---
aliases: ["Q3 2024"]
Is A: Quarter
Created at: "2024-07-01"
Belongs to: "[[2024]]"
Has: ["[[24q3-premium-tier]]", "[[24q3-codemotion-talk]]", "[[24q3-summer-reading-sprint]]", "[[24q3-podcast-season-2]]", "[[24q3-new-sponsor-verticals]]"]
Status: Done
---
# Q3 2024

## Focus

Q3 was about diversifying revenue and expanding reach. The premium tier launch was the biggest bet — adding a paid subscription layer on top of the free newsletter. I also committed to a speaking slot at Codemotion and kicked off Season 2 of the podcast. On the personal side, summer meant a reading sprint and Maratona dles Dolomites.

## Highlights

- Launched [[24q3-premium-tier]] with deep-dive case studies, templates, and a monthly AMA — 320 paid subscribers in the first 6 weeks
- Delivered [[24q3-codemotion-talk]] on "Scaling Engineering Culture" to ~400 attendees — led to 3 inbound sponsor inquiries and a burst of new subscribers
- Completed [[24q3-summer-reading-sprint]]: read 8 books in July-August including "An Elegant Puzzle", "Team Topologies", and "The Ride of a Lifetime"
- Recorded and shipped [[24q3-podcast-season-2]] (episodes 13-24) — introduced guest interviews, with [[person-sara-ricci]] helping coordinate guests
- Opened [[24q3-new-sponsor-verticals]] targeting DevOps tooling and cloud platforms, expanding beyond the original developer tools niche
- Newsletter hit 46k subscribers — [[2024-reach-50k-subscribers]] within reach
- Completed Maratona dles Dolomites in 9h15m — [[2024-complete-two-gran-fondos]] achieved
- [[measure-podcast-downloads]] reached 8k/month, nearly 4x since launch

## Reflections

The premium tier launch taught me a lot about pricing psychology. I initially set it at EUR 8/month, then bumped to EUR 12/month after the first week when conversion was higher than expected. The people who pay aren't price-sensitive — they want signal, not savings. The AMA calls turned out to be the most valued feature, which I didn't expect. Hearing directly from engineering leaders about their challenges gives me better content ideas than any amount of keyword research.

Codemotion was a turning point for visibility. Speaking on stage to 400 people, then having a line of folks wanting to chat afterward — it hit me that Refactoring had become a real brand, not just "Luca's newsletter." Three sponsors reached out within a week of the talk. [[person-matteo-cellini]] converted two of them.

Finishing Maratona was the personal highlight of the year. The Dolomites are otherworldly — Passo Giau at dawn, with the peaks turning pink, was one of those moments where you forget about pace and just exist. Both gran fondos done, [[2024-complete-two-gran-fondos]] checked off. The [[24q3-summer-reading-sprint]] kept me intellectually fueled during the quieter August weeks. Heading into Q4 feeling strong on all fronts.
