Ep. 24: Reflecting on one year running a daily design newsletter ft. Cole Derochie
Aug 22, 2024
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Cole Derochie, creator of the Today in Design newsletter, shares his intriguing journey from an accidental designer to a thriving content creator. He discusses the evolution of his daily design newsletter, emphasizing content curation and community engagement. Derochie reveals his strategies for writing efficiently and monetizing with sponsorships, while balancing family and professional commitments. Additionally, he highlights the importance of Twitter in growing his audience, with clever tips for boosting engagement and creating compelling content.
Cole Derochie's journey from varied interests to becoming a successful designer illustrates the importance of exploring diverse creative pathways.
The evolution of the Today in Design newsletter emphasizes prioritizing valuable content over personal branding to engage and grow the audience effectively.
Deep dives
Cole DeRochet's Diverse Design Journey
Cole DeRochet has a varied background in design, bridging the gap between physical and digital mediums. Initially pursuing international business and then film studies, he found his true passion in design after exploring different interests, including leather work. His journey began creatively, helping friends with logos and gradually developing his skills through trial and error, including learning design software via tutorials. This eclectic mix of experiences shaped his approach to design, culminating in a successful career in product design, brand work, motion graphics, and web design.
The Evolution of Today in Design
Today in Design is a succinct daily newsletter curated by Cole, which focuses on design news without extensive commentary. Its structure includes quick links to relevant articles, events, and interesting visual elements, allowing readers to engage with design content efficiently. Cole aimed for a clean and straightforward presentation, stripping away unnecessary commentary to emphasize the content itself. This evolution in the newsletter's format reflects his commitment to providing a valuable resource for the design community while maintaining consistency.
Navigating Content Curation and Engagement
Cole employs a curated approach to sourcing content for Today in Design, utilizing RSS feeds and social media tools for efficiency. He established a personalized selection process where his taste guides the content shared, focusing on what he believes will benefit readers, especially aspiring designers. Over time, he transitioned from browsing various news sources to a streamlined system that saves time while maintaining quality. This adaptability in processing information helped him refine the newsletter’s offerings, ultimately contributing to its success.
Balancing Personal Brand and Newsletter Growth
Cole's experience with the newsletter highlights the importance of maintaining a balance between personal branding and content creation. While he initially devoted significant effort to branding elements, he eventually realized that the newsletter's focus should be on the valuable design insights rather than on himself. The organic growth of Today in Design is largely attributed to the engaging format and community-driven approach, rather than heavy marketing strategies. This realization reflects a broader understanding that effective communication should prioritize the audience's experience over personal visibility.
Today's guest is Cole Derochie, creator of theToday in Design newsletter and a multitalented design professional (he's done everything from web design to leatherwork, not necessarily in that order).
00:00 How Cole accidentally became a designer
08:04 The espresso of newsletters
13:43 Evolving and growing the newsletter
20:24 Finding sources for design news
26:16 Writing a newsletter in 1 hour
29:08 Monetizing a 5,000 subscriber newsletter
37:53 Using Twitter to grow your brand
Intro music produced by J. and Doug Organ
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