Dare to dream big

I dream to hit 1000 paying readers for my newsletter and this is a bold announcement about that dream to make it more real(-istic).

Photo by Carolyn Christine on Unsplash

Warning: Written manifestation of dreams ahead

This feels scary to write: I dream to reach 1000 paying readers for this newsletter-blog.

Ironically, I haven’t even turned the paid feature on yet. What a thing to say!!!

How? What? Why? Who? When?!

The questions are endless. Pondering around in the back of my mind. But deep within I know. I feel it. I hear it.

It’s there. The dream and desire to make it come to fruition.

The innate creative motivation required to undertake such a challenge is palpable. Pulsating. As if I can feel it running through my veins out to my hands as I type away on my phone in the dark.

Yes, that’s a side note, but this will be largely taking place after bedtime with my phone in hand. During the hours when a reasonable person should be sleeping. But this born creative can’t. Because she has a dream. And dreams don’t come true through inaction.

It’s the small incremental effort that creates the compounding effect. There will be nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Until one day, I will arrive.

The timing is of less importance. Let it take time. Patience didn’t kill anyone except every parent every night as they see their patience finally fly through the window into some distant cloud.

Thankfully there’s always a day tomorrow too when everything starts afresh and we get another go at our dream (and patience).

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I knew about my dream long before I knew Substack even existed (the blog/newsletter platform that I use to write this publication).

How?

The best part about my art business has always been the newsletter.

The best businesses I have followed through the years, they all nailed their newsletters too.

It never felt like a dread to open them. “Oh what will they try to sell me now”. Instead, there were letters brimming with value worth many books in one.

It’s always been about a newsletter for me.

Email rocks. It allows me, as a busy artist and mom with 2 under 3.5, to engage with fulfilling reading straight in my inbox.

I don’t have to go anywhere to look for it. I don’t have to risk a dead-end doom scroll. I don’t have to watch perfect family photos of families I’ve never known in real life. All letters look the same in the eyes of the sleep deprived mother. And I love them all equally.

Instead of jumping on social media, I head to my inbox. I read. I feel nurtured. My creativity is singing.

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You know how the right book at the right time can change your life?

That’s how I think of newsletters too. They’re as important as a book, just that it gets shared in smaller increments.

More digestible.

Instantly applicable.

Reflectable. Relatable. Shareable.

All it takes to change someone’s life around is one book. One letter. One idea.

One thing that meets them where they’re at in their own journey.

One thing that makes them click and go “this is it”, “this is what I’ve been looking for”.

Each letter has the chance of being that one thing for someone. Each letter has the potential to be that one thing for you, the writer, too.

It’s amazing really, how such a seemingly small and (unfortunately) negatively connoted thing like a newsletter, can be the lifeline you might be looking for.

So here I am writing on my phone as my baby sleeps heavy on my chest. Her calm breathing soothes me. Warm pressure against my body, calming my creative nerves as I write it again:

I have a dream. A dream to gain 1000 paying readers for my newsletter-blog. And one day, when the time is right, when my writing is mature and I found enough aligned readers, that dream will come to fruition.

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Thanks a lot for reading!

And thank you

Beth Kempton

for inviting us all to write our dreams down.

Now, What do YOU dream about?

Let me know in the comments!

Let’s get dreaming together to make them more real(-istic) to all of us:

Elin, xx

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Behind the scenes:

This was a very scary piece to share. It flowed out from my fingers in one go.

I wasn’t planning on writing this. In fact, I was supposed to write together my 8 week experience report using Substack as my new writing home…

Yet, here we are. It’s the beauty of it all, isn’t it? The freedom to be both the writer, editor and publisher.

For this one there was almost zero editing. I’m sure there are typos and grammar misses all over. But I choose to see it as my non-native charm for this one. I just hit publish.

Because no matter how unpolished the writing is, the dream remains crystal clear.

Hi! New here?

I’m Elin, a Swedish artist and mother of two who is passionate about the creative process.

I’ve lived off my embroidery art for the past 7 years, worked with large brands, hosted art exhibitions, published 2 books and grown an online audience to 500k+ across social media.

Substack is a new creative venture for me where I decided to start from scratch as a personal challenge to nurture my forever dream of reaching more readers for my written art.

Want to know more? I got you!

Here’s an introduction post where you can read a bit more about who I am and how you can benefit from this publication:

Follow Your Gut & Start here

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