Last weekend I traveled to Austin to meet up with my business partner John Sonmez and 250 other entrepreneurs for the first-ever “SumoCon.” The conference was hosted by the team from AppSumo, and I have to say I was impressed by the caliber of the people I met. (The annual revenue of the businesses at […]
Continue readingSharp-eyed subscriber Galit asks: Hi Josh, I have a question for you—I am watching your “Behind the Scenes of a Six-Figure Email Course” video and I noticed your callout of the coveted Welcome email. But I’m looking back at my emails from you and this is the first one that I received after I opted […]
Continue readingBack when I was commuting into Pittsburgh every day, I used to hate Friday afternoons with a passion. I worked on the 57th floor of the tallest building in the city. And every Friday at 3 p.m. I’d wander over to the window and see the great weekend exodus already underway. There are many great […]
Continue readingOne of the biggest challenges of my work with Simple Programmer is this: My business partner John can crank out products like crazy. This is the guy who created 55 multi-hour video courses on technical programming topics—in less than two years. He is a content production “Terminator.” You can’t stop him, no matter what you […]
Continue readingSubscriber Carl is a copywriter in the make money online and alternative health niches. He asks: Q: What methods do you use to really fine tune in and connect with your subscribers needs – drill right down to the core emotion – and how do you then use this information to communicate with them in: […]
Continue readingThis week a programmer named Eddy hit me up about testing out a piece of software he’s prototyping. I won’t go into too much detail in case he moves forward with it, but basically it’s a tool for “scraping” email addresses to put together lists of potential prospects that you can reach out to. We […]
Continue readingEver see one of those sappy “morality tale” movies? You know—the kind where the acting is horrible and the plot feels contrived and the movie ends with a 10-minute soliloquy where the main character lectures everyone on the moral hazards of [fill in the blank]? Did the movie convince you? Or did you find yourself […]
Continue reading“During the stalking portion of our training, you’re not graded on your first shot. You’re graded on your second. In other words, once you’ve fired, can you be seen?” Chris Kyle American Sniper What image comes to mind when you hear the word “sniper”? Usually I think of a tough-looking dude with a huge rifle […]
Continue readingRight now I’m getting harassed (virtually speaking) by this guy named Matt. Matt apparently created the best infographic EVAR about WordPress plugins. And he (or more likely, his virtual assistant) keeps spamming me to share it via the contact form on my site. So far I’ve just ignored the emails, but one more and I’ll […]
Continue readingMy short take on giving “homework” in email courses is: DON’T DO IT! Almost no one actually follows through on your assignments, and you’re just adding guilt and stress to your subscribers’ lives. Subscriber Ed calls me out though: Interesting. So you’re suggesting a “pure info” course with no homework? And yet, on Simple Programmer, […]
Continue readingThe other day I read a news story about a teacher who banned homework in her classroom. She sent the students home with a note that said, “Studies have failed to prove that homework improves performance. Spend time together as a family and go to bed early instead.” So what about email courses? Does homework […]
Continue readingRight now I’m wrapping up this 30-day boost-your-productivity challenge. One of the first assignments was to do a massive “inbox purge”—unsubscribing from all the email lists that aren’t bringing immediate value. I unsubscribed from something like 90-100 lists! Nutso. I highly recommend this exercise. You can think much more clearly when your attention isn’t being […]
Continue readingThe other day I got this email from a subscriber named Galit that made me laugh: I am loving this series! I’m curious, though, the first few emails seemed to be about an email course then this one is about running a giveaway. If these are, by chance, two different drips, is there a way […]
Continue readingA buddy of mine named Adrian is worried he’s trashed his email list: I have a quick question for you. Are you doing anything to keep your email list healthy, such as using Drip’s “Pruning” feature? My list has gotten pretty big and I’m pretty sure it’s hurting me when I do large broadcasts. Some […]
Continue readingBack when I was just getting started with email marketing, one thing I really struggled with was the right “format” for my emails. I saw a lot of people in my niche (software development) sending out link-style newsletters. This is where you “curate” or collect links to some good blog posts and send them out […]
Continue readingA couple of weeks back I sent an email with the (admittedly provocative) subject line: “I don’t want your stupid product” And a few minutes later some guy named Areeb fires back: “I don’t want your stupid newsletters either!” A few years back, a reply like this would have bugged me all day. I still […]
Continue readingSubscriber Rick asks “Should I write my own emails or hire a pro copywriter to do it for me?” He explains: You might not know who I am, but I’m a big fan of your writing. Your emails that you send out every day are nice and seems like your always there in my inbox […]
Continue readingEver notice that sometimes knowing MORE about a topic (like copywriting), makes it HARDER to take action? Subscriber David, who runs a blog about website optimization, has himself all wrapped around the axel over a landing page: Before I go right down the whole build a course thing, I’m going to cheat a bit. I […]
Continue readingPretty soon after I quit my comfy software development job and hung out my shingle as a freelance copywriter, I found myself struggling with a dilemma: How should I pitch my services to my email list? I don’t care how “hypnotic” your emails are, it’s going to take more than 300 words of salesmanship to […]
Continue readingHere’s a dilemma that comes up a LOT: Pete runs a business creating church management software. His software automates and streamlines dozens of administrative processes—from keeping track of members’ tithes and offerings to keeping tabs on the kiddos during summer day camp. And precisely because this software is so powerful, it’s a struggle to focus […]
Continue readingThis one ventures dangerously close to “TMI” territory—but it’s a little too much fun NOT to share. So here goes nothing… My wife is a lifelong fan of the Anne of Green Gables books. So a couple of years after we got married we decided to vacation in Prince Edward Island where the “Anne” stories […]
Continue readingNot long ago I decided I wanted to introduce my boys to one of my favorite childhood hobbies: fishing. Since I haven’t gone fishing since high school, we took a trip to the nearby Field & Stream outdoor emporium to stock up on all the necessary gear. Walking into the fishing section is really overwhelming. […]
Continue readingNot long after I published my first ebook about Sublime Text I found myself getting impatient with the slow growth in my sales. At the time I was earning maybe $1,200 a month or so from the book—not bad for a side project, but I wanted to build a little publishing empire and quit my […]
Continue readingI feel a rant coming on here. First some quick background. One of my goals for this year is to finally get myself into a fitness routine that I enjoy and can stick with long term. The approach that I’m trying out right now is called “gymnastics strength training.” I’m basically following a (modified) version […]
Continue readingThe first few days with a new subscriber is such a critical time… Those early emails are how they decide whether they LOVE you and want to read everything you send… Or whether they mentally “mark as spam” every time your name pops up in their inbox. Reader Lana is acutely aware of this. She […]
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