Aanab News: 2024 Wrapped 🥂
Looking back on what was accomplished this year
If you’re new here, read this.
If you’re *not* new here, this may still be new to you: it’s been two years since I shut down my Patreon and ended all the benefits that came from it - like the seasonal mailers and the printed issues of Aanab Newspaper.
TWO YEARS!
It was a fun period of experimentation but I was running myself ragged getting all that content together on very little money while working a part-time job. Then, I left California and the reliable USPS behind. I’m now back in Beirut and the online Aanab News is at almost the same number of paid subscribers I had on Patreon. Granted, I increased the rate last year but it was a slow rebuild from the start as not everyone has migrated here.
Reaching this point bit by bit is meaningful because it means everyone who is here is choosing to support the work. They’re not getting pretty, physical things in the mail. They’re just getting words on screen. I’m so grateful for those who see value in what I’m creating to the point where you want to give me money to keep doing it.
Writing on Substack means I have to give some of that money to them (10%) and some of it to Stripe. It’s not ideal but for now, I’m sticking around. BUT as I continue to write and send out this newsletter, I’m simultaneously thinking about the after-Substack plan because these tools are always changing or cannibalizing. It’s unfortunate but I have to roll with it and be prepared to “adopt and adapt” as Martha Stewart would say.
In January 2024, I’d set a goal of reaching 100 paid subscribers (and 1000 free subs secretly) by the end of the year so let’s take a look at the numbers.
As of January 2nd, Aanab had 612 subscribers with 24 of them being paid subs. By early September, when subs were at 871, I removed all dead accounts (any email address that hadn’t opened an email from me in the last year) from my list bringing the total back down to 764.
As of today, Aanab is back to exactly 870 subs with 58 paid, so 6-7% of my readership. My open rate is consistently at 54%. For those who don’t know, these are REALLY GOOD stats. Even though the subscriber totals are short of my goals, I’m very proud of the steady growth and what I’ve done here so far.
Beyond Aanab’s regular programming, I had 3 letter exchanges with Lara Atallah, Sally Jane Hurst, and Kara Daly. I produced 4 video essays, I co-hosted 1 dinner about olive oil, I participated in 1 fundraiser for southerners (which was hosted again in Montreal this week!), I had my photos featured in 1 art space, and I had 2 videos screened at Hekayyatna’s November event in London.
Top-performing posts.
Ironically, the top three have nothing to do with wine and they were about how I was processing what was happening in Lebanon. I’ve got mixed feelings about that.
→ I feel this essay from last month didn’t get enough love and attention and this very important update from just a few days ago probably flew under the radar during all the holiday hubbub. ←
Here are 3 stories I put in the drawer for a year.
Separately, I also had three commissioned articles for other publications: “Lebanon’s Doudou Shot Is More Than a Rite of Passage” for PUNCH published July 19, 2024 and “Sowing Solidarity: How Lebanon’s Wineries Remain Rooted” for
published on Nov 11, 2024. The last one is for the next issue of the discontent which will be out early 2025.Some qualitative wins.
Two Aanab essays were shortlisted for the 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards making me a finalist for their Long-Form Writing category.
I got better at saying NO to projects that weren’t in alignment with my values, time, and/or energy.
I made this newsletter benefit me in ways beyond writing. I’m good at being disciplined with work but I’m bad at prioritizing my well-being. Instead of separating those worlds, I folded methods of play (through the creation of Unfiltered and Grapevine) into my editorial calendar and it worked!
I’ve read one or two books a month. That may not seem like a lot for some but I’m thrilled to be getting offline + making a dent in my unread stacks. As
pointed out in Day 18 of her Advent newsletter, unread books are gifts from your former self. Or an idea she borrowed from Oliver Burkeman: treat your reading pile like a river and not a bucket. “In other words, something that flows past you and that you on occasion dip into as opposed to something that you have to empty.”The three newsletters that gave me the most new subscribers through the Substack recommendations feature are three I’m a big fan of. Thank you
, , and !
I’ll be taking a break until January 21st.
During that time, I’ll be planning what Aanab News will be in 2025 so I’d love to hear from you as a reader. SERIOUSLY THOUGH. Please drop feedback in the comments or email me if you have thoughts about the work I’ve done this year - like which essay was most memorable, what you want to see more of, or what you were indifferent toward (the letters? the previews of paywalled posts?). Anything you share will help me figure out where to take this newsletter next. I’ll be posting a 2025 edition of this post once I’m back.
Lastly, a dandelion of gratitude.
I’d like to give thanks to all of you who commented, replied, and helped my work get seen by engaging with it. I also want to thank the friends who listened to me think out loud via voicenotes, those who read previews when I needed a gut-check, and the few who celebrated me. You know who you are and I love you 💛
I am haunted by the fact that each of us has such a short window on this earth to consume all the glorious media (so many books, films, artworks to see!!) out there. Knowing I have people in my corner on both sides of this creative process has been so comforting. You all are the sprinkles 🧁 on the buttercream frosting of my life.
Thank you for giving me some precious minutes from your year to read my words.
See you here in a few weeks.
Love & olives,
Farrah
👏👏👏