Do You Like Apples Turns 5!
The state of DYLA on our 5th anniversary
On February 15, 2019, I nervously clicked “Publish” on Billy and I’s very first newsletter, and Do You Like Apples was born. Largely through our shared passion for all things movies, we had become friends. (We knew each other in college, but it wasn’t until we ran into each other at the movie theater, both going solo to see Phantom Thread, that we recognized a fellow weirdo cinephile.) I think it was Billy who first had the idea to turn that into something collaborative to share with people. We met at a brewpub on a cold January 2019 day to watch the NFL playoffs and figure out what this thing could be.
Five years and hundreds of recommended movies later, much has changed with DYLA. We’ve moved beyond only recommending stuff on streaming services. We have a bigger following than just our family and friends. We’ve been fortunate enough to meet and collaborate with other movie lovers online and in our local St. Louis area. We have a podcast now!
But a lot is still the same about that original Do You Like Apples vision. Our newsletter model is still to recommend a couple movies, arranged around a certain theme, to you every week. Sure, we’re always trying different content ideas, like new movie reviews, rankings, awards season coverage, and more. We keep dedicating our time and energy to this because we simply love recommending and discussing movies with you all.
So, whether you’re a day one follower or you just subscribed last week wondering what in the world this is, we appreciate you. Thank you for reading, listening, commenting, sharing, and engaging with Do You Like Apples. It’s a special thing to share one of your passions with other people. We welcome your feedback, positive and negative, to help make this thing better and better.
(Note: You can find our entire archive here. Five years worth of content!)
What’s the future look like for DYLA? I think we’ll have more to share on that later, but for now I’ll just say we have exciting ideas for the newsletter and podcast, both in the immediate future and long-term.
And that’s where you come in. To find a wider audience, we’re asking for your help by doing one (or all) of the following:
Subscribe to the newsletter if you haven’t! It’s free!
Pledge to become a paid subscriber. We are considering adding more weekly content exclusive to those who pay for our work on Substack. Let us know if that’s something that would be valuable to you.
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify.
Follow us on Instagram, X, and Letterboxd.
Like, comment, and share our posts and podcast episodes online. Every little bit of engagement helps us.
Send one of our newsletters or podcast episodes to a friend. You can’t beat word of mouth.
Thank you so much for subscribing to Do You Like Apples and for celebrating our 5th birthday! We’ll be back in your inbox next week with more movie content!