Draft Four reader survey: Why are you here?
And what need am I solving?
I am breaking my “I’ll send a letter every couple of Sundays” rule with an ask to take a 5 question survey that will take less than 5 minutes. I want to learn about what role Draft Four plays in your life.
This was the TL;DR version, and you can just go to the survey — for a longer explanation of why now, keep on reading. (Don’t worry, the button will return.)
As I wrote in January, together with a bunch former colleagues from DoR (now freelancers or solo-preneurs with newsletters) we’re involved in a prototype program to help strengthen a newsletter ecosystem and boost individual creator revenues.
Until the end of April, guided by Mirona Nicola, an enthusiastic brand strategist who understands the media business, we’re doing a lot:
Sharpening value propositions and business models;
Doing reader research and interviews (hence the survey);
Drafting strategies;
Assessing revenues and costs;
Discovering new paths for partnerships;
Running experiments;
Laying the groundwork for more collaboration, both in editorial and in business.
We’re running this experiment with people that know each other because it helps fast-forward through the group-bonding stage, and get to concrete actions. But if the program delivers results, the plan is to broaden it to others – especially to journalists struggling with a newfound identity as a creator.
Mirona has already interviewed everyone involved about where we’ve at, and where we want to go, took us through a business model canvas exercise — which hurt for some, because reporters and writers understandably cringe when thinking of themselves as a business that needs a value proposition you ought to deliver on and then market and sell. (Yes, it’s the words themselves that are scary, because of course we do this in some form anyway).
This survey is the next step that some of us are taking. For me, creating and sending it is a form of getting answers to a simple yet powerful question: what does Draft Four give you? What need does it meet in your life?
I promise it’ll take less than 5 minutes!
SIDE DISHES
Since this email is about our program, let me give a shutout to all journalists and creators involved. I hope you sign up and read them (FYI, their newsletters are written in Romanian). All are expert journalists in their fields, at a media moment where beat expertise is largely inexistent in many newsrooms in Romania:
Foaia de observație by Sorana Stănescu is a newsletter about how to navigate the Romanian healthcare system. It tackles patients’ rights and navigates through the bureaucracy necessary for getting coverage for various procedures. It is, in short, your ally in accessing the rights you have. Arguably Sorana understand the intricacies of the medical system better than some of the people in it.
Povești din sport by Andreea Giuclea is a newsletter with sports stories (obviously), but it’s much more than that. Andreea covers sports with the dignity and empathy lacking from the macho and click-bait-oriented world of mainstream sports journalism. Special nod to her women’s rights angle, which is essential in understanding discrimination, and lack of acces to funds or other resources.
Re:Mediu by Anca Iosif is a newsletter about caring for nature and the environment while living through ecological disaster. Anca is an avid adventurer with a wide variety of interests — from the conservation of forests, to making urban life greener, to bears. Joining her is a guaranteed adventure for anyone who cares about the natural world.
Dincolo de tăcere by Oana Sandu is a newsletter exploring domestic violence as a public health crisis. With more than a decade of experience covering the topic (and studying it academically), Oana is the arguably the local journalist with the deepest knowledge of the phenomenon, its consequences and the available solutions to prevent and combat it.
Online brew by Vlad Dumitrescu is a newsletter exploring Romanian internet culture. Vlad is a news junkie (his words), and his understanding of how the internet works is what powers his work exploring memes, influencer culture, and what happens in online places you’re not paying attention to.