Jesus Had His First 12. With My Email List, Now I do. Will I Reach the Corners of the?Globe?

Regardless, there’s good news at the?end

I could name the first 11 of any top football team in the English Premier League.

Add the coach and we have the first 12.

That was me in mid-primary when I was a football (for our Brits) or soccer (for the Americans) fanatic. And which team did I support?

Arsenal. To the very end. The heart loves what the heart loves.

I was such a big fan, I planned to have 11 children so we could form a football team. I would then be the coach, making it the first 12. Again.

But after life started throwing kicks and jabs at me, I changed my ways. As much as I love Loud House, I’d rather start by ensuring I have a meal on my lap?—?I’m yet to get a table?—?every day.

I have mentioned 12 several times. It has to do with the number of my Substack Subscribers. I have 60 times as many subscribers elsewhere. But with my 12, the question is, like Jesus’ disciples, will they spread my word to every corner of the globe?

One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever?do

I had a book with email addresses.

These were the people who attended my book launch. Over a hundred of them.

The plan? Build a list. They were to be my starter list. But every time I opened that book, I felt I was betraying them.

They had not consented to receiving messages in their inboxes. Why would I want to breach that trust?

These are people who had spared time, energy, and for some, money to get my book. The privacy of an inbox was a line I decided not to cross.

So I didn’t.

I don’t even know where the book is.

If I wanted to build a list of members who willingly wanted to get my weekly feed.

And it started with one.

Then they were two.

One is a lonely number. Two can be as lonely as one. But what of?three?

Three subscribers.

I was super excited.

My girl was one of them. I don’t know where I got this gem from.

If I remember correctly, I was on my second edition. Maybe the third. The details are hazy.

But how did I look at it?

Triple-threat-triad.

I got it from Avatar Korra. One can be lonely. Two evens things up. But three was my tripod stand.

Three stones to hold the pot when it’s cooking.

Three stabilizes the stool atop overlying pressure.

Three was the stable quark combination.

The triple-threat-triad.

I continued to churn content on Medium. However, I did not feel like my call to action matched the energy I had after getting to three subscribers.

I had to change it. But into what?

Like a thief in the night, I ‘borrowed’ one word?—?It made a huge difference

I was doing my night shift when the idea hit me. I write on Medium as The Alternative View.

But there was already somebody who had used the title before. He had a Facebook page and a WordPress website. I did not want to share the same title as somebody else.

Besides, I wanted people to have a shift in perspective every time they read my newsletter. A single shift. Not much.

A paradigm shift.

I only need one alternative view for that to happen. Only one.

I had it.

Charged, I began making changes everywhere. Medium. Substack. I called myself to action.

And now I had a newfound shift to change the call to action.

One four all and all four one?—?this was?it!

I remember when I first heard that phrase. There was a cartoon about it every other evening.

It was the musketeers. All for one and one for all.

I wanted to share four views in one inbox delivery and have one newsletter ‘four’ to all my subscribers.

*All three subscribers.

Then I had another light-bulb moment. My love for wordplay came to the rescue.

I was going to build my one-four-all and all-four-one newsletter.

I’m sticking with this. So I changed my call to action at the bottom of almost all my articles. At the time, I had decided to shift from posting an article every so often in the week to an article every day.

Every single day.

Going from one article to another to change a single part can be tiring. When you discover you have made a mistake, you must go all over again.

The hell!

Anyway?—?anything for my three subscribers.

It all changed when I crossed the double-digit threshold

Here’s how it went down.

From publishing an article a day to getting a subscriber every so often, I finally got the one email tipping me to the double-digit territory.

And get this. Substack changes the highlight to read:

The One Alternative View. Tens of Subscribers

I

Went

Nuts!

How did I read it?

The Alternative View. Tonnes of Subscribers

Not tens. Tonnes

I loved it!

I was committed to serving my small list with the best I could find.

You see, what my newsletter does is tied to what I love doing. I love reading. I read a lot. I read whenever I get the slightest chance.

What I plan to do for my subscribers is link them to the online content I feel would change their perspective. The litmus test is?—?it has to influence me as well.

It has to be that convincing.

I use what Charlie Munger says about products. You have to be willing to consume the product for you to sell it to others. It has to be appealing to me before I can deposit it into other people’s emails.

As we speak I’ve gotten to the magical number 12. So?…what’s the good news?

Finally, here’s the good?news

I don’t need a Good News Bible.

I don’t have to walk on water. I don’t have to turn water into wine. I don’t even have to feed 5,000 men with fish and bread.

I have the Internet. I will feed my subscribers, every week, with what I deem to be quality content.

I hope my newsletter turns into good news over time as it hits the inbox of an ever-growing list.

It’s a high-bar requirement. I am accountable to them. I have to at least give them one online product that will tip them towards extreme value.

It gives me great joy when someone I taught or guided elevates in their respective lines of duty. Now I am building a following, which is destined to grow every day.

To whom much is given, much is expected.

But every week, I show up and do the reps. It’s the only way I can build muscle.

And the good news is, Jesus also started with 12.

I am no Jesus.

But I have cast my nets wide for a catch.

Let’s take it all over the world!

This song inspired some of the lines used in this article, which was published on the 25th of August, 2023.