Portuguese is the second most popular language (by far!) on Buttondown

The partnership between this Manual do Usuário and Buttondown, a newsletter service, has been renewed for the second time. Buttondown will continue to sponsor the (Portuguese-only) directory of Brazilian newsletters and the (also in pt_BR) series of interviews with newsletter creators.

In the conversation to renew the partnership, Justin Duke, founder and CEO of Buttondown, revealed to me that Portuguese is “Portuguese is now by far our second most popular language or locale,” and that “I have to assume you [Manual] are a huge reason why.” I was flattered by the comment and pleased with the results!

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It’s also important to recognize Buttondown’s efforts to attract and retain so many Brazilians on the platform. Key parts of the interface with subscribers, such as the default message in the footer of the emails sent from there, are translated and adapted to our language. It’s such a tiny detail, but it matters a lot in a country when less than 10% can understand English.

The excellent support and the steady stream of great new features being implemented are also noteworthy.

I can be a bit picky about details, which is why I must be one of the customers who contacts Buttondown’s support the most. Justin himself and the reinforcements that joined the company in 2024 (hi Ben! Hi Steph! Hi Denise!) are very helpful and *always* respond to my emails with solutions for any issues and enabling the crazy ideas I propose. (I hope I haven’t caused too much trouble with my request for a plain text-only option 👀)

The Buttondown changelog is great for keeping up with what’s happening. Just in the last month, we gained a configurable firewall, visual cues for suspicious domains and IPs on the subscription list, automatic periodic export (which eliminated a recurring item from my to-do list), and the verticalization of the tracking infrastructure (my newsletter does not track clicks, only message opens). That’s quite a lot.

I just wanted to tell you that the partnership with Buttondown has been renewed and that Brazilian Portuguese is the second most popular language over there, and to thank Justin and the team for the lasting and fruitful partnership. Long live newsletters!