Robert Richardson at PeakZebra

Some thoughts on using personalization on websites: peakzebra.com/the-myth-of-...

A small post about WordPress patterns: peakzebra.com/a-theme-is-a...

So. Time to write another blog post, what with it having been two weeks and all (and I was aiming for once a week).

New blog post on PeakZebra: peakzebra.com/you-dont-nee...

If you want a strong January, decide now what you’ll ignore.

Good creators don’t need more ideas. They need fewer obligations.

Christmas is a good reminder that not everything needs to be monetized immediately.

Holiday slowdown ≠ wasted time. It’s the best window to fix infrastructure you ignored all year.

A thing I tend to forget: Your archive is more valuable than your next post. Improve navigation, internal links, and resurfacing before creating more.

Silence kills momentum faster than bad feedback. Ask me how I know...

Short posts clarify thinking. Long posts compound trust.

You need three reusable content formats you can rotate.

Creators stall when they allow everything to matter at once.

If you’re stuck on what to write next, take a look at your last 10 pieces and ask: “What question did I almost answer but avoided?”

New post on newsletters that don't look or sound like newsletters: peakzebra.com/non-newslett...

To niche down is to shrink the number of people you disappoint. 😋

Great content doesn't have to be written “from expertise.” It can be written from trying to understand something in public.

Publishing is just the moment you stop editing. And even that's maybe only for a while.

A creator’s best friend is a small habit done daily.

Creativity has two modes: • Collecting sparks • Arranging sparks

You can measure reach. You can measure clicks. But I'm thinking the real KPI is: Would I read this if someone else wrote it?

New on the PeakZebra blog: New on the PeakZebra blog: Shifting Toward a Creator Platform Core -- peakzebra.com/shifting-tow...

Here's my theory: When people say “I don’t know what to write,” they usually mean “I haven’t spent enough time noticing.”

If your website only publishes content, it’s doing half its job. PeakZebra websites learn about your audience and tailor what they see.

Creators underestimate how much revenue they lose by not segmenting. Even a few targeted automations can lift conversions 20–40%. PeakZebra makes segmentation a default, not an add-on.

WordPress has thousands of plugins. PeakZebra has one mission: Curate the ones that matter and preconfigure everything for you.

The killer next step for many newsletters is... segmentation. Enter Issue 4 of CreatorPercolator, out today at CreatorPercolator.com

Gotta love it when ChatGPT gets all hip and uses words like "nuked." Soon it will tell us what 6-7 means.

A key goal of Creator Percolator is to help content creators connect the various tools in their workflows. Next issue out tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. Subscribe for free at CreatorPercolator.com

Remember when Sunday was a chance to enjoy "the complacencies of the peignoir"?

Small Business Saturday deal: subscriptions to CreatorPercolator are free at CreatorPercolator.com. Though, to be fair, they're always free.

I post a trimmed-down version of CreatorPercolator on Substack, but the whole thing is available two days in advance over at CreatorPercolator.com. Just sayin'

I think the payment approach for newsletters/online communities/private podcasts may be fine in a world where someone only has a couple subs. But right now there are too many and it adds up to numbers that aren't sustainable. I suspect I'll be writing about this on CreatorPercolator.com.

There's a clear divide among OG's and newer arrivals at Substack. But what really drives the divide is Substack's own decisions to move things like podcasts, chats, and a sort of a long-form Twitter social media stream to the platform. Discussed in the latest issue of CreatorPercolator.com.

Beehiiv introduced a bunch of stuff a few days ago... Some things were already there Some things don't arrive til Q1 But a few things were new, actually there, and definitely of interest Sort them out with me in CreatorPercolator, next issue out on Tuesday. Sign up at CreatorPercolator.com

The U.S. appears to be politically more unhinged by the day, but it's still a pretty good time for creators of things like newsletters and podcasts and so on, which is a comfort in a way. CreatorPercolator.com, for creators figuring out their tool stack.

The inaugural Creator Percolator newsletter introduces a framework for figuring out where different tools fit into a workflow. CreatorPercolator.com

I did a thing, namely launching a newsletter about how creators (newsletterists, membership site builders, course makers) can combine and interconnect all the various tools they need as their business builds out. CreatorPercolator.com Would love it if you gave it a whirl.

Thought I'd share a sub-three-minute video walkthrough of the PeakZebra toolset: vimeo.com/1100407577?s... ... #buildinpublic

If my newsletter creator platform includes your own website (a full WordPress site), and if I want an option for people sending free newsletters, what low monthly price seems reasonable given that you get a hosted WordPress site? #buildinpublic

I look a week into the future and I see... whatever's in my @buffer queue.

End of the month... Again with the frigging KPI's.

If a platform can ban you, demonetize you, or change the rules overnight…

WordPress is powerful. But setting it up for a paid newsletter? Plugins, payments, design… I've got it all wrapped up for you.

I daresay there will be some interest in Matt's keynote this afternoon at #WCUS.

Not in Portland for #WCUS25. Grateful for live feed.

A list of newsletter creator pain points... Go!

I'm intrigued by Substack's addition of "Notes," which are basically a twitter-style (with long tweets) social media feed. On the one hand, it's more or less the opposite of encouraging long form, thoughtful writing. On the other hand, it adds vitality. Thoughts?

Nobody needs to reinvent #WordPress. They just need to make it vastly easier for people who don't care about web tech to use, right out of the box. Which I'm working on.

I wrote a 28-page PDF on leaving Substack and moving your creator operation to WordPress. Freedom costs less. Download from peakzebra.com