The Scribbling Club
It’s a club by writers, for writers of all kinds and types in Denver, Colorado. We meet once per month and spend time with a writing prompt, then talk about our writing goals.
From the participant’s perspective, it’s quite straightforward. From the perspective of the Club Facilitator (that’s Kaitlynn), for a few reasons. Let’s talk about the project, its challenges and iterations, and an honest opinion of every marketing resource tried along the way.
The project
Conversations at The Molly Brown House Museum turned towards hobbies during a slower afternoon of Kaitlynn’s volunteering. Writing came up, right along with the admission that it’s tough to find the time or stick to one’s writing goals.
That’s when the idea for The Scribbling Club was planted. It was named by its Co-Founder, Jody Pritzl, and quickly established for a group of up to about a dozen writers at a time to meet once per month.
But the needs didn’t stop with just having the club, and so other ideas were quickly planted as well: maybe an online version of the club? Maybe an automated goal-setting system? This is where the trouble began.
The challenges and iterations
Quite frankly, most of the challenges exist or existed because of the expectations of the Club Facilitator—being in marketing and around creatives for so long tends to put one’s standards at a level that’s hard to maintain without trying a few things first.
An honest opinion of some common marketing resources
Admittedly, the following section is simply a documentation of the experiences encountered while attempting to do everything that’s possible without requiring a budget. In other words, what can you do for free with these tools?
At the base level, of course, a free version typically means you’re going to be dealing with their company’s watermark and likely a URL with the company name in it—i.e., Wordpress.thescribblingclub.com, which was the OG URL for this club, and where this review starts.
Wordpress
Why i tried it
Low price, easy to use app.
Why i abandoned it
Design functions were too basic.
Mailchimp
Why i tried it
I’ve used it before and wanted to give it another go.
Why i abandoned it
Cost and limited inclusion with external marketing factors.
Squarespace
Why i tried it
I’ve been using the platform since 2014 and tend to find myself returning to it.
Why i stuck with it
Ease of use with an almost comical simplicity to managing multiple aspects of the Club.
Hubspot
Why i tried it
I used the platform in a previous role and wanted to see what the free features were like.
Why i abandoned it
It’s incredibly limited, unless you’re willing to pay. The basic features are very basic and easier to use on other platforms.