Hi, newsletter pals! Welcome to the 50th edition of Claire From Online: The Newsletter. It’s been quite the ride, and I am honestly pretty darn pleased — even slightly surprised — that I’ve been showing up this consistently to put time & care into a creative project of mine. THANK YOU for being here and for allowing me the space to share with all of you! I love barreling through your inboxes1 a few times a month.
I’ve had blogs on and off since high school, but this has felt the most ‘me’. Chalk it up to being in my thirties and developing my true voice as Someone Who Posts Online, but I just feel so… myself on here. I’m also having a really great time, which is the most important thing to me (for better or for worse).
The Initial Plot
I started off wanting this newsletter to be an exploration of all the spaces I’ve occupied online over the past 20+ years. My first post was about Neopets. I wrote it in 2021 and it sat in the drafts for a whole year. Aside from a few mentions of Myspace and Xanga, and a drafts folder containing half-baked essays on Livejournal, Foursquare, and my friend group’s true addiction to Twitter in 2011, the newsletter did not grow up to be about my relationship with the Internet (though I do plan to lean back into that in the coming months).
I knew the content would naturally veer towards journaling recaps + affiliate link round-ups + weekly recap-style posts like every microinfluencer who logs onto substack dot com, and I was ready for it. But about five newsletters in, my online presence changed in a big way.
2023: Claire’s Low-Buy Year
I only mention it in every other newsletter, but I gained a larger audience through open and candid content about my credit card debt and my planned low-buy year, mostly on TikTok, in January 20232. I was attempting to get out of debt by chronicling my budgeting journey, participating in a low-buy year, and documenting it all in my Hobonichi Weeks planner.
I opened up the floor for conversations around deinfluencing and consumerism, was honest about my personal privileges and How I Got Here In The First Place, promised weekly updates in video form on TikTok as well as written weekly recaps on here, ALLLLLLL FOR FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE, and at the cost of my mental health and sanity. It was completely unsustainable.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret doing it at all. I was able to reach a lot of people and ultimately picked up some good habits. I’m making great progress on my journey. But not ‘continuing’ with that project 1) publicly and 2) at that intensity really was for the best. If you’d like to read a bit more about my credit card debt admission & low buy year, you can do so here:
(Honestly, pretty much every post from January through July 2023 had something to do with the project in some way. I had a lot of fun writing those newsletters, and I hope it shows!)
I LOVE CHECKING MY EMAIL NOW
In this season, I’m sharing…
more sustainable and very unserious monthly spending recap posts (here’s February)
journaling prompts (here's March), and
I’m also READING. Truthfully, reading newsletters IS the reading I’m doing this month.
Ever since I started subscribing to Substack newsletters a few years back, I have received at least one beautifully-crafted, cozy and intimate piece of writing per day from someone I’m subscribed to. I don’t read every single one, but I love to receive them. My subscribed list is extensive; I’m always wondering if it’s time to pare down. But I can’t. It doesn’t feel like clutter. These are little shiny gifts in my inbox, just for me. It’s impossible for me to read them all, but I never regret carving out a bit of time on the weekends or at the start of my day to see what others are sharing in this space.
Some of my favorite ‘Substack Voices’ (I say this because I just personally associate them with Substack; they for suresies have other projects and platforms that you will read about if you choose to subscribe to them) are
, , , and . You can find a list of newsletters I read regularly here. I follow those whose works are more contemplative, as well as girlies (gender inclusive) who just wanna recap the latest episode of The Bachelor, Love is Blind, or The Traitors. I follow novelists, journalists, nutritionists, sex workers, and friends. Lots of friends! Which is honestly why I got rid of my ‘recommending’ tab (for right now). I plan to share more favorite essays and projects that inspire me in every post. Starting with this week’s favorite, by :On being a bestseller
I grapple with a teensy bit of imposter syndrome knowing that my ‘bestseller’ status is at least a little bit because I have a built-in enthusiastic following on other accounts & not because I’m some journalistic marvel (turned podcast host, probably). I’m not a capital W-Writer documenting the Whole Process of Writing a Book from somewhere in the mountains. Nor am I an expert in a typical ~field of interest~ on the ‘Stack (through my observations, I’ve identified these as tech, economics, and social media marketing).
AND YET,
I re-read some of my newsletters months after posting, and I’m like, “DANG, THESE AREN’T HALF BAD, ACTUALLY, AND MAYBE I DESERVE TO BE HERE, AND MAYBE I SHOULD HIRE AN EDITOR FRIEND TO GIVE IT THE OL’ 1-2 ONCE-OVER. ON THE OTHER HAND, THOUGH, I’M HAVING SO MUCH FUN USING SEMICOLONS INAPPROPRIATELY, AND-”
I believe my life’s work is to spread joy and connect with people. I do that through sharing journaling inspiration, posting silly little videos, and overall facilitating community online. I also do this through meaningful & challenging work as a full-time speech language pathologist & special education case manager at a public high school in Arkansas. Pouring more of my energy into social media over the past year has been exciting & really fun, and I’m getting comfortable with recognizing that this is also work.
Accessibility is important to me, and there will always be a free version of this newsletter. A paid subscription to this space simply vouches for my time & thoughts & brainpower that bring you things like Not Afraid of Paper, journaling posts, vlogs, Taylor Rank, and [SURPRISE NEW REDACTED PROJECT]. I’ve shared about this before, but everything I earn through paid newsletter subscriptions always has and will continue to go directly in a dedicated account I’m using to pay off my debt3, for however long that takes me. Financially, this newsletter has given me the wiggle room necessary to begin to feel hopeful about my financial future. I feel empowered, excited, and confident in the space I’m taking up as a lil baby content creator.
A recent
post has inspired me to find ways to actually put LESS things behind a paywall, not more, as a way to facilitate community. writes that they want to “feel expansive in [their] writing” AND ALSO “to feel financially abundant and free”, which is the exact intersection I’m at right now in this space, so I thought I would take this last part of the newsletter to explain that while the paid option stays (the subscriber chat is so fun & cozy, and this is also the primary way I make money as a content creator), you will always have a place at this table, no matter how you choose to support me.As of this past winter, 15% of my paid readership is comped. If you’d like to be considered for a randomized complimentary monthly or yearly subscription, please fill out this Google form. I just added a bunch of people to the group chat last week. :’)
I mean it when I say I value you all for reading & just a simple share with a friend or story repost would mean so much. Just share with someone why you like reading my newsletter. That’s worth its weight in gold. <3
Here’s to the next 50. I’m so excited!!!!
Love,
Claire
or perhaps your promotions folder????? don’t sleep
The people who like my content enough are here to stay - everyone else is likely long gone by now. If you are wondering why you still subscribe to this newsletter, well, thank you for stopping in & I wish you well on your journey! :')
Credit card debt, car payment, and then moving on to really tackle student loans. :————)
tag when you started tearing up - for moi, it was "I believe my life’s work is to spread joy and connect with people." when i was like --- I'M SO PROUD, AND YOU ARE DOING THAT LIFE'S WORK ONLINE.
yours is one of my my favorite ~ shiny little gifts~ 💝