I always wanted a small space on my website where people could subscribe and stay connected. A simple newsletter signup. Nothing fancy. Just a clean way for readers to hear from me directly, without worrying about algorithms or platform reach.
But when I finally sat down to create it, I discovered something unexpected:
even simple things can turn into mini‑adventures.
The struggle I didn’t expect
Everything looked easy in my mind.
“Add a form, set up a popup, done.”
But reality had other plans.
The popup wouldn’t show.
The form link misbehaved.
The page threw weird errors that looked like mysterious puzzle codes.
And every time I refreshed the page, something new popped up (or didn’t pop up at all).
I’m not a developer, so each tiny issue felt like climbing a hill with slippers on.
But slowly, with patience, trial and error, and a lot of improvising, the whole thing fell into place.
The breakthrough
I finally got the signup form embedded on rakeshmen.com, added a smooth popup that appears only once in a while, and arranged everything so it works properly on mobile, desktop, and tablet.
The moment I saw the final version working perfectly, I felt a strange satisfaction.
Not because it was technically complex—it wasn’t.
But because I built something I once thought would need a professional.
Why I added City and Country fields
While creating the form, I added two small questions:
City and Country.
At first, they felt optional.
But then I realized how powerful they were.
Knowing where subscribers come from helps me understand:
• which regions enjoy analytics content
• where my dashboards resonate most
• how I can personalize insights in the future
• which areas might be ideal for meetups or workshops someday
It turns a simple email list into a more meaningful connection.
Why this newsletter matters to me
This newsletter isn’t for broadcasting random updates.
It’s my way of sharing practical learnings, real-life analytics experiences, dashboards I build, experiments I run, and ideas I’m exploring.
A place with no noise.
No algorithms.
Just real conversations with people who want to learn and grow.
A reminder for anyone building something
You don’t need expensive tools.
You don’t need to be a developer.
You don’t need to wait for the “perfect” setup.
Start small.
Make mistakes.
Fix them.
You’ll surprise yourself.
Setting up this newsletter taught me that even small things can become meaningful journeys.
And sometimes, those journeys teach us more than the final result.
You can check out the signup form on my site if you want to follow along.
But more importantly—don’t hesitate to start building your own little corner on the internet.
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