Every Monday, I micro case studies and BTS from our community for newsletter operators. Detailed breakdowns on Thursdays.
Tea from my life
Last week was anxious for me. I have put myself in a position where I could work before schedule (which is something I always wanted to do)
But now that I have time on my hands, prioritising and managing tasks feels difficult. I know the order of importance, but nothing is urgent so I’m always hopping tasks.
The solutions seem obvious in theory, but I am unable to put my mind to it.
Anyway, this is not really a “tea from my life”, but I just want to put out how I feel as a creator/solopreneur.
On a positive note, I met a friend after 6 months, posted a YouTube video, and hung out with my sister.
Analysis in 250 words
I am not really sure whether AI summaries will completely make readers skip newsletters, but I predict the behaviour will be similar to that of a book’s synopsis.
Readers will read summaries to decide if the complete edition is worth reading.
If your newsletter just shares information or curates resources, it will get harder to nurture your readers and establish trust or authority. Without nurturing, you’ll lose the advantage of email marketing.
How will your readers buy from you if they don’t know you enough?
Broader, generic solution is “Create quality content.”
But this is what quality content translates to:
Solid research = Specific names, numbers, facts, resources
Knowledge pack = What set of skills and experiences do you have that bring nuances to your sentences
Access = People, places, and data most of your audiences can’t get into
Visuals = Improve readability, help consume knowledge better with recall value, you can establish a brand. Plus memes.
Writing = Not just AI slop and grammar. Make it entertaining or personal. Drop some jokes, rants, opinions. Let the readers connect with the personality.
What you say (content/value) is evergreen.
How you say it (presentation) becomes key in the age of AI summaries.
Exercise: Feed one of your editions (500+ words) and ask LLMs to summarise it in 100 words or 10 bullet points.
Read the summary and ask yourself, “Why the f*ck would anyone read my long-form content over an easy, 100-word summary?”
Good first step.
Marketing resources shared in the community
Lenny took transcripts of all his podcasts and created a bot to answer questions about product and growth.
One-page strategy for LinkedIn:
On YouTube this week
I am breaking down singup pages of top newsletters. Last week, I talked about Milk Road and why its landing page is one of the best in business:
Hangouts
I am hosting a session on how to apply Alex Hormozi’s principles to newsletter marketing.
Full details and registration here.
How I spent my time across four newsletters
Published newsletters in AI, coffee, and content marketing niches
Published my first video. Took the soul out of me, but I'm finally on YouTube. I will share content about what I read, newsletter growth, and lifestyle vlogs.
Explored a new niche I want to get into. The idea is growing on me; I will create a plan for a 6-month test run and set a budget next.
Started running ads for Cognition, but ran into some trouble (don't know what). My ads are live, but not reaching anyone (like 0 people).
Caffeineletter grew by 113 subscribers last week. We are 1300+ now.
Personal: Watched The Pitt, F1, Eko. Only 2x workouts. 37788 steps.
Last week was unorganised and chaotic. The entire point is to achieve peace by building good systems. Clearly, a long way to go.
I use Rize to track my time.
If you choose the same, use code: VIKRA for 25% off.
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Love,
Vikra.