We interviewed Tim Casperson, the writer behind The Hotshot Wake Up, who worked as a wildfire firefighter for 12 years before starting his Substack. Tim talks about filling a void in his industry, speaking to those on the front line, and hosting a podcast on Substack.
Appreciate the encouraging words about moving ahead with the podcast! Also, super impressive paid-to-free subscriber ratio. Any insight into how you've converted so many?
First of all, thank you for your service, Tim -- as a former volunteer firefighter, I know how extremely hard your work is. I live in New Mexico, and earlier this year we had the worst wildfires ever. Many hotshots were there 24/7. And I appreciate your comment about listening to one's own voice. I've been recording some of my posts but was so disgusted with my voice that I didn't pursue podcasts any further. I'll give it another try.
"What questions do you have for Tim that we didn’t ask?"
Hi Tim, The Daily Beagle here. I looked over your Substack to get a feel for the sort of articles, and noticed something that caught my interest. You mention you have thousands of paying subscribers and thousands of free, however your articles seem to average roughly 10 to 20 likes. Why do you think this is?
This is amazing. Especially for those of us in California. (But everywhere, really.) My first thought was: We need the same thing but from a cop. Right? Wouldn't that help heal some wounds, by showing what it's like from an insider's POV? Maybe not; it might just make the "dialogue" (mud-slinging) worse. Firefighting may be the last frontier of non-racialized chaos. (Or am I wrong? Did this already start?)
Anyway, this is clearly a very important Substack and podcast, especially as climate change worsens over the years and decades. I'm not surprised by the interest in it. I will definitely subscribe. My folks almost lost their home in Ojai in 2017 during the Thomas Fire. Terrifying.
amazing niche
Appreciate the encouraging words about moving ahead with the podcast! Also, super impressive paid-to-free subscriber ratio. Any insight into how you've converted so many?
Respect
First of all, thank you for your service, Tim -- as a former volunteer firefighter, I know how extremely hard your work is. I live in New Mexico, and earlier this year we had the worst wildfires ever. Many hotshots were there 24/7. And I appreciate your comment about listening to one's own voice. I've been recording some of my posts but was so disgusted with my voice that I didn't pursue podcasts any further. I'll give it another try.
Nice niche. Straight forward no-nonsense advice is both refreshing and encouraging.
Thanks Substack for this one. (Now back to writing for my zero audience lmfao)
"What questions do you have for Tim that we didn’t ask?"
Hi Tim, The Daily Beagle here. I looked over your Substack to get a feel for the sort of articles, and noticed something that caught my interest. You mention you have thousands of paying subscribers and thousands of free, however your articles seem to average roughly 10 to 20 likes. Why do you think this is?
This is amazing. Especially for those of us in California. (But everywhere, really.) My first thought was: We need the same thing but from a cop. Right? Wouldn't that help heal some wounds, by showing what it's like from an insider's POV? Maybe not; it might just make the "dialogue" (mud-slinging) worse. Firefighting may be the last frontier of non-racialized chaos. (Or am I wrong? Did this already start?)
Anyway, this is clearly a very important Substack and podcast, especially as climate change worsens over the years and decades. I'm not surprised by the interest in it. I will definitely subscribe. My folks almost lost their home in Ojai in 2017 during the Thomas Fire. Terrifying.
Keep up the good work, Tim!
Michael Mohr
"Sincere American Writing"
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
I would
Like to know if we still fell trees in the American forest ? Seems like would would have less fires.
Nice to see how this is working well in what is a very niche area.