From Digiday: “Newsletters are the darling of the digital media industry again. Publishers like Axios, Eater, The Guardian, theSkimm and Snopes are either growing or revamping their newsletter offerings, tailoring new emails to specific audiences with more personality-driven cont … | Continue reading
I’ve been writing a lot about AI lately for big tech companies. I don’t think any of it would surprise you anymore, except for the reverberations. Every Friday I see news releases about thousands being laid off in content-related business, while I hear nothing but great | Continue reading
Photo by Mick Haupt / Unsplash I blame David Lee Roth. A few years ago, the final studio album from Van Halen disappeared from streaming services. No one knew why. Even Wolfgang Van Halen didn’t know why at first. Then, in an interview much later he said, “I | Continue reading
What a month! Thanks so much for all the messages about the new book. For everyone who asked: yes, it will be available physically. I’m working on it now. Here are a few of the things I thought were worth sharing in the meantime. Dan Oshinsky of Inbox | Continue reading
Dan Oshinsky of Inbox Collective was nice enough to feature 15 of the 49 lessons in my new book today. I really love the community Dan has fostered around newsletters. Make sure to subscribe to his newsletter – the newsletter of record for newsletter publishers. | Continue reading
First, thank you to everyone who bought the new book over the past few weeks. After just one email, around 3% of you immediately bought the book — not clicked on — bought. That’s huge. Thank you so much! Like any book, there’s bound to be | Continue reading
My new book, Principles for Newsletters, condenses the most important lessons I’ve learned from 37 years of newsletter publishing down into 49 short principles. There's no fancy launch, special editions, courses, or workbooks. Just $5 for the ebook in every popular format. Square … | Continue reading
Back in July, I wrote about what I had learned from your feedback. It’s been a crazy half-year since. Discovery is really about re-discovery, right? Based on your replies and visits, these are the links that got the most attention in 2023. (I also sprinkled a few favorites | Continue reading
I get this question a lot.From Tim Stoddart’s personal newsletter:"I love newsletters. They are great businesses, I enjoy writing them, and they are lucrative. However, I’m still unsure about the format. I have two options…Do you prefer the lighthearted … | Continue reading
I think there’s still a place for books in 2023. I consider them the place for the “why.” Courses and posts cover the “how.” I’ve been privately updating my 2022 post 35 Lessons from 35 Years of Newsletter Publishing with new lessons, | Continue reading
Welcome to the best season. I’m feeling a bit silly — optimistic in a very contrarian way. I see nothing but pessimism in the press right now, and nothing but opportunity for creators with an indie spirit. That’s the tone for this issue’s set | Continue reading
Please allow me to relay a bit of old-man nerdery today: Look to the Bankers Box. When my mom died, and we had to move my dad out of his home of 50 years, I was tasked with salvaging as much of their documents, photos, and keepsakes as possible. They | Continue reading
There’s so much bad advice in content strategy, that no one bothers to talk about what is merely overrated advice. After decades of email marketing, copywriting, and content strategy, I’ve can confidently say that “social proof” gets too much attention. It’s important, | Continue reading
I can’t look at the news anywhere online without seeing threats being made by CEOs to their remote workers. It’s a thinly-veiled, insecure attempt to turn the clock back and save what’s left after their poor real estate decisions. I think it’s | Continue reading
In 1995, the band 311 had a hit with the song, Don’t Stay Home. Ever since, it has played in my head whenever I’m supposed to go out for an event and don’t feel like it. This happened last weekend. Consider it for your | Continue reading
This is not my usual newsletter day, but in the past few weeks, I’ve written a book, several guides, a course, and more articles than I can remember. I wish I could share them, but none had bylines. So, I figured I’d just randomly share some | Continue reading
Never meet your heroes, they say. Well, I met Nuno Bettencourt last week and he turned out to be a nice dude. Plus, he’s also the template for a well-lived creative life. For those who don’t know, Nuno is one of the last guitar gods | Continue reading
My favorite creative prompt. | Continue reading
When you’re burned out, in the 2pm slump, or not in the mood to “produce,” keep this in mind:It’s OK to not be productive all the time. Humans were likely designed for a 15-hour work week. Go a little easier on yourself.Know | Continue reading
If the resurgence of blogging and newsletters wants to remain sane, it should really be a resurgence of RSS.Email has new problem.For the longest time, I’ve advocated for publishing by email as the most independent, universal, and effective form of getting the word out about anyt … | Continue reading