👋 Hello, dear paid subscribers,
It probably took me way too long to come to this conclusion, but … I finally did. Last week, when I was adding the paywall to the last issue, I started to doubt the added value of having a paid tier. I felt anxious.
After speaking with some people, I finally came to the conclusion that
my current content is not adding enough value to enough people to make it feasible to continue the paid tier.
I often felt I should be doing more, especially in additional content and benefits for you.
I also asked myself: would I pay for something like this myself? The answer was, “No, because it lacks valuable (researched) depth!”
For example, I pay for ’s and ’s Substacks and subscribe to The Economist, and they are worth every cent. I feel the content moves me forward.
Handpicked is good, but not that good.
Paid tier was less you paying for the content, but more you supporting me doing this. Which is great, but at the same time made me feel I should be doing more all the time.
I need to focus on growth and keep things simple. A paid tier adds a certain (negative) complexity to my life and potentially hurts my growth perspectives because the paid option dominates the sign-up process.
Even if I had 10 or 20x more paid subscribers, this would not make much difference. It would probably hurt my focus even more.
After doubling down on paid in issue #100, it feels stupid, but I am pivoting again and turning off the paid tier completely. I paused the billing after sending this out, which means nobody will be billed going forward, and there will be no more possibility of signing up for a paid tier.
The old paid subscribers-only posts (mostly monthly overviews) will stay paywalled at least until the 1st of July.
From the list of benefits, these will stay at least for some months:
early access to Handpicked Events
via paid subscriber-only Threads andWhatsApp group;access to the WhatsApp group “🍿Handpicked Hangout,” where I post time-sensitive links and where you can interact with other paid subscribers and me;
50€ off the first consultation with employment lawyer Jean-Baptiste Abel;
In any case, your support means a lot to me, and I am really grateful that you supported me.
🚨 Please let me know if you’d like a refund, and I will trigger it in the system. This is especially valid for the very recent annual paid subs.🚨
In case you have any questions, always feel free to approach me.
Thank you!
Best regards,Igor