From the Desk of BTG —
Morning Folks,
I’ve committed to writing monthly updates on the newsletter. These will give you an inside look on what is working, what’s not working, and anything else I think is relevant. The goal here is to give you all a look under the hood (and an opportunity to make impactful suggestions).
— BTG
Introduction
I started this newsletter on May 28th, with the simple plan of talking to myself on the internet to see if any of my thoughts were shared by others. The first post was How to Dress When Playing Golf, and it was sent to 0 readers. As of writing this, we are a small but mighty readership of 780 golfers committed to upholding and respecting the traditions of the game. This has been 100% organic growth through my twitter account and word of mouth/ referrals. Cool to see! Thank you all for reading, as
MoM Growth Metrics
Our open-rate and CTR are, frankly, unbelievable. They will likely fall as we scale, but I appreciate the early attention and engagement from all of you. Any advertisers out there interested? Fit has to be right; I will not be shilling Bad Birdie or Malbon.
Primary Updates
The 3x weekly newsletter will always remain free, but I am toying with the idea of implementing a paid tier to keep the lights on here. What would that look like? I want to connect our community, and create genuine friendships between readers. Golf is the greatest social game, so why not lean in?
The onboarding survey has been a great source of data for me to learn more about the readership and what you want in this newsletter. Out of those surveyed, 19% answered that they want to meet more like-minded players, while another 20.7% answered that they want to play at more private clubs. We can make this happen, but it must be done the right way. I don’t want this community to become transactional. I want to create lifelong friendships here, centered around the game of golf.
A paid tier would grant access to a Discord server, and would be the place for discussion, Q&A, and setting up games across the country/world (we’ve gone international). This is not set in stone, but it’s worth trying. The cost would be minimal, probably 5 bucks a month.
Asks
If you like the newsletter, all I ask is that you mention it to your friends/golf team/Dad etc.
You don’t even have to send them a signup link, just mention it or forward them an email that you like/ learned something from. It goes a long way.
Product updates
I’m working on keeping each newsletter structured, with key themes for each send. A few of my posts have been inspired by DMs and emails, as I want to write about what is top of mind for you, the reader. I’m also considering building a SaaS-based practice app for busy professionals. But thats further down the road.
Accomplishments & wins:
0 to 780 in 5 weeks (organically) is something I am proud to say I have accomplished so far. Shoutout to the 45 of you who have referred at least one reader to BTG, and thus have unlocked the irreverent Saturday Essay. If you haven’t had the chance to read the free editions, I highly recommend them:
Failures & learnings
Maybe you all hate this letter and I should get back to golf? Let me know what you think, and the suggestion box is always open: DM me on Twitter or email me— [email protected]
Talk soon,
BTG