, they’re making no money from 90%. Most businesses don’t operate that way.