Lessons learned after writing 100 issues of this newsletter

December 16, 2021
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Home 9 +Good Newsletter 9 Lessons learned after writing 100 issues of this newsletter

Welcome to the 100th edition of +good! (We know—we can hardly believe it, either!)

We’ve been sharing our thoughts on marketing, fundraising, leadership, team dynamics, and keeping our work lives fun for almost two years. We’ve compiled the tools and articles that inspire us. And we’ve had the opportunity to connect with so many extraordinary nonprofit leaders like you!

(You’re awesome, by the way!)

Over the course of 100 editions, we’ve learned a few things—lessons that, yes, apply to an email newsletter but also apply to so many pieces of our work. 

Having a creative outlet of your own is good for you.

Writing these intros is one of the best parts of my week. In a schedule full of writing for other people, having a dedicated hour to put pen to paper about the things I am personally thinking about is such a gift. Plus, it’s a great way to process all of the content I’m consuming regularly. And you don’t need a newsletter to do this—open a notebook or a doc and get started! 

It’s ok to say no.

There have been weeks when the newsletter felt like one thing too many, so you know what we did? We skipped an issue. Yep. We just decided that it wasn’t worth the added stress. This ability to own our work (instead of letting our work own us) is one of the best parts of being our own bosses. And hopefully, you feel this same kind of freedom in some of your assignments! 

You can be wrong.

Curating a list of marketing tips and tricks every week has been a learning experience for our entire team. And one of the best parts of pulling together the meat of the newsletter is realizing that we can (and should) challenge our way of thinking, too. Constant learning and curiosity are core tenets of our business—and that means we’re constantly rethinking the way we do things. 

Community is what it’s all about.

Hearing from you, our awesome readers, is one of the best parts of writing this newsletter. Knowing that our messages resonate (or that you’ve finally taken control of your calendarstarted canceling meetings, or stepped up your leadership game) brings us so much joy. In fact, it’s why we do this thing in the first place. You’re our why—and we love getting to know you! 

Thank you for reading along with us for 100 issues—and here’s to the next 100 ahead of us! If there are things you’d like to hear more about (or less about!) please let us know by replying to this email. We are always looking for inspiration, and we know you have a ton of it!

Until then, know that you are doing great, hard, powerful work. Work that makes a difference. Work that is making the world better. We are cheering for you and honored to be in your inbox!

In the spirit of saying no and protecting our schedules, we’re taking the next two weeks off from the newsletter to enjoy time with our families. Hope you have a fantastic holiday—and we’ll see you in 2022! 

Allison Kooser

Allison is Chief Storyteller at Swell+Good, where she partners with amazing organizations to help them bring their stories to life. She is an avid traveler, an expert takeout orderer, and a big believer in curiosity and kindness. She tries to learn something new every day, and she reads, writes, and paddleboards more than the average human.
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