I’m old enough to remember when people were flogging ebooks about how to sell…well, ebooks. Don’t worry, that’s not what this is.
Let’s cut through the noise: if you’re even half-curious about launching an online business or just tired of shouting into the LinkedIn void with your “personal brand,” writing a newsletter is the perfect first experiment. There’s a reason platforms like Beehiiv and Substack are exploding: they help smart, busy people (like you) test big ideas, get hands-on with audiences, and maybe, just maybe, reinvent what midlife can be.
“If you’re waiting for the perfect time to start, you’ve already missed it. Newsletters reward people who just hit ‘send’.”
Sure, you could open an ecommerce store and drown in supply chain drama or start cold-pitching coaching services. But a newsletter? All you need is an idea, a pinch of writing ability, and a mild obsession with trying new online toys.
The best part tools like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and especially Substack are either free or so cheap it barely counts. No stock to buy, no web developer to hassle, no 1990s-style sales pitches. Sign up, pick a template, and boom: you’re publishing.
“A newsletter turns your random opinions into assets that work for you, not just distractions for someone else’s algorithm.”
Yes, But Why? The Real Skills You’ll Actually Use
Here’s where the magic happens. Sending that first email is just the start. Running a newsletter hacks your learning curve on everything that matters online:
Writing & Content Creation: Need to ‘find your voice’? No better way than pushing ‘send’ every week, and seeing which stories land and which don’t.
Marketing & Audience Building: Open rates, clicks, and reader replies don’t lie. It’s test-driven marketing, no fluff.
Design & Branding: Those generic templates? You’ll learn to tweak them fast. Logo or no logo, your vibe will shine through.
Analytics: Built-in stats dashboards help you measure, tweak, and repeat. Goodbye, guessing games.
Monetisation: Once you’ve got readers, turning on paid subscriptions, sponsorships, or affiliate links is literally a toggle away.
Try This
Start a Substack (or Beehiiv):
Choose a name you won’t cringe at in six months.
Write a one-liner about who your newsletter is for (make it specific).
Draft your first email.
Set a simple schedule, weekly is fine, fortnightly is legal too.
Share it with five people who’ll actually read it and ask them for brutal feedback.
Stop Renting, Start Owning
That impressive social following? It’s like living in someone else’s rented flat. One rule change from Elon or Zuck and your community’s gone. The sooner you move your people from social platforms onto your own newsletter list, the better.
Plus, turning your newsletter into a side-hustle or business is refreshingly low-friction. Look no further than Lenny Rachitsky (“Lenny’s Newsletter”), who started out for free, then slowly added paid content. Now he’s basically the Oprah of product management.
Try This
Send one honest, personal email to your social followers:
Tell them what you’re up to.
Invite them to join your newsletter.
Remind them you want to own the relationship (not just rent it from Zuckerberg).
Wrap It Up: Why and Why Now
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to get moving on something you own, here it is. Writing a newsletter costs you little but could pay off in ways you can’t yet imagine, income, impact, new connections, and maybe even a whole different career.
Ready? Hit “send”. Let’s see what happens next.