Hi, I'm J.D.
Writing what happens when domains collide without permission.From combat zones to counter culture to consciousness exploration — I write for weirdos who see patterns nobody else does. I refuse to stay in approved lanes.
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Niche of One
A weekly zine for pattern-seekers, weirdos, and curious folks allergic to guru culture. No optimization hacks. No hustle porn. Just raw observations from the margins where interesting things actually happen.
Question consensus reality
See connections others miss
Prefer savage honesty over comfortable lies
Are done pretending to be normal
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Niche of One / Dispatches from the Deep End
10 Steps to Growing a Newsletter That Doesn't Die in the Static
A short guide for writers who have something real to say and are tired of watching it disappear into the algorithmic meat grinder.
by J.D. Forrest
You already know what to say.
The problem isn't your voice. It's the static. Everyone's screaming and nobody's listening and you're standing there with something real to offer, watching it disappear into a system designed to extract attention and sell it back to you in pieces.
The platforms don't care. They're feeding machines. You're just another data point getting processed through the belly of something that was never built for you in the first place.
Here's what actually works. Not theory. Not bullshit I read in someone else's playbook. What works.
Build a Loop That Doesn't Break
Article goes out. Leads to thing worth reading. Thing worth reading leads to thing worth buying. Rinse. Repeat. Don't make it complicated. Complicated systems break when you're exhausted at 11 PM trying to remember which automation goes where. Keep it simple enough that you can run it hungover.
Simple loops survive. Complex systems collapse.
Your Landing Page Is a Promise, Not a Sales Pitch
Tell them what they get. Why it matters. Move on. If you need three paragraphs to explain why someone should read your newsletter, the newsletter's probably not worth reading. Make the right person say yes. Everyone else can find something better suited to them.
One job. One answer. Done.
Your Bio Should Be the Same Everywhere
Not because some growth guru said so. Because people are lazy and confused and if they have to figure out who you are twice, they won't bother. Say what you do. Say why it matters to them. Set the expectation. Then deliver on it or don't bother.
Consistency isn't branding. It's respect for people's attention.
Use Social Media Like a Knife, Not a Megaphone
I hate it too. But the people you want to reach are drowning in the same cesspool you are, and occasionally you have to wade in and remind them you exist. Share your ideas. Leave comments that don't suck. Provide actual value. You're not trying to go viral. You're trying to be found by the right weirdos.
Precision over volume. Always.
Give Them Something That Isn't Garbage
Lead magnets work if they're not insulting. Don't slap together a PDF with recycled blog posts and call it a gift. Make something useful. Something you'd actually want. If you wouldn't download it, neither will they. The bar is higher than you think because the floor is so low.
Would you actually use this? Start there.
Respond Like a Human Being
Someone replies to your newsletter? Write back. Answer DMs. Leave comments. You don't need an "engagement strategy." You need to not be a robot. Most people can't even manage this basic act of human decency. Do it consistently and you're already ahead of ninety percent of the field.
The bar for humanity in creator spaces is embarrassingly low. Clear it.
Find Your People and Help Them Win
Collaborate early. Promote others doing work that matters. Build friendships, not transactional relationships designed to extract mutual benefit and then dissolve. Most people will reciprocate. Their audience bleeds into yours. Everyone wins except the gurus selling courses on audience growth hacks.
Real relationships. Not networking theater.
Double Down on What Doesn't Suck
Look at your opens. Your clicks. What gets shared. That's signal in the noise. Do more of it. Turn it into a product. Build something people will pay for. Expand on it until you understand why it works, then do it again. The data is telling you something. Most people ignore it because they'd rather keep doing what's comfortable.
The signal is there. You just have to listen.
Write Tight or Don't Write
Clear. Useful. Efficient. Don't waste their time. They'll remember you for it and come back because of it. Every word should earn its place or get cut. Bloated writing is a trust violation. It tells people you value your own voice more than their time.
Respect is measured in words you didn't write.
Share Everything
Don't hoard knowledge like some proprietary algorithm. Give away the whole playbook. If people see you as someone who helps without extracting value first, they'll trust you. Trust converts better than any funnel ever built. The scarcity model is a lie they sell to people afraid of being replaced. You can't be replaced. There's only one of you.
Generosity is the only growth hack that works long-term.
This isn't a system. It's just paying attention to what works and doing more of it while the rest of the creator economy chases the next optimization theater performance.
Your newsletter doesn't need to be fancy. It needs to not waste people's time.
The audience is out there. Probably closer than you think. Make it easy for them to find you. Make it easier to stay.
And if none of this works? You tried something real in a world of performed authenticity. That counts for something.