Several years ago, during a coaching trade get-together with Melissa, she encouraged me to develop free content for my clients. All I had created at the time was a knowledge article related to Photos. At some point, I shared this insight with my dad, who in August 2018 sent me this message:
Following up on your idea of sending helpful Mac info to your clients periodically … to keep your name front-and-center so they contact you when they have a need.
How about sending a weekly tip. A lot of people don’t have time to read something that’s several paragraphs or longer, even if it’s useful information. However, almost everyone has time to read a one- or two-sentence tip. You have such a wealth of information; plus you could “repurpose” questions that clients ask you every week.
You could give these tips a name: Monday Mac Tip from Sustainable Computing
And so, on August 13, 2018, Mac Mondays was born.
In the early years, I was composing short snippets and could produce an article with screenshots in as little as an hour. During that time, I had about 450–500 subscribers and the open rate averaged around 40%.
Currently (2024), “Mac Monday Sundays” can easily devour 3–5 hours as I meticulously prepare the next edition, reflecting on recent discoveries and coaching sessions, choosing a relevant topic, generating screenshots and recordings, and adding links to past posts and external resources. My audience has also grown to over 650 and the open rate is over 60%.
Mac Mondays is a reflection of my primary professional development: Learning about the ways technology challenges users in ways I’ve never experienced myself, discovering embedded wisdom, and delivering tips and insights to help others continue their own learning.
In addition to sharing my knowledge in this publication, I fulfill the mission of my work by troubleshooting issues, answering questions, and exploring curiosities that might empower people to become more confident, productive, and/or flexible in their computing.
Readers who receive Mac Mondays in their inboxes tend to absorb the content in a number of ways. Some read it religiously every week. Others save it to a custom mailbox and read later. Many keep it as a reference for the future. You can also read it right here on my blog.
While Mac Mondays is a free publication, I welcome your voluntary support. If you wish, you may make a financial contribution below.
