Newsletter fatigue

Signal over noise in the age of newsletter fatigue

Dear readers,

First of all, thank you for subscribing to and reading my newsletter. Like me, your inbox must have been overloaded with emails, and now with the newsletter subscriptions, it has gotten worse.

It seems like AI has lowered the bar for content generation, making it easy to create generic and mediocre content. This kind of content is everywhere.

Everyone gets hundreds of emails every day, so my newsletter should be worthwhile to open. In a sea of mediocrity, depth becomes the differentiator.

With my newsletter, I want to be cautious about what I post. I've intentionally decreased the frequency. I only send it when it has depth and adds value for you; yes, I’m talking with you, reading this right now :)

Signal over Noise

I took a two-month break from my newsletter, which gave me the headspace to reflect on it.

I have been extremely busy with client work and other side projects. I don’t want to send a newsletter just for the sake of it.

You probably get 100+ emails daily, so if my newsletter is not adding value, it is better not to send it.

Newsletter fatigue is real.

I've made a conscious decision to prioritize quality over frequency. Moving forward, you can expect:

1. Signal over noise (hand-picked curation by yours truly): Carefully selected articles, videos, and resources that provide genuine value and insights.

2. In-Depth Monthly Essays: Exploring topics across design, product development, entrepreneurship, art, literature, and even mental wellbeing.

3. Reduced Frequency, Increased Value: Newsletters will be sent only when substantial, thought-provoking ideas are available to share.

Feelings over metrics

As I started to get subscribers (now over 1,600 strong!), I became conscious of my writing and what to share and what not to share. I lost my touch and started to write for my audience. I found myself becoming overly conscious of metrics like open rates and engagement.

This shift in focus began to influence my writing, pushing me away from my authentic voice. I am being brutally honest here.

This awareness has been quite helpful. Feelings are a powerful metric,

The Browser Company

(behind the popular Arc browser), recently wrote on optimizing on feelings.

A bit of personal updates

On a good note, this year has been quite good for me, sharing some recent updates on work and side projects wise below:

• Collaboration with BAIR: I recently partnered with the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR) lab as a product design consultant.

• Fractional Design Partnerships: Adopting a new work model, I now serve as a fractional design partner for select companies.

• Product designer portfolio reviews: I've started conducting product designer portfolio reviews on YouTube, sharing insights and advice with the broader design community.

My friend, Paras (design lead @Make my trip), reviewed over 200+ portfolios and did a showcase of 3 truly amazing portfolios, here's the full video.

If you are struggling to build a stunning portfolio, I highly recommend checking out

Xinran Ma

book"The Portfolio Secrets—Cracking the Code of 18 Product Design Portfolios." I learned so much from him and have heard great feedback from my peers.

That's all, folks.

Good vibes,
Shivam

---

P.S. - I'm would love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts :) What topics would you like to see explored? How can this newsletter best serve your professional and personal development?

(Image credits)