Hello Substack, Again
Dutch Brief started here and we're moving back.
Dutch Brief didn’t start as Dutch Brief. It started as Groningen Mail, one post a day about the north of the country, and it ran on Substack (a publishing platform). We left a while ago because we felt we outgrew it. Turns out Substack has more than caught up, so we’re back like we never left.
Substack is taking the Netherlands seriously. They recently brought on Margot James to run things here. She was one of the first people at Spotify in the Netherlands, so she’s no stranger to the creator economy. And I love that Substack is putting boots on the ground instead of running everything from afar. That’s the kind of commitment that made us want to be part of it again.
Nothing you care about is changing
We’ve moved everything over. Every article we’ve ever published is still up, every old link still works, and we’re publishing exactly as often as before.
The only change is how often we appear in your inbox.
We used to send one email a week, the Monday recap. We’re scrapping it. From now on you’ll get the single most important story of the day, every weekday, around noon Dutch time. One article, the one that matters most, while you’re having lunch.
This is an experiment. If you don’t like it, let us know.
You don’t have to pay us, and the news stays free
Substack runs on paid subscriptions. We’re doing it differently. Our content is free and it’s staying free, no paywall, nothing hidden.
We’ve set up a paid tier, and every cent of it goes to orphanages here in the Netherlands that we partner with. We use it to fill their wishlists at Christmas, New Year, Easter, and King’s Day, the moments that should feel like something for a kid. None of it comes to us.
Paid subscribers get the occasional exclusive piece and access to a community chat, but that’s a bonus, not the reason it exists. So if you’ve wanted to back Dutch Brief, this is the way, and it puts your money somewhere that actually matters. And if you’d rather keep reading for free, do exactly that. You won’t miss a thing either way.
A few other things, while we’re at it
None of these have anything to do with the move. They’re just us growing.
We’re doing more original reporting. Turning Dutch news into plain English will always be what we’re built on, but we’re also reporting our own stories more and more. We’re putting more into community pieces, the ones that come from people living here rather than just the headlines. And we’re starting a new weekly column written for readers outside the Netherlands, since so many of you follow us from abroad. More on that soon.
We’ve also started a YouTube channel where we publish our daily news and occasional long-form videos. Subscribe here.
Thank you
The growth we’ve had still doesn’t quite feel real. Groningen Mail was a passion project with no funding and not much of a plan, and it turned into this because people read it, shared it, brought their friends in, joined the WhatsApp group, sent us tips, and told us how they felt about our work.
So, thank you. For reading, for following us here more than once now, and for letting us be how you keep up with this country.
It’s good to be back.