newsletters
Read an Excerpt from Principles for Newsletters
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.
Behind-the-Scenes: Principles for Newsletters
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 questions about the choices
Principles for Newsletters
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 deal. WARNING! This book
Your favorite links of 2023
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 that
Everything is an essay.
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 and more entertaining style of
Easier books and handsome home screens
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, revisions, and research. It’s a
Personalization is creepy.
File these rules under “totally obvious advice that almost no one follows.” 1. Don’t be creepy. 2. Treat everyone online as if you’re talking to them in real life. 3. Long-term relationships build long-term businesses. 4. You are never automatically entitled to track a person. You wouldn’t
Thanks for the advice!
I don’t like analyzing personal newsletters. They’re whatever their creator wants them to be. There’s no rules. That goes for mine as well. But I am interested in looking back every year or two to check in on what you think. I don’t nitpick. I don’
Do Personal Brands Matter?
Many of you have asked me about the differences between personal and business newsletters, websites, and branding. There must be something in the air, because I’ve seen a lot of content spring up around the subject lately, including from Gary Vee, Seth Godin (in multiple new interviews), and Copyblogger.
Solitude Deprivation
Since I’m doing some editing and cleaning on my site, I figured it might be fun to do another link love issue. Enjoy! — CJ 1 Author Cal Newport explains the collected research on whether smartphones are bad for kids or just another moral panic. This was more even-handed than