Newsletter

In December 2025, I started a monthly newsletter for All About Berlin.

Why a newsletter?

Because the internet has changed. AI-generated answers — ChatGPT and Google’s AI summaries — have halved traffic to All About Berlin. Social media algorithms also downrank posts with external links. It’s getting hard to reach you, and the writing is on the wall for the independent web.

Last year, I asked the internet why so many websites pushed their newsletter. I was surprised to hear that they worked so well. I decided it was time to slowly build an audience of my own, independently from tech giants and their algorithms.

This is also my chance to write to you directly, in my own language, as a friend. After 8 years of writing guides in the simplest, most succinct English, it’s nice to unwind and throw idioms around.

This newsletter will be three things: occasional, casual, and conversational. I want to share interesting updates and timely reminders, and ask for your feedback every once in a while. There will be no ads and no sponsored content.

Taking the initiative

This newsletter marks a transition from passive information to proactive advice. You might visit my website when you have a specific problem, but I want to help you take action before there is a problem.

Choosing a platform

At first, I defaulted to Substack because it’s where all the cool journalists hang out. They immediately started spamming my inbox and running me through a gauntlet of growth hacks. I spent the first few hours deleting emails and turning things off. This left a bad taste in my mouth. The platform feels well past the point of enshittification.

Instead, I chose Buttondown because I vibe with their business model. They focus on building a newsletter tool, nothing more.

The first few days with Buttondown were disappointing. I encountered one bug after another, and often had to get their customer support involved. When I blew past the free plan’s 100-subscriber limit, Buttondown failed to deliver a scheduled email and stopped sending activation emails to new subscribers.

When I upgraded the plan, nothing happened. The newsletter was not delivered, and dozens of users never got the activation email. I had to fix this manually with help from their customer support.

Their support was very helpful, but the poor quality control makes me feel like I’m supporting an underdog, even though I am paying for a finished product.

Nonetheless, I decided to stay with them. The tool does exactly what I need and integrates well with my workflow.

Growth

This newsletter is a way for me to share updates with a consenting audience, without meddling from algorithms. It’s my way to work with the garage door up, and hopefully to create social infrastructure in the future.

I don’t intend to compete with excellent newsletters like Handpicked Berlin, 20 Percent Berlin, Berlin Events Weekly and The Berlin Companion. I have neither the energy nor the writing chops.