Morning Post is now 143 editions deep, and it occurs to me that you — the reader — don't know much about what actually happens behind the scenes to get this newsletter into your inbox each morning. Today, let me fix that with a bit of a look behind the curtain.
Not long ago I asked what you wanted more of, and plenty of you told me — so I got on with it. There's now a weekly reading section with a good Australian book recommendation, a seasonal gardening note on alternating Mondays, and far fewer paywalled stories (that was your loudest gripe).
Your local news stays front and centre, and I try my best not to lead your morning with something grim.
The puzzles turned out to matter to you more than I ever guessed, so they've had attention too. There's a new one — the Word Wheel — and it now shows you every word that was hiding in the grid once you've finished. The daily trivia roams a broader mix of subjects than it used to. And a numbers puzzle I tried simply didn't land, so I pulled it — I'd rather retire something that isn't good enough than clutter up your morning.
Away from the daily email, I've been building a few things on the website: a What's On section where you can browse local events any time, a directory of local businesses, and — free death and funeral notices.
When I get it wrong
Doing this alone means I don't always get it right. When a reader recently spotted errors in the "On This Day" facts, they were doing me a favour — so I rebuilt the whole section from proper sources. That's the deal I want with you: tell me when I slip up, and I'll do my best to fix it. Every message lands in my inbox, and I read the lot.
Some ideas I'm working on
A few things I'm tinkering with right now:
- Adding volunteering opportunities once a week
- Testing out a comic strip
- Building some online classes, just for you
The money
So far I've put far more of my own savings into this than I've made back — which is about what you'd expect of a five-month-old media business. The only real path to a sustainable Morning Post, I think, is partnering with a few good brands who'd like to advertise in the newsletter once a week — so that's what I'm slowly working towards.
In the meantime, readers who support it or buy something from the shop help me recoup some of the costs. And the simplest help of all is free: forward tomorrow's edition to someone who'd enjoy it.
Thanks for reading — and for letting me into your morning.
Founder & Editor, Morning Post
Curious who's behind all this? More about me →