A Major JoeBlogs Announcement

Hi, everybody. I’ll send out the Monday newsletter a bit later today—lots of fun stuff from around the world of sports—but first, I have a bit of JoeBlogs news.

I’ve been teasing this for a little while: This is a big week for JoeBlogs! We’ve got a bunch of exciting changes and improvements coming. You’ve seen a handful of them already—video PosCasts (what?), a new YouTube Channel (sign up and be lucky subscriber 1,000!), and a new logo (still testing out colors)!

Well, this week, we’re doing a few more new things—and the big one is that we’re changing platforms, from Substack to beehiiv (despite the spelling).

Before I explain why I think the platform change will be great for JoeBlogs (and will, I hope, be hassle-free for you), let me express, again, my sincere thanks to Substack for all they’ve done for me the last three-plus years. The good folks there—Dan, Hamish and everybody—have been incredibly kind and supportive. They were pivotal to me taking a chance on myself and going independent in the first place. I’m eternally grateful, and I continue to think the world of them.

So, why move? I know it’s a copout to say that it’s complicated and that there are bunches of reasons… but it is complicated, and there really are bunches of reasons. I sincerely doubt you’re too interested in all that, but I always try to be as honest and transparent as I can be, so here are four of the bigger reasons.

1. Substack’s focus—and I’m sure they will disagree with me on this—seems to me more and more on its own social media platform and less and less on our individual little writing businesses. I’ve seen this play out in many different ways, some small and some not so small. I guess I would put it this way: I’ve had so many people in the last year or two ask me how I like working at Substack. And, obviously, I get it: Substack is about building Substack, as it should be. I certainly don’t blame them. But I went independent to build my own thing. Plainly: I paid Substack to work for me, not the other way around.

2. Some of you might remember when I wrote something a little more than a year ago; Substack was taking a lot of heat then for hosting Nazi newsletters and for their uninspiringly tepid response to the complaints. I tossed and turned back then and decided to stay with Substack (after some assurances) for a variety of personal and professional reasons, and I don’t regret that… but it’s also true that over the last year, I have lost more than a few subscribers who flat-out tell me they will not give Substack any of their money. At some point, I can’t justify that. Substack is only supposed to be the platform I use to send out my goofy sports and silliness newsletter. I have no interest in being tied to their politics, whatever they are.

3. There are various things—fun things, I think—I want to try that I simply cannot try at Substack because of the limitations of the platform. I’ve had some great conversations with the folks at beehiiv over the last few months, and they’re eager to help me make try and my vision happen. Plus, Tyler, the CEO over at beehiiv, is a hardcore Orioles fan, so he can be part of our ongoing effort to figure out why the heck the Orioles aren’t going for it.

4. Most of all, I just think it’s time to take a chance and make JoeBlogs better. I have so many ideas swirling around my brain—ideas with video, ideas with series, ideas with exclusive mini-books for JoeBlogs readers, ideas to help build our community, ideas to do more with the PosCast, ideas for charity, ideas for merch, all sorts of things—and I think now is the time to take a leap and go for it (unlike the Orioles).

Maybe this will work. Maybe this will flop. Let’s be clear: Substack is the biggest thing in newsletters—best in class, the Amazon of newsletters—and I’m well aware that moving away will create a set of challenges. Our friend Craig Calcaterra switched to beehiiv a year ago, and it didn’t really work for him, and he’s now at Ghost (which I also considered and liked very much). This is a gamble, no doubt.

But I think it’s a good time to take a gamble. I’m closing on 60, and I’ve been doing this for a good while now, and I think there’s a void for the sort of stuff we do here. Up until now, I’ve had a blast just throwing spaghetti against the wall, writing whatever comes to mind, diving into rabbit holes and watching so many of you just trust me and come along for the ride. It’s been wonderful. But I’ve never had a long-range plan for JoeBlogs. I do now. I want our tiny corner of the internet to be filled with joy and laughter and memories and warmth and the best kind of sports arguments and community. I truly believe we have some of that now. But I think it can and will be a lot better.

Now, let me talk logistics for a second. I’ll be making the switch at some point this week, probably Wednesday. You might have questions, so I put together a quick little FAQ as I anticipate them:

What’s going to change?

If we do this right, almost nothing should change for you. I’ll keep adding “if we do this right,” because while I’ve been given many assurances that things will go smoothly, yeah, as always, we hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I’ll talk about that in a minute.

But in the “hoping for the best” category, beehiiv has done a lot of these migrations now. They say that one day you’ll just start getting your newsletter from a different email address. That’s all that will change for all of you—more than 90% of you overall—who read these newsletters in your email.

For those of you who read on the Internet, the experience should be better over time. As part of the move, we’re creating a better website at joeposnanski.com and building more features for discussion and community.

And for those of you who read on the Substack app, well, there will be a special JoeBlogs app for you. More on that as we get closer.

Will I have to reenter my credit card? Will the price go up?

No and no. Your subscription should stay exactly the same, with the same start and end dates. And all JoeBlogs subscribers are locked into the current price. In other words, even if the price of JoeBlogs goes up, you will continue to pay the same amount you’re paying now.

Why haven’t the Orioles done anything this offseason?

I don’t know. and it’s driving me crazy.

What if I have issues?

Yeah, this is the part that keeps me up at night. It’s possible, despite all the assurances, that some stuff will go wrong, and I hope you’ll be patient while we work through whatever kinks there might be. I promise—and beehiiv promises—that we will stay on top of any issues and we’ll make sure to solve any problems as fast as we can. Before the launch, I’ll give you instructions for what to do if, for whatever reason, you don’t get your newsletter or you have trouble with whatever But, again, we’re doing all we can to prevent all of that.

How could MLB Network have listed Bobby Witt Jr. fourth among shortstops?

I don’t know, and it’s driving me crazy.

I’m an imaginary free reader. Should I subscribe now?

Hi, imaginary reader! I’m so glad you asked: I personally think this is the best time ever to subscribe. I have a long list of very fun features coming, we’re about to get rolling on our big baseball preview, and as mentioned above, if you subscribe today, you’ll lock in today’s price forever!

OK, seriously, what’s the deal with the name beehiiv? And do they really go with the e.e. cummings, lowercase thing?

Apparently so on the lowercase thing. I actually asked Tyler to explain the name, and I’ll print his whole answer because he says it’s the most complete answer he’s ever given on the question—and he was just on the cover of Inc. Magazine! Exclusive!

OK, I like it. beehiiv it is!*

*Though it should be noted that Inc. Magazine did capitalize Beehiiv in their story.