The Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack Update: Summer 2023
The following update is an email I sent out to my 100 subscribers yesterday about the future of my substack. If you're a fan of my Torah content, you're not going to want to miss this! :D
Summer is around the corner and I've got some BIG plans! Since you're my subscribers, you're gonna be the first ones to hear about it!
Dear subscribers of the Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack,
First of all, I want to thank ALL of you for subscribing to my substack! Whether you’re someone who reads most of my articles, some of my articles, or even none of my articles, I genuinely appreciate your support. (I mean, something prompted you to click subscribe, and that qualifies as “support” in my book!)
When I launched The Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack seven months ago, my intent was to reinvigorate my writing. My old and beloved blog, Kol ha’Seridim, had started to feel stale, and I wanted a new medium and new tools for a fresh start. My ambitious goal was to do something I had never done before: to write an average of one article per week during the school year (as opposed to during the summer, which is when I’ve historically done the bulk of my writing). Thank God, my efforts have been successful! Not only did I manage to write throughout the entire year, but my writing has reached broader and more diverse audiences than ever before.
Up until now, I haven’t taken any active steps to grow my readership (beyond sharing articles with those who already follow me on social media), nor have I explored the many tools that Substack offers to grow readership from within.
God willing, all of that is about to change …
I know that I’m capable of growing my subscription numbers and my readership far beyond the 100 free subscribers (including 3 paid subscribers!) I currently have. One of my goals for Summer 2023 is to achieve that growth. My target is to reach 1000 subscribers by the end of the summer.
The first step I’m taking is to incentivize paid subscriptions. Don’t be alarmed! Since my goal is to make my Torah content available and accessible to everyone, I find the idea of hiding my Torah behind a paywall to be detestable. I mean, I get why other people do it, but it’s not something I can ever see myself doing. Rest assured that the vast majority of the articles I write - including the archive of 400+ articles from years past - will remain free.
Why, then, might someone want to become a paid subscriber? For at least four reasons:
First and foremost, my paid subscribers are actually making it possible for me to continue producing free, independent, original Torah content for everyone. This will become especially relevant in September 2023, when my career pivot will take effect. (More on that later this summer!) There are many people who are fans of my Torah content. If everyone who regularly reads my articles, or watches my videos, or listens to my podcasts, or attends my shiurim would chip in a minimal amount - the cost of a basic Netflix subscription or a weekly coffee at your local café - that would ensure my ability to continue providing Torah for all of you.
Second, and equally important, is the accountability factor. I’ve always written primarily for myself, but knowing that people are paying for my time gives me that extra little “oomph” to maintain a consistently high quality and quantity of output, and to do so on a disciplined schedule.
Third, there will be content which is only accessible to paid subscribers!
Although I haven’t done so yet, I’d like to experiment with writing non-Torah articles which I keep behind a paywall - articles on the ideas of non-Jewish thinkers, thoughts on pedagogy and educational philosophy, editorials, movie reviews, personal reflections, etc. etc. I’m open to ideas! The first step is to create the space where I can play around with different types of writing, and I think paid subscriptions are a good venue for that experimentation.
At any given moment, there are always a small number of Torah ideas which I want to write about, but not share with the public at large - because the ideas are still being developed, because they’re controversial, because they’re too personal, or all of the above. Writing about them for myself just isn’t the same, nor is writing about them for specific individuals. I’d like to see what happens if I write for paid subscribers only. This will allow me to write “publicly” without my writing actually being open to the whole internet. Here are the titles of a few articles I have in the works, just to give you an idea of what to expect:
Rambam on Psychedelics
How My Personal Brand of Zionism Keeps Me in Far Rockaway
Answering the Question "Are You a Rationalist?" in a Postmodern World
How I Became Open to Hasidic Thought and Jewish Mysticism
Is Yichud Hashem a Maimonidean Conspiracy?
You can probably see why I’m going to want to keep articles like this behind a paywall. These topics and ideas aren’t for everyone.
Lastly, paid subscribers get to have a say in what I write about! If you value my Torah enough to support it monetarily, then the least I can do is make an effort to produce Torah content about questions and topics that interest you. No promises, of course. (Would that everything I set out to teach or write about came to fruition!) But I will make a special effort to write about the topics that are requested by those who actually support what I’m doing.
I’m open to other ideas about the perks of paid subscriptions! I want people to feel like their investment is paying off in tangible ways, and I want to show my gratitude to my supporters for their generosity. If you have ideas, feel free to share them by replying to this email or by emailing me at rabbischneeweiss@substack.com.
(And if your financial situation changes and you decide to cancel your subscription, no worries! I promise I won’t hold it against you in any way. I’m grateful for your generosity in whatever amount, for however long it lasts.)
“But Rabbi Schneeweiss, as much as I value your Torah content, I can’t afford a subscription at the present time. How can I support your Substack without becoming a paid subscriber?”
I’m glad you asked! You can support me by engaging with my content. If you gained from an article you just read, click the little heart to let me know you liked it. If you think other people would like it, share the article with others. If you know someone who you think might like my content in general, tell them about it! Share the entire substack with them, or choose some articles that you feel are a good sample, or send them the link to the audio on Machshavah Lab! Word of mouth is the best way for me to grow my readership. I believe that my Torah speaks for itself; it just needs to be given opportunities to be heard. Anything you can do to help spread the word will be most appreciated!
I’m super excited to really spread my writerly wings and soar this summer, and I’m thrilled to take you along on the ride!
With gratitude,
— Matt
If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.
If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.
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Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Instagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Old Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel
Where you get the time, ambition, and energy to do all you do is mystifying to me, but let me suggest one more thing to load on your plate. You really should consider writing a book, either a compilation of some of your shorter pieces, or a longer treatment of a particularly interesting topic. You have it in you!