It is unbelievable to me that we are now in April? Rude. I've been hanging on to the 'start' of 2023, but now we're one quarter down and what do I have to show for it? As it turns out, more than I thought.

I just finished Zee Feed's Q1 performance review and figured I'd share the insights with you all. I think it's important for our biggest supporters (that's you 🥺) to know what's happening on the inside, like if we're going to make it. Gal-dem, a UK publication that is a major source of inspiration for Zee Feed, just announced they're closing. I'm treating that news as a warning shot. We've got to work really hard this year to keep the lights on. Publishing my quarterly reviews is part of that – it feels very uncomfy, but I hope it encourages you to actively support independent media you love including (but not limited to) Zee Feed!

Ok, here is the juicy stuff you want to see:

Audience Growth: +13% YoY (compared to Q1 2022), +18% from Q4 2022

Healthy numbers! While I'm sure there are others growing faster, to me this feels sustainable while still leaving room for improvement. Our audience has grown on every platform – readers on site, newsletter, and all social accounts. Even our YouTube, which is testament to the amazing work Simran and Jemima are doing on converting our reads into video essays (even if we are currently being flooded with angry comments from conservative men. If you want to help us correct the algorithm there, please leave a positive comment on one of our vids!)

Strategy: Dropping the quantity, increasing the quality across every platform. Ditching traditional explainers for a focus on thoughtful, informative essays.

You might remember me talking about a change in strategy last year? That ^^^ is pretty much it. Our old explainers are done – a little sad as that's where Zee Feed started for me, but the audience growth proves it was the right decision. We still explain stuff, but there will always be a clear point of view (something ChatGPT will never be able to give you). More evidence: none of the best performing pieces from Q1 were typical explainers. They all had something specific to say:

1. The Pursuit of Beauty: A High Price for Faux-Empowerment

2. Why Does No One Watch the Oscars Anymore? The Culture of Gatekeeping is Over – counting only the 2023 traffic & engagement for this piece

3. This International Women’s Day, I Want Us to Think More Critically About Female Leaders

Those three stories have reached a combined total of 620,000 people. That is... not a number of people I can even conceive of in my mind! The closest thing I can compare to is when dad & I went to the 2018 AFL Grand Final with 100,000 of our closest friends/most mortal of enemies.

As a side note, it's interesting how digital platforms and hustle culture bullshit has really fucked up our concept of scale. Whenever one of our TikToks flop and gets like 100 views (happens a lot) I imagine standing in front of 100 people and reading the article to them. Suddenly doesn’t feel so floppy.

Anyway, editorial vision is where I'm most comfortable and confident so I'm not surprised this is working. Is that arrogant? Idk and idc.

Revenue: 62% to Q1 target

This is where I'm least comfortable and confident. I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not by this result. I'm not even sure whether it's a good or bad result? You can spin it either way: by giving a thumbs-up to getting well over halfway to the financial target, or by focusing on that 38% miss (which sounds so big that it is taking all my strength not to delete this entire section from the newsletter).

The money comes from a mixture of consulting work, sponsorships, grants and a trickle of sales from the book and conversation cards. Figuring out how to maximise Zee Feed's revenue and what the right balance looks like is my biggest challenge. Working on it. Also if you're a brand or business that is curious about what working with Zee Feed is like – it's very worthwhile! And very fun! Email me XOXO!

Q2 Goals: Here's what we're aiming for in April-June...

• Hit the Q2 revenue target, obviously. This is a must. The stretch goal is to make up the pro-rata $ gap from Q1

• Grow audience by another 13% – using consistency > volume, and taking advantage of the fact we have a more thorough reporting system now :)

• Trial in-person community building – which we've already started! We'll be hosting that not-a-book-club idea at the end of April in both Syd and Melbourne, working with Demi from Millennial Crisis. Dates tbc but register your interest here!

I say this regularly, but somehow not often enough: thank you, so so much for playing an active part in Zee Feed's story. The messages I receive from supporters keep the lights on in my heart. If you've got any questions about what I've written in this Q1 review, send me an email. Enjoy your Sunday x

– CrystalFounder & Chief of Everything at Zee FeedFollow me on Instagram or TikTok

Good stuff on Zee Feed rn:

I am once again asking you to inject a lil bit of hope into ur brain by reading these four positive things that happened in the month of March. Clicking the link will take you straight to the March section. CLICK HERE TO READ.

Smart stuff on the Internet 💭

All the stuff I found on the web that made me think, smile, or have an ‘aha!’ moment. Spend your Sunday reading them – you'll be better off for it:

Vigilantes for views: The YouTube pranksters harassing suspected scam callers in India on Rest of WorldA sharp profile on Art Kulik and Ashton Bingham, US-based YouTubers who are making $$$ by exposing South Asian scam callers in increasingly humiliating ways. This kind of vigilante content makes me very uncomfortable and the article really gets to the power imbalance that makes it so icky. The ending is *chefs kiss*: despite insisting they are heroes for targeting scammers in India, Art & Ashton idolise the Wolf of Wall Street scammer Jordan Belfort.

Goodbye from gal-dem on Gal-DemGal-Dem was a UK media publication owned and run by Black and brown women and non-binary people, giving a voice to those who are excluded from mainstream media. After 8 years, they have to close the business for financial reasons. The example gal-dem set is one of the core reasons Zee Feed exists at all, so this news has rocked me. I urge you all to think about what happens if only the rich are allowed to make media (and yes, rich white men own & control almost all Australia's indie publications too...)

Vote for me to speak at SXSW Sydney!In related news... I'm part of a panel currently in the running to speak at SXSW Sydney. If selected, we'll be talking about women-owned media to a room full of corporate decision makers who honestly need to hear it. Help us get on stage by voting for our proposal here!

Famous Historical Photos Recreated By The Simpsons in this Twitter threadPeople always talk about how The Simpsons has predicted some crazy stuff that actually came true and this thread (actually, the entire account) proves how. History repeats itself; so it makes sense that a 700+ episode show that's so well-studied in what important events look like would get some future events bang-on. There's a list of art references too.

If you found this email thought-provoking, will you share it with a friend? Sharing helps us grow 🌱 and makes you look really smart.