A Patreon, a New Newsletter, and a Site Redesign

It’s been a while since I wrote on legal nomads. When people ask how I’m doing, I start saying, “I’m doing the best I can.” What else can we all do? These are very unusual, extreme times, and honestly I’m just impressed with the person who makes it through at least once every day without cracking.

While I’m not writing much here, I is Working on some really rewarding stuff (20 minutes standing up!

1. I have launched my Patreon.

Many of you have asked about ways to support me at a time when I can’t physically function the way I used to. Patreon is a great way to do this.

I released my Patreon to the world in the last week of February. For those unfamiliar with Patreon, it’s a membership platform that allows people to sign up to receive updates, behind-the-scenes videos, private podcasts and more from their favorite creators, writers, or artists. Many of you in this community have suggested that I start one, and in my little work addition I was able to get it up and running.

Many of my travel blogging colleagues have started one, but my Patreon is a little different than usual, because it Support only. So instead of each level offering more rewards for what you sign up for, each level in my campaign has the same access and benefits as the others. But! Unlike many support-only Patreons, it still has fun stuff (below), because there’s still a lot of fun stuff I can provide in my limited state.

I’ve structured it this way because pain limits my daily output so much that I’d rather be absolutely sure I can deliver on what I promise, versus making high financial grades and breaking that promise.

It is an amazing feeling to have a community of people from faraway places asking for my help. I’ve also reached out to artists and photographers, to provide monthly supplies that I can add to the tiers—mostly bird-related or soup-related, whichever feels right!

The launch video is below. The Patreon page is here. At the time of writing we are up to about 170 people.

Although this is just a support Patreon, everyone gets a bunch of rewards!

• Your name on Legal Nomads’ Patreon thank you page.
• Thank you post for your name on Instagram.
• Quick access to podcast details, Legal Gypsy site redesign and news.
• Ability to vote on future episode titles for the podcast.
• Monthly video or audio AMAs on Patreon, as my health permits. You can send questions that I will answer.
• Short videos with updates about the podcast, redesign, and any other updates in the Legal Nomads universe.
• Supporting me with a stable income at a time where I am physically unable to work as I used to.
• A thank you photo of one of your grade birds, Bob, Fiona, or Arthur (these are the birds in the header of this post – I love them so much.)

I may add advanced levels with specific rewards later. As I mentioned above there are fun things in the works too.

I just saw it on the page, but here’s how I plan to use the funds:

• Funding my operating expenses so I can keep my websites and projects up to speed.
• Contributing to the launch and production of my new podcast, which will allow me to create and share content with you through a more manageable medium given my current situation.
• Helping me convert my blog posts about chronic illness into audio form so that they are more accessible to others (I will hire a sound engineer to do this).
• Redesigning Legal Nomads to include a new homepage, logo, and site flow that reflects my current state.
• General support for me as I navigate this new, limited, lifestyle.

A big thank you to the following wonderful peoplewho took the time and energy to preview the page, the video, and provide feedback along the way for this big launch (including several testing of the banner image on mobile efforts): Ella Frances Sanders, Audrey Scott, Kathryn Beaudry, Christopher Nowakowski, Dylan Heck, Derek Earl Jet McCall, Derek Earl Giotti, McCall III Bethencourt De França, Mike Sowden, Reine Gammoh, Shannon O’Donnell, Tasha Mary, and Tim Van Der Linden.

A new newsletter

I mentioned in my last (August 2020) post that I would be restarting my newsletter on Substack. I did this because there was a time when I wasn’t able to work, and Substack offers free until you charge for your newsletter (at which point they take a percentage). Since I always planned for my newsletter to be free, it made sense to change that.

I’ve done three so far and they follow the lines of my previous links to what I like: some music about a topic of interest, personal updates, the best reads from around the web this month. The next one comes out at the end of February.

If you were among the links I liked, I brought you to the substack. If you think you were but haven’t received a new post, please check your spam folders on February 28th! And if you’re interested in getting it, please sign up below.

You can check out the archives here first.

A legal nomads redesign

This site no longer reflects the person I am, or the life I lead. I love it, and I’ve enjoyed writing on it all these years through iterations and redesigns, but it’s just not me anymore.

This time the colors, logo and layout are going to change. I don’t intend to change too A lot given my limited bandwidth but will start with the basics: home page, some category flow, and about page and basic text.

Also changing? slogan I am no longer telling stories through food. I’m not a legal nomad either, but here I am 12 years later. I am Stick to the domain. The new slogan is curious about everything, as is the newsletter. The main theme color will be green blue below. I’ve also chosen a mascot, a crow I’ve named Arthur, because corvids, like this community, are extremely curious.

The main page will still have the same categories, but the question will ask, “What are you curious about today?” to browse them. Other than that and the look and feel of the home page, I may do a little bit but the content from the last decade will remain. I’m excited for a site that reflects a little more of my current mindset, though of course curiosity is what drove my life’s journey.

Podcast Progress

I’ve never been one of those “I’ll write 4000 words every morning” people. Unless I was under deadline, my writing had the same thrill as my travel: when inspiration struck, I pounced. And then I basically went wild. When the nagging, “I need to write” feeling kicked in, I knew I needed to stock up on snacks, take a shower now, and cancel plans with friends. I would forget to eat, live, and do everyday things. Writing is all over.

It sounds crazy, I’ll tell you that, but it worked for me because I never knew where the writing journey would take me. I’ve never sat down before sitting down at my laptop, but I find partial pleasure in the process of my mind wandering.

(Matter: I just got up to write this post, and realized I missed something I was supposed to do at 8pm… because I got lost in writing.)

My point here is that the act of writing itself is a big part of what makes me feel creative and alive, and it has been very difficult not to have that in my life. I’ve found that voice-to-text doesn’t bring me the tingles I need, and there aren’t other places for my CSF to leak. So as I said in my 12 Years of Legal Gypsy post, I’m going to move on to a podcast instead.

The podcast was going to be called Ask a Jodi, but I’ve changed the name to “The Way Through” – because at its core, it’s a podcast about going through life’s ups and downs. If you have topics you’d like me to cover, I’d love to hear from you! Email me at jodi-@-legalnomads.com or via my contact page. So far, I have a list that I have kept of your questions, including how to be more flexible, how to worry less, and how to sleep better.

That’s it for now! Thank you for all your support, love, and encouragement as I go through this difficult time. I hope you stay safe and well.

xo
pair