Hi Reader, For a few years, I was a content strategist for a Fintech. One of my projects was improving a newsletter for small business owners. The newsletter enjoyed a lousy 5% open rate. The back of a cereal box was more engaging than the boring product content inside the newsletter that a developer banged out between coding sessions. So, we stripped out the boring product content and started sending customer stories and how-to guides. And open rates slowly climbed towards 20%. My open rates...
1 day ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, My email list is the center of my business. When I write an article and want someone to read it…I email my list. When I publish a YouTube video and want someone to watch it …I email my list. When I’ve a new offer and I want someone to buy it…I email my list. When I’m launching a book and I want someone to order it…I email my list. When I’ve simply something to say, write about or share… I email my list! My email list is more valuable than my social media accounts and even my...
3 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, For a few years, I loved slapping a few Irish sausages inside some toasted white bread… particularly if I was hungover. Now, I’d rather rub lemons in my eyeballs than stuff one of those monstrosities down my gullet. I watched a YouTube video showing how sausage makers put their artery-clogging meat bags together. A sausage maker grinds up the, yes, intestines of cows, chickens and pigs. Then, they douse the mix with salt to hide the taste. Lots of salt. (Fun fact: the word sausage...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, You know you’re running a creator business when you collect SaaS subscriptions like they’re going out of stock. That said, I use this time of the year to buy anything I’ll use for the next 12 months. If that’s you, I’ve compiled a list of Cyber Monday deals and courses for writers and content creators. Grammarly 50% off all plans. I use Grammarly to edit my content. I also sometimes use its AI writing assistant. I’m a big fan of its ability to rewrite multiple sentences at a click....
5 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, A Scottish dairy farmer is selling the UK’s most expensive cup of coffee. You can buy a flat white from him for a whopping $344. That’s over 80 times the price of a regular cup of coffee in the UK. Why would anyone spend this much on their morning beverage? Well, you’re not just investing in a morning pick-me-up. Bruce Cunningham is selling shares in a crowdfunding Mossgiel Organic Dairy campaign to produce more milk. He wants to expand his operation out of Scotland to sell organic...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, The world's largest captive crocodile, Cassius, died in Greenland, Australia, earlier this month. Croc experts say Cassius lived for a whopping 120 years. That’s a good inning for anyone, never mind a hungry croc. Now, I’ve always had an odd fear of crocodiles. I love open-water swimming, and the idea of wading into a lake only to be pulled under by an 18-foot saltwater monster terrifies me. Am I irrational? Certainly. I live In a leafy Irish town 1000s of miles from the nearest...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I ran a 60-minute live webinar on Zoom yesterday morning, The Minimalist CEO’s Guide to LinkedIn. In the webinar, I explained how to write organic content for LinkedIn and other platforms with a group of creators, entrepreneurs, and business owners. A few writers who provide ghostwriting services had questions, too. I also showed you should and shouldn’t use AI for your business. Now, some US readers of this newsletter wrote in from the United States to say: A. It’s Thanksgiving...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Later this morning, I’m running a webinar you’ll like: The Minimalist’s CEOs Guide to LinkedIn: High Impact Strategies for Business Entrepreneurs. Normally, I charge for workshops but this one won’t cost you anything. Even if you’re not active on LinkedIn, log on if you’ve an hour free. We can chat live about your content strategy. Register here
9 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Tomorrow, I’m running a webinar you’ll like: The Minimalist’s CEOs Guide to LinkedIn: High Impact Strategies for Business Entrepreneurs. Normally, I charge for workshops, but this one won’t cost you anything. I’ll cover A simple but effective way you can use AI to plan and ideate your content… without sounding inauthentic How to build a library of content assets you can easily repurpose A simple strategy for growing your LinkedIn account and email list… on autopilot Even if you...
10 days ago • 1 min read