---
aliases: ["November 2024"]
Is A: Month
Created at: "2024-11-28"
Belongs to: "[[24q4]]"
Rating: "😄"
---
# November 2024

## Focus

- Execute [[24q4-black-friday-campaign]] — the big push to 50k subscribers
- Ship [[24q4-sponsor-dashboard]] for sponsor self-service metrics
- Continue Laputa development ([[24q4-laputa-start]])

## Highlights

- [[24q4-black-friday-campaign]] was a massive success: 2,800 new subscribers in 10 days, 180 free-to-premium conversions, best campaign ever
- Newsletter crossed 50k subscribers on November 22nd — [[2024-reach-50k-subscribers]] achieved, two months ahead of my mental timeline
- Shipped [[24q4-sponsor-dashboard]] — sponsors can now see impressions, clicks, and conversion data in real-time — [[person-matteo-cellini]] reports dramatically fewer support emails
- Laputa ([[24q4-laputa-start]]) now has working search, type-based navigation, and basic frontmatter editing — using it for my own vault daily
- [[measure-sponsorship-mrr]] hit EUR 11.2k — November renewals came in strong
- Recorded end-of-year reflections episode for the podcast — raw and personal, felt right

## Reflections

Crossing 50k subscribers was the defining moment of the month. I remember refreshing the Substack dashboard at 11pm on a Friday, watching the number tick from 49,998 to 50,001. It sounds silly, but I actually teared up a little. Two years ago, 50k felt like a fantasy. The Black Friday campaign was the catalyst, but it only worked because of 11 months of consistent work before it.

The sponsor dashboard was [[person-matteo-cellini]]'s baby, and he executed it beautifully. Giving sponsors self-serve access to their data is the kind of product thinking that separates a media business from a newsletter. [[person-paco-furiani]] handled the backend automation — pulling data from Substack's API into a clean dashboard. Small team, big impact.

Laputa is becoming a real tool. I'm using it every day now, and the workflow of navigating my vault through types and relationships is already better than what I had in Obsidian. It's rough around the edges, but the bones are good. Heading into December with real momentum.
