When people subscribe to my newsletter, I invite them to tell me about their work and offer to help them.
Many reply.
And then I reply back with suggestions for them.
To build a relationship with an audience, you have to care.
This is what caring looks like in my inbox.
Now, on to this week’s ideas…
1. Hell Yeah Or No: What’s Worth Doing
“Do something for love and something for money. Don’t try to make one thing satisfy your entire life.”
I just finished reading a great book and thought I’d share with you some excerpts that jumped out at me.
My summary of Derek Sivers’ Hell Yeah or No: What’s Worth Doing includes observations that may change the way you think about habits, goals, and the start (or end) point of your creations.
Related: How to use a “No” template to make it easier to say no.
2. How To Write An Essay Well
“One of my favorite writing tricks is to only write my introduction. Then I hand it to friends and ask: ‘After reading this, what do you really want the rest of this article to cover?’”
There’s zero chance you won’t find at least one useful bit of advice in this one because it’s a deep dive into writing.
Julian Shapiro’s guide on how to write an essay well covers how to identify what to write about, generate insights on your topic, and how to rewrite for clarity, flow, and intrigue.
There’s even a cheat sheet.
Btw, I found this article in The Weekly Thing newsletter.
Related: 40 one-sentence writing tips.
3. How To Grow Your Email List With A High-Converting Free Offer
“When we’re creating an opt-in, people want something that won’t take long to implement.”
Don’t let the headline fool you — this is no generic advice video.
In a four-minute video, Dana Malstaff explains how to grow your email list with a high-converting free offer and shares a step-by-step approach you can follow to do so.
It includes how to brainstorm your offer idea, validate it with your audience, and what to put on your signup page to make sure it converts.
Related: This is how I survey my audience.
4. How To Ask High-Velocity Questions
“A high-velocity question asks one thing but accomplishes multiple things.”
Whether you host a podcast or want to have more interesting conversations, this will come in handy.
Joe Ferraro shares how to ask high-velocity questions that prompt more interesting and valuable answers from people. He points out high velocity questions typically are unexpected, relate to the person’s expertise, and leave an impression on them.
Btw, I found this article in the Brain Pint newsletter.
Related: The 3 minutes it takes to read this will improve your conversations forever.
5. The Ultimate Guide To Summarizing Books
“These are much more than summaries. They are actually reinterpretations.”
If you want to maximize the value you (or others) get out of the books you read, this is worth a look.
Tiago Forte shares the ultimate guide to summarizing books including a system you can follow to figure out what to highlight, what not to, and how to summarize it in a format most beneficial to you over time.
Btw, I found this article on Kyle Bowe’s Twitter.
Related: How to read more books.
This Is How I Decide What To Include In My Newsletter
I put together a seven-page PDF that reveals the system I use to find and curate content in my For The Interested newsletter.
If you share articles in a newsletter or on social media, it will help you feature content your audience will love.
Get This Is How I Decide What To Include In My Newsletter for a behind-the-scenes look at how I choose what to feature, measure success, and balance the narrow and universal interests of my audience.
Or, subscribe to This Is How I Do It for access to my complete library of resources (including the one mentioned above) to help you grow your audience or business.
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My Final Words Of The Week
Every creator approaches their day in their own way.
But if you study the way enough creators work, you see patterns emerge — deliberate decisions prolific creators make that enable them to get things done.
As I watched this video detailing a typical day in the life of author Ryan Holiday, I saw plenty of differences from my own life — I don’t have farm animals to take care of or kids to put to bed at night.
But I also saw similarities — long walks to start the day, strict boundaries to limit phone use in the morning and evening, and the prioritization of creative work over emails, meetings, and calls.
Will the way you frame your days be unique to you? Absolutely.
But are there lessons to be learned from how others work? Absolutely.
Have a great week!
Josh
PS — If you enjoy this newsletter I’d love for you to tell others about it.
Thanks!