...is bright.
Today begins the second phase of this enterprise, as the newsletter moves away from Substack to a new platform (beehiiv) to let me offer more of what you've asked for.
First, to celebrate the move, through Thursday, I'm offering a 30% discount to upgrade to an annual subscription. That translates to under $6 a month. Just click the ridiculously sized button below.
Second, in addition to the teensy facelift JOBS THAT WORK will only admit to close friends, below is a little rundown about the move and what’s ahead.
What will I get on JOBS THAT WORK’s new platform that I wouldn’t have gotten before?
Substack was vital to the start of this publication, and I’m grateful that JTW very quickly found a place in Substack’s top 100 business publications in the world. But Substack also is a platform leaning toward being more of a social media product. That makes it not a great platform for what JOBS THAT WORK readers ultimately wanted, which was access to more resources that help them do and understand this work better in addition to the newsletter.
So now that we are here on beehiiv, my long-promised Resources section is here, too, including projects that have been cooking for quite some time that I’m thrilled now have a place that can make them easy to find and use.
Paid subscribers will get access to exclusive resources, starting with my new living guide giving them everything they need to know about the current federal funding environment in five minutes. You also get an update of The Good Jobs Menu, a tool for having conversation with funders and employers about the little steps they can take to improve the quality of a workplace, built off what I learned helping with efforts to create more good jobs through federal investments.
Free subscribers aren’t going to be left out, though. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, all subscribers will be able to access the JOBS THAT WORK Federal Workforce Funding Library for the next six months.
The library is a collection of current federal funding programs, what they do, and where they have challenges. This might seem like a small thing, but there are few resources to help workforce organizations find out about programs and even fewer that put that information in accessible language. And there are even fewer-er that help policymakers know what these programs do in fact and how they can be made better. It’s a big step for a couple of my ongoing goals for JTW: making it easier for more organizations to know about workforce dollars and helping these programs get better.
My goal is to update or debut new resources every four to six weeks. I have plenty in the hopper for the next few months, and not just stuff you have to read.
Visually? The newsletter continues to deny that anything has changed. Is there a digital medspa receipt on the coffee table between you? Yes. Does it say, “1970s textbook chic makeover”? Sure does. Will the newsletter cop to this? Not on its life.
Content wise? Not too much different beyond the natural evolution of the newsletter.
On Tuesdays, you’ll still get a free newsletter with analysis on big issues in workforce and jobs policy, monthly interviews with people doing interesting work, and new features that aren’t just gobs of text.
Thursdays will still be THE MONEY, with topline news for everybody, a cheat sheet on the policy and news for paid readers, and grants listings for paid readers looking for money to do the work of getting people to work.
Advertising and sponsorship changes.
You will see more advertisers and sponsors at JOBS THAT WORK. People feel very passionate about this publication, as they do many things in a very volatile political and social environment, so I’ve been very careful with this end of the business.
The two things you’ll see in the immediate frame:
Sponsorships from JTW partners that ensure free access to certain resources and posts. As you might gather from IUPAT sponsoring something, partner organizations have underwritten things I am adding to the site.
Ads from beehiiv’s network. Unlike Substack, beehiiv has an ad network, which I will be tapping into for the long-term health and growth of this publication. Last year’s reader survey indicated JTW readers are overwhelmingly OK with whatever advertises here, but I’m not going to push my luck. That said, like most publications, my viewpoints do not necessarily reflect those of my advertisers.
In the near future, I’ll be setting up a portal for organizations to buy sponsorships of a week’s worth of posts. If you’re interested in doing that in the meantime, or you want to talk about sponsoring a custom-built resource for this site, shoot me an email at [email protected].
Do I have to do anything to access my paid stuff?
Hopefully not. If you have any other issues with paid content, please reply to this email and we’ll get you fixed up. However, there is one audience I know will have some issues.
If you bought a paid Substack subscription to JOBS THAT WORK through the Apple App Store, I expect you will have to resubscribe through beehiiv’s system. I know there are several of you, but because of the way these various platforms don’t talk to each other, I can’t actually see all of you. Otherwise, I would’ve sent you a note in advance.
If you have an App Store subscription and just paid, send your receipt to [email protected] and I’ll comp you until your period is up. I’ve already done this for a couple folks. My apologies for the inconvenience, and I appreciate your subscription.
The good news? There’s a good chance you’ll be paying less for the newsletter here than you did through the App Store.
What’s this ‘Consulting’ link about on the new JTW site?
In addition to adding some cool stuff to the newsletter, the two parts of my business are finally moving into a new web home. I consult with clients on building better public policy around jobs, workforce grants, and other topics you read about in the newsletter.
I also do a significant amount of speaking these days. If you’re interested in bringing me to your event or webinar or conference, you can reach out to me through a form on the Consulting portion of this site.
You can learn more here if you are so inclined. I’ll also be setting up a storefront for quick-hit consultations in the near future.
Anything else?
Thank you again for your support and readership of JTW. It’s a crowded internet, and I appreciate that this community has a ton of passion for this newsletter.
Everything remains workforce.
We’re just doing everything better.
Come hear me talk AI and workforce at NAWB: The Forum in Vegas!
