One Year of Sourdough Growth
You'll never guess which channel grew the most~
Dearest Bakers, Aspiring Bakers, and Bread-eaters alike:
Jordan here of Mooon Bread, again! Another year of this lil sourdough operation, which means I’ve been delivering this to you monthly for 1 year. Some of you are new, some are foundational. Thank you all for the support and feedback.
As promised at the outset, let’s take stock on many things Mooon Bread. But first, remember that:
The vision of Mooon Bread is:
EVERY HOME IN THE WORLD DESERVES THE ABILITY TO BAKE NATURALLY-LEAVENED BREAD
And I, with your support, am on a mission in light of that vision:
Mooon Bread’s mission:
TEACH 9,999 PEOPLE HOW
I’m still not opposed to going door to door. And thankfully it has yet to come to that.
“Have you heard of bread?”
But really. Here’s where we were a year back in terms of quantifiable homes reached:
INSPIRED: ~1
OFFSPRING OF DEZ: ~50
VIRTUAL STUDENTS: ~12
EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: 56
IN-PERSON STUDENTS: ~250
ON-DEMAND VIDEO SALES: 0
TWITTER FOLLOWERS: 51
FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS: 145
INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS: 1,355
At that point we we could point to directly reaching at least 1,920. 19%. Now, over five years in, here’s where we are.
INSPIRED: This is more than 1, but also is tricky to tally. Dropping it for now.
OFFSPRING OF DEZ: >150. (+100+)
I can tally a lot of these, not all. It is well over 150, but let’s say this at the moment. Next time I might have a more complete number. I have been mailing out a lot of Dez Dust, with rehydration instructions. LMK if you want to buy some by replying here (free for paid subscribers).
VIRTUAL STUDENTS: 32. (+20)
I’m combining video sales with those I teach directly online official classes, as that typically includes me answering a few questions, etc., similar to a live course. If you purchase or rent the video and have ANY questions at all, or if you’d like to schedule a virtual class, just reply here. There is so much more I can do to package and market this video I put so much into. One is to build out my website. Another is to share snippets. A third is to make sure to get reviews and share photos of what early students are baking via its instructions.
EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: 434. (+378)
Wow. At least half of you I met in person in some way. Thank you for trusting me to deliver sourdough value to your inbox. And an extra huge thanks to the first little wave of paid subscribers - I have two really neat things coming your way as the next premium benefits. Your requests are always welcome. Thanks to all those who have shared this with others :)
IN-PERSON STUDENTS: 422. (+184)
Admittedly this email is delayed to you as tallying even this number precisely is a little tricky. The preparedness fair for example had ~70 seats, but 116 email signups, and my session was standing room only. It was an abbreviated class, but all got active starter and the digital instruction doc, and a few have reached out with bread pictures, so I know it stuck for a few. One came up to the full workshop (and is baking great!) It is at least 422, likely a bit higher.
TWITTER FOLLOWERS: 176. (+125)
This is just the @mooonbread Twitter, which is mainly resharing my main account, @yorudan. I’m not counting @yorudan followers as there are heaps of carryovers from music days, etc. Most serious bakers I connect with and inspire make their way to the Mooon Bread one eventually.
FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS: 227. (+82)
This is mainly reposts of Instagram. This has so much potential as the FB sourdough groups are wildly active, I just don’t have the stomach for FB. Perhaps this next year will lead to an organic in. I’ll let you know.
INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS: 1,566. (+211)
This was the foundation of my workshop and community for so long. It is still solid, but I’m not there much. A lot more on Twitter. I’m not saying the strategy is right, but until someone gifts me some Meta Raybans for hands-free live-streaming, I don’t reckon I’ll do much more than share post-class photos and the occasional story. I have loved the account takeovers past students have done - check out the highlights. Some rich content right there. If you’d like to do a takeover, reply here.
THREADS FOLLOWERS: 278. (all new)
This is new. Heavily overlaps with IG. Mainly reposts from there. However, I can see there is a lot of sourdough activity, and I’m getting slow stream of new followers. Much more than Twitter. I’ll fiddle a bit more. If you found your way to this newsletter from there, please LMK.
TIKTOK FOLLOWERS: 55. (all new)
This is new this last year. I’ve shared a dozen or so videos there, with various responses. Huge potential, but also need to those Raybans before I ever do anything consistently here.
LINKEDIN FOLLOWERS: 75. (all new)
I know what you’re thinking. Pick a lane, and this isn’t it. But the corporate classes I’ve done have been rewarding. The logistics are cleaner and therefore the margins are better and the potential feels huge. Whether I’ll get them via LI or not, we shall see. But anybody who has linked to me to try to sell me something over the years is for sure getting invited to get some sourdough added to their job posting feeds ;)
YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBERS: 2. (and one of them is myself)
Many of my TikToks were shared here as shorts. Some get similar views. But they don’t yield subscribers. Once again: smart glasses.
Reddit is at zero. It will probably stay there. Nothing on Twitch. I should list my video course on Udemy, etc. So much is possible, but I’ve got some fun things in the works. I’m stoked about the accomplishments and connections and bakes of the year. Both yours and mine. Keep sharing the photos out. I use Dez the AI sourdough assistant on a daily basis. I finally launched my course. I’ve done an in-person class in a new state. I’ve set up discounts to share along with you for a variety of tools.
But what is the total!?
All those classes and followers and starters add up to: 3,417. (+1497)
Or approximately 34% of the way to accomplishing the mission of Mooon Bread. ONE-THIRD!
It is more involved and goes deeper than getting 10k followers in IG. It isn’t about tracking the exact impact and ripple effect of it all. It is the journey. It is the connections and growth and learnings and flavours. It is the understanding of the science and the why sourdough tastes so good and is the best bread for our bodies. For now, I’ll tally each follower and subscriber and student as someone I’ve taught or at least helped teach or inspire on their own sourdough journey.
There is so much I want to share with you all, and I will continue to do so in a variety of formats. This newsletter has become the heartbeat of Mooon Bread. Pay attention here and I’ll give you all the gold I find.
Enjoy your bakes.
-Jordan
Oh, and PS:
How to make your starter and bakes more or less sour:
