Hi Reader, I started my email list years ago on MailChimp. I quickly discovered that monkey-branded piece of software is best for e-comm brands. I moved to Kit and spent dozens of hours testing parts of my newsletter, including subject lines, content formats, and segmentation. Oh, how I geeked out on segmentation. Most of these types of tests did little for my business. Take list segmentation It's a powerful strategy for some creators. But, it's also a black hole of hard work. I got sick and...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Most creators and business owners are chasing the latest AI tools and bots for content ideas. After dropping the kids off at school, I spend ten minutes reading an odd website from the 1990s: the Drudge Report. Matt Drudge set up the gossipy news aggregation website in 1995… before Google. It still attracts nearly one hundred million visitors every month. If you ever wasted hours agonizing over the look and feel of your newsletter or personal website, the Drudge Report looks the...
3 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I was weirdly obsessive about productivity for a few years. Name a productivity book or technique, and I’ve read or tried it. One man who has a good approach is author Nir Eyal. He wrote the book Indistratable a few years ago. When I interviewed Nir for my podcast, he explained the concept of timeblocking. Rather than keeping a mega to-do list that’s impossible to get through, schedule each part of your day based on what you want to work on. Don’t multi-task, either. When you get...
4 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, “Where can I get a job?” An email subscriber asked me that exact question last week. Some one of few words, they provided no context or information about who they are or what they offer. I get brief emails like these a few times a month. I love hearing from readers, but I can’t do much with these one-line questions. Are they looking for a job writing for my website? In that case, I stopped hiring over a year ago because I changed my business model… Do they want to know which big...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I was listening to a Tim Ferriss podcast while knocking out some deadlifts at the gym the other day. Tim interviewed the musician Jon Batiste. Before the podcast, I didn’t know much about Jon, as he’s not that big in Ireland. But I love interviews with superstar creatives. Halfway into the podcast, Jon told Tim: “People, whether creative or not… have two, maybe three ideas in life. We have two ideas that we are constantly refining, recreating, presenting. Refining, recreating,...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, A select group of wealthy Spaniards, who no doubt spend their days doom-scrolling on X, are buying bunkers at a steal in Madrid, Barcelona, and southern Spain. If you’re thinking of joining them in their underground boltholes, I hope you’ve got some spare wedge. A nuclear bunker retails for $50,0000+. And that’s for the barebones model. The bunkers measure eight metres by three metres and are fitted with a fresh oxygen supply, a gym, a kitchen, and beds. Built like a submarine...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I took an intensive non-fiction class in the Irish Writer’s Centre, in Dublin City, a decade ago. On the first night, our instructor, a cranky balding author from Texas, told us, “Don’t expect to make any money from writing. If that’s what you’re here for, I suggest you leave.” Some students, like me, nodded along. Most of us in the room loved putting one word after another. Associating money with writing felt like a taboo, and when a student walked out, the rest of us gasped. I...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I started writing these daily emails in April of this year. I did it because Google and AI changed how SEO works. If I’m honest, I was also sick of slamming keywords into over-optimized SEO posts and editing work by other writers. I also didn’t feel like I’d written anything personal or enjoyable since my last book. I’ve run an email list for years but treated it more like a broadcast tool. Here’s a post you’d like. Click the link so I can get traffic. That publishing model can...
10 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, A few days ago, I launched an insider Telegram channel. Each day, I share behind-the-scenes tips and insights to help you build a business with content. I’ll also talk about what’s working in my business, how I create content and what I’m doing. Telegram is my preferred method for this insider content as it’s private, and you don’t have to worry about sharing your phone number. I’m wary of over-relying on any app or service that comes from Zucks and co. In 2025, I plan to use my...
11 days ago • 1 min read