Keep It 💯

Hi everyone, happy Wednesday! 

Today is my 100th issue of WIWO :) Normally every tenth issue I do an anti-haul, where I write about some stuff I dislike or don’t want. But I figured such a milestone occasion shouldn’t be celebrated with negativity, so I hope you guys will bear with me while I wax sentimental for a bit.

I started WIWO in May 2019, right after my junior year of college, because one, everyone in media was starting a Substack (even before the pandemic newsletter gold rush!), and two, I’d been consciously supporting small, independent businesses for a while, and wanted to share the knowledge I’d accrued of all these really cool brands putting out really cool products. I had less than 50 subscribers, mostly just online and IRL friends, and I wasn’t really writing with anyone in mind except myself. There was no rhyme or reason to the stuff I picked, I wasn’t pressed about finding things that fit a certain “theme,” it was mostly just me vibing and killing time at my summer internship. 

Clearly, things have changed! WIWO got shouted out in a few articles, and now I’m sitting at about 1,600 subscribers, which is very modest in comparison to the successful, acquired-by-the-Atlantic newsletters, but still far more than I ever imagined I’d have. It was exciting, certainly, but also slightly unnerving; I’m a fairly private person by nature, and I’ve never really had “influencer” aspirations. Now I’m no longer just writing for a circle of close friends, I’m writing for people who are, essentially, strangers.

But you don’t have to be! Which is why, instead of sending out my usual recs today, I put together this short survey (link here), and I would be eternally grateful if you took the time to respond. I want to ask you guys — how did you find me? What are you looking for from WIWO? What kind of recommendations would you like to see? What suggestions do you have, what improvements can I make, how can I tailor my content to better serve this little community I’ve inadvertently built?  

Of course, you can also just email me your thoughts as well, or feel free to hit me up on Twitter or IG (just because I’m not super active doesn’t mean I don’t check those accounts 👀). And if you have any personal shopping queries, like maybe you’re in the market for a nice candle or a wool sweater, I’m ALWAYS happy to oblige.

I owe a lot to WIWO; what started as an extracurricular hobby turned into a real project that keeps me accountable and helped me land a job at my dream publication. With so much content in the world competing for a morsel of your attention, it’s still an absolute wonder to me that anyone takes the time to open up my little missives every Wednesday. Thank you for reading; here’s to 100 more!

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Tried one of my recs and loved it (or hated it)? Wanna get something cool on my radar? Drop me a line at kittylguo@gmail.com or swing by my Twitter @kitguo!