Questions, Questions
Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox. No clutter, no pop-ups asking for your acceptance of cookies to keep reading my scintillating prose, just information you need to know about the majors.
That said I know you have more questions…
Q: When does it arrive?
G.S.: Whenever I feel news, analysis and insight warrants. But there will be at least one weekly edition delivered to your inbox, typically on Thursday via Substack’s clean, simple and annoyance-free format.
Q: Why Thursdays?
A: Most inboxes are bombarded on Mondays and Tuesdays. Thursdays typically start the week’s professional tournament, meaning players have been asked a few major questions in pre-tournament press conferences. News has inevitably been made related to the impregnable quadrilateral and Thursdays seem like a good time to wrap up what it all means. Thursday reading will also make you just a little more informed for that weekend’s 19th hole banter (when those return at a safe distance). But this could change given reader feedback!
Q: What do I get for $5 per month or $49 a year?
GS: Emails from Geoff Shackelford delivered to your inbox featuring exclusive reporting, breaking news analysis, reminders of great tales from major’s past, upcoming venue analysis and much, much more. There will also be a few Q&A’s and podcasts throughout the year only for subscribers, as well as communal elements like a discussion group and meet-ups. Paid subscribers will also enjoy daily updates in the run-up to each of the big four. And the week of the major and for a day or two after? I guarantee you will hear from me first thing each morning with recaps and other insights.
Q: What does a founder get for $150?
GS: A special thank you from me that includes a small gift subscription for a friend. I’ll email you to ask for their email address. You’ll have to let them know it was on you. Plus, for the Founding membership you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you helped kick off a fresh approach to golf coverage that will hopefully free up other readers to take to Substack.
Q: Why now and why just men’s majors?
GS: It is quite exciting knowing I’m writing to an audience that loves these four events and can’t get enough of everything about them. Freed of the conflicts that weigh down coverage, or the need to treat non-majors with more weight than most deserve, I believe the Grand Slam events are under-served by today’s media coverage. Going forward, the majors will be the game’s biggest stars without equipment regulation that helps elite talent stand out better. I’m hopeful the newsletter will expand to include more than the men’s majors in 2022. But for this year, it’s the big four and the Ryder Cup.
Q: Why the newsletter format?
GS: Knowing I’m writing to an audience that loves these four events and can’t get enough of everything about the majors, frees me up to write for a smart, captive audience. Yes, newsletters are the “it” thing of the moment and I have been skeptical of their sustainability. But the reading experience and privacy protections have been deteriorating on all but a few websites. Newsletters increasingly make more sense and Substack is developing intuitive ways to make reading even more satisfying.
Q: What sold you on the viability of this format?
GS: I’m hooked after developing a (reading) relationship with other writers and select outlets via their newsletters. I’ve grown to see why these correspondences are giving writers new life while delivering their readers fresh enthusiasm for the written word. Even the newsletters just rounding up news and notes from major news operations are better in this format than reading Twitter or Facebook headlines. Plus, there is a certain satisfaction in knowing your hard-earned money is supporting writers instead of executives who only see golf coverage as their latest widget to brand, platform, brand-platform, sanitize and eventually destroy. So on that happy note, won’t you join me?
Q: Why wouldn’t I just surf the main golf sites or GeoffShackelford.com without getting another email or paying?
GS: You could, but The Quadrilateral will give you one clean, mobile or desktop-friendly reading experience. Deeper, sometimes unapologetically wonky topics will be addressed. But after putting up posts on a blog that has 16 or so years of archived material, I’ve increasingly felt limited by the “public” blog format. As the advertising world demands “content integration” and “influencer” elements, I’ve decided that world is not always freeing for me to address topics with readers. GeoffShackelford.com will continue but I’ll be picking major-related topics more carefully and focusing more than half my time on The Quadrilateral.
Q: Will there be a Quadrilateral community?
GS: I hope so. I’m not entirely ready to predict how it will evolve. Friends of the newsletter will get access to the Substack discussion group options that look like a super way to interact with other like-minded, intelligent fans of the majors. I’ll be open to ways that make it fun for all, so bear with me while I figure out the best ways to utilize this fast-evolving concept. In a post-pandemic year I hope to have at least one subscriber meet-up during major weeks.
Q: Will I get email offers and other reminders to buy stuff?
GS: The Quadrilateral email list will NOT be sold and cannot be shared with companies looking to sell product. I will not be sending out merchandise offers or reminders. Subscribers might—might—get an occasional coupon code included in the newsletter from a fitting partner that wants to reach the amazing Quadrilateral audience and whose product I like. There could be an offer for a second golf-related newsletter that is in the cards for regular Wednesday delivery (but first things first…).
Q: Will there be ads?
GS: No.
Q: Will you know that I subscribed?
GS: I will see email addresses, nothing else. You are not required to fill out a profile to subscribe for free. Did I mention it’s free? Now, if you are a golf executive who would rather I not know you paid for a subscription, use an alias email address. Those wonderful kids of yours, the ones you lean on for 18-34 year-old market analytics, can help you set up an address with a more clever name than you would have devised.
Q: How do I pay?
GS: Substack makes it incredibly easy and safe to pay. I recommend doing it on a mobile device for safety and simplicity. Monthly subscribers get notified each time they are charged.
Q: What happens after late July when The Open is played?
GS: There is always news related to the majors and plenty to review from the year. However, to ensure I’m “delivering value” (gulp) I’ll be covering an event we all love: the Ryder Cup set for this September at Whistling Straits.
