How to Maximize a Bite-Sized Bison Subscription during the 2024 Season
Prepare for the 2024 Indiana Football season with BSB by taking these steps!
Kickoff is just 16 days away, and several Bite-Sized Bison subscribers have reached out about how to maximize their subscriptions during the 2024 season. There are several resources and plentiful information swirling around (on a new platform, in Substack, too), and I’ve kept this in mind during the offseason months.
Take these steps to ensure you are seeing all of the content BSB is putting out this season:
1. Ensure that you are a paying subscriber.
Bite-Sized Bison was recently recognized by Substack for being a “Bestseller,” meaning it eclipsed the 100 paid subscribers mark, which is not an easy feat for most email newsletters (thanks to all of you!). Those 100+ subscribers have access to every piece of content created by BSB, while the nearly 900 free subscribers have limited access.
This means paid subscribers have access to all of the following:
All newsletter posts
Full access to the BSB Chat (see more on this below)
Comment on paid posts, participate in reader polls, qualify for small promotions
All BSB Free Resources (see more on this below)
Free subscribers have access to:
Short previews of paid newsletter posts
Occasional free posts (like this one)
Limited access to the BSB Chat
All BSB Free Resources (see more on this below)
2. Keep an eye on your email’s inbox!
This is the primary way to consume BSB content. Every newsletter goes directly to your email’s inbox. You might see BSB content in other places (like Twitter or other boards), but every newsletter will be in your inbox.
The goal for BSB is not to produce as much content as possible but to produce the highest quality of content as possible, so when you open a BSB newsletter, you know you’re getting the hits.
During the season, BSB is aiming to release three newsletters per week:
A Game Day Roundup released as close to the end of the games as possible (morning after at times, depending on the game)
A Weekly Recap after most games in each week’s slot are completed
A Weekly Preview before the next game
These will continue to be statistically driven with my commentary and analysis offering context.
3. Download the Substack app (or bookmark the BSB Chat room on your browser).
Substack allows creators to open a very modest message board called the Chat. For BSB, I’ve been posting some recruiting analysis and pieces of news (reported by others, not me) as well as pieces of content football fans might find interesting, like Sean McVay’s interview with The Athletic recently or a recent episode of CrimsonCast. This is also an easy way for me to communicate with subscribers, especially if I email BSB Chat messages to your email inboxes.
By downloading the Substack app, you will be notified when I or someone else posts into the BSB Chat so you can participate in the conversation. Paid subscribers can start their own threads in the Chat as well. It takes a short amount of time to adjust to, but by the end of non-conference season, we should be firing on all cylinders!
4. Remember BSB’s resources.
Before I get into these resources, just know that they are all linked at the top of every BSB email newsletter. Seriously, if you’re reading this as an email, scroll to the top of this email, and you’ll see the links just above the headline.
They can also be accessed on BSB’s website. Here is a short description for each of the resources:
BSB Chat: The modest message board discussed in #2.
BSB Free Resources: Scholarship Chart, Depth Chart, the Snap Counts document, and the Assistant Salary Pools document all in one place
Archive: Where every BSB newsletter is housed. If you missed one (or want to check if you missed one), click the archive to see every newsletter written for BSB.
Website: Click the banner logo at the top to access BSB’s website, if need be.
5. Read through BSB’s offseason content
A lot happened this offseason! BSB did a ton of work to contextualize it all, from Tom Allen’s departure to the Curt Cignetti hire to the construction of the 2024 roster (and even looking ahead to the 2025 roster!).
Here are some of the highlights. If you read these, you will be prepared for the 2024 season:
Indiana hires Curt Cignetti (Nov. 30, 2023)
Bob Bostad’s Magic Touch on the 2023 Offensive Line (Dec. 3, 2023)
Kurtis Rourke Commits to Indiana (Dec. 14, 2023)
IU Staff Salaries See Major Glow Up (Mar. 8, 2024)
Will Indiana Finally get a Pass Rush from its Defensive Line? (March 16, 2024)
Jacob Mangum-Farrar Transitions to Stud (April 2, 2024)
Spring Game Recap (April 19, 2024)
DT is Suddenly Encouraging (May 8, 2024)
Indiana’s 5.5 Win Total Line, Concerns at CB (May 16, 2024)
Forecasting the 2024 Indiana Defense (May 22, 2024)
Kurtis Rourke and Experience among Big Ten QBs (June 3, 2024)
Indiana’s 2024 Incoming Transfers, Ranked (June 17, 2024)
Julian Lewis at the Elite 11 Finals (June 26, 2024)
2024 Position Preview: Running Backs (July 9, 2024)
A Peak at the 2025 Roster (July 15, 2024)
Big Ten 2024 Preseason Poll (July 26, 2024)
2024 Position Preview: Wide Receivers (Aug. 1, 2024)
Additionally: Bison Bites had 6 installments late this offseason, and I did a massive data visualization project on Caitlin Clark as well, if that’s your jam.
6. Rate and Review Bite-Sized Bison
Whether you’re a recent subscriber or a long-time subscriber, I love hearing from folks who’ve consumed BSB content (positive and negative). At the page linked by button below, feel free to leave an anonymous rating in the poll or even leave a written review.
Please do not be shy! I know a lot of this is new, and it’s grown quickly. If you have any questions or there is general confusion, please leave a comment here or send me a message (see buttons below), and I’ll do my best to help.