Inbox Talks
with Nalden, Co-Founder of WeTransfer
Not enough people are talking about email. Or newsletters for that matter. We want to change that. That’s how the idea for those “talks” series was born.
You’ve probably heard of that awesome service called WeTransfer -the platform that lets you transfer your files around the world within a few quick clicks. We happen to know the co-founder Nalden who was kind enough to talk to us about email, newsletters and his musings on internet, business & life that he expresses in his digest. Let’s take a look at what he had to share with us and our readers!
Please, tell us a bit about yourself!
I’m Nalden, also known as the guy from WeTransfer (the company I co-founded nearly 7 years ago). Born in ’84, I grew up playing video games and browsing the internet. Today I enjoy to foster creativity and solve problems through technology. I still do this at WeTransfer, leading product innovation. Apart from that I sometimes invest in other people’s companies. Like Revue. I will explain to you why I did so if you keep reading ;)
Why did you decide to start a newsletter?
Well, it’s a long story. I used to have a blog. And ever since I was 13 I was sharing my enthusiasm via a blog with people I haven’t met before. Some of them became real good friends. It was my way of connecting, sharing and helping others. It kept me curious. After a decade I stopped blogging (because I wanted and needed to focus on WeTransfer) but I kinda missed the engagement with an audience. Share stuff I got really excited about. Get into conversations. I think it was 2015 when I decided to do this newsletter thing to keep this conversation going. In my search for newsletters I discovered Revue via Twitter (@Milann tweeted me this suggestion) and from the first moment I was hooked. The product resonated very well with my needs and the simplicity of it reminded me of WeTransfer.
I immediately emailed the founder (Martijn) asking for a Pro account. A bit silly since I don’t mind paying for products. I guess I was just curious about his response. Little did I know he was Dutch. We had lunch the next day and one thing led to another [hahaha]. It sounds very romantic, but I truly believe in email, newsletters and that Revue is facilitating a tool that will create the best traction with an audience. It goes beyond the surface of “likes”.
Wait, what was the question again? Right. I wanted to do a newsletter cuz sharing is caring. I have a basic need to share things. It’s who I am. And a newsletter allows me to do this in a semi-personal yet authentic way. I love the fact people reply to it and I end up in email conversations that will always enlighten me with new information and perspectives.
What is the goal of your newsletter?
I don’t have a specific goal in mind. I just share thoughts and things that I feel are worth sharing. Sometimes it resonates with people. Most times it doesn’t. But every time I sent out a newsletter it’s creating new conversations I can learn from.
How do you create your newsletter?
Mostly I have a story in my mind with a topic or opinion I’m trying to communicate. Next to that I share articles, content that inspired me. Sometimes it’s related to the story. Mostly it’s random. There’s great fun in randomness. I gather content from Twitter, Pocket and I save an awful lot of content via the Revue chrome plugin. Every time I see some interesting content I’ll save it to my ‘inbox’ in Revue to deal with it later.
How many subscribers do you have?
Don’t know. Don’t care. You can see it on my profile ;)
How does your audience respond to your newsletter?
All sorts of responses. Tips, tricks, or personal experiences are shared. I had a lot of feedback on my latest newsletter when I shared which party I’m gonna vote for. That was a great conversation starter [hahaha]. But I love any kind of feedback. Good, negative. It always gives me great insight into peoples minds.
Are there any tips you’d like to share with our readers about how to make their newsletter better?
Be the person you are. Become the person you want to be. Keep that process transparent. Stay authentic in your communication, wording, choice of content. Keep it real.
What do you think makes a newsletter successful?
Realness. No-one likes to be sold to. If the story is real it will have a higher chance it resonates with people.
How do you see the future of email in general?
Possibly blurred with messaging, but with more relevance.
Oh, we’ve been meaning to ask, what has been the biggest perk of using Revue for you?
It’s just a very simple tool. From signing up to collecting content to writing to sending is a very easy thing to do.
And which personal newsletters do you read regulalry?
I like the personal newsletter I get from Warren Ellis, Benedict Evans or Joachim Baan. And Samuel de Goede with Currently, although he should start writing again ;)
I like Ryan Hoover’s Revue too.
How did writing a personal newsletter start for you? What is it that makes it personal? Why did you choose email?
In the end, receiving an email still could have the same experience as receiving a postcard. Depending on the message, this could end up well when the message is nice and thoughtful, or go bad when it’s spam.
I always try to write down thoughts and observations which I like to share to not only inform the people I am writing to, but mostly learn from them. It’s a conversation starter. And I love the different perspectives I get from people who hit reply after I sent out a newsletter. Therefore the word ‘newsletter’ doesn’t cover it for me.
Email today is still a great communication tool as it gives people the space to read their email when and where they want it. People can read or send mail while on the go, or really sit down for it and write something more extensive. Either way there’s less urgency. And still has the most resemblance with postcards. There’s some magic in that.
I also love the longevity of email. It can sit in an inbox for days without being redundant.
Any fun stories or anecdotes you would like to share?
I love it when people say they love your ‘ newsletter’, when you know they’ve unsubscribed 2 issues ago.
Email is keeping it real for over 20 years!
Did you like what you just read? If so, show us by clicking the little orange heart underneath!
“Inbox Talks” is a series of interviews that were born to give you some inspiration for your own digest or to show what people have to say about email. Stay tuned for our next session :)
