Itâs been just about a year since I started dabbling with writing a Substack. At first, I wasnât sure what I would write about, but I knew I wanted to tryâŠbecause writing has become one of my favorite parts of my job and I wanted to do it more. Writing my weekly AA newsletters is so special to me. It feels like the most authentic place to connect with my subscribers. With all of the noise in our inboxes, it feels like such an honor that people want to read what I have to say. Even though I do end up making things a little personal in my AA newsletters, I try to keep it mostly about the businessâŠso Substack felt like a great place to write about other topics, personal or otherwise. Â
In January, I started putting a little direction toward my Substack writing because I thought I was going on an IVF journey to get pregnant with donor sperm, and I thought it would be helpful to document the journey. That got detoured pretty quickly when I met my boyfriend. So for the past several months Iâve been trying to find a rhythm that makes sense. I love to have structure and routine, so Iâve been trying to post on a schedule, but that doesnât always work when the primary goal is being authentic and sharing about whatâs going on in life in real time. Life doesnât always go according to plan! Â
So hereâs a little update on where Iâm at and what you can expectâŠ
My goal is to publish 2-4 times a month, usually on Fridays. Right now, Iâm really enjoying writing about my personal life, what Iâm wearing/fashion-related thoughts, travel, what Iâm reading, and anything pertaining to entrepreneurship/women-owned small businesses.
Most of what I write will be free for all to access, but some of the more personal things or posts that take me a lot more time to write will be for paid subscribers. Truthfully, the paid option started about 6 months ago because I was nervous to put my personal life out there for everyone to see. I honestly didnât think anyone would sign up, but right away 29 of you did and weâve been slowly building each month. (I know 29 isnât a lot, but it warmed my heart and gave me the encouragement to keep going.) It feels better to me for the super personal content to be available only to a smaller group - sort of like weâre good friends on a group text. :)
I totally understand if paying for a Substack subscription isnât for you - there are a lot of newsletters out there! I will still have free content here you can subscribe to or peruse as you wish, and as always our AA newsletter will always remain free.
For those interested in a paid subscription, I wanted to add some perks to say thank you for your support!
Paid Perks
Monthly journal entry - this will be an unfiltered post, basically like a journal entry sharing about whatâs going on in my life.
Monthly giveaway of an Abby Alley Sling Bag of your choice. Each month Iâll export the list of paid subscribers and randomly select a winner. Iâll share the winner in each monthâs journal entry. If youâre a paid subscriber, you donât have to do anything - youâre already entered. If youâre not a paid subscriber you can sign up and be entered for next monthâs!
Access to paywalled posts (could be in-depth roundups, something on the personal side, etc).
Plus access to all previous paywalled posts.
Our first winner is Holly Kennedy (I emailed her yesterday), but thereâs still time to subscribe and enter next monthâs drawing! Congrats Holly!!
This Substack is always evolving and Iâll update this post as things change.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
xo, Abby