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Last updated on July 10th, 2024
With email marketing being a 12-billion-dollar industry, it’s no surprise that there are thousands of newsletters for creative entrepreneurs to choose from.
But how do you know which ones are genuinely worth your time? Well, as an enthusiastic subscriber of over 100 newsletters, I know a thing or two about emails worth reading.
Here are the most valuable newsletters I recommend for content creators and online business owners (in no particular order).
Ps. I will keep this list updated as I come across more newsletters, so be sure to check back in case you’re looking for more valuable additions to your inbox.
CREATIVITY/WRITING:
- Austin Kleon
- Total Annarchy
- Dan Nelken
- For The Interested
PERSONAL GROWTH:
- James Clear 3-2-1
- The Curiosity Chronicle
- The Imperfectionist
- Mark Manson
- 3-Minute Monday
BUSINESS & MARKETING:
- CheatCodes
- Creatorboom
- Create & Sell
- The Saturday Solopreneur
- Why We Buy
- Wonder Tools
1. CheatCodes
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Business, Personal Growth
About the newsletter
Named Huffington Post’s Entrepreneur Of The Year and featured on the Forbes30u30 list, Timothy Armoo has taken the business world by storm since the age of 21 (he’s 29 now).
As a global speaker and the founding CEO of Fanbytes, a leading social media and influencer marketing agency, he helps businesses win the hearts of Gen Z.
With someone as influential as this, you know his newsletter must be packed with insights.
Every Sunday, Timothy shares cheat codes to help you level up your business and life:
- 1 motivational quote to fire you up
- 1 business framework to help you get unstuck
- 1 book excerpt to challenge the way you think.
Why I love Timothy’s emails
I’m always a fan of simple & quick newsletters. Cheatcodes is straight to the point and super easy to read without bombarding you with too much information.
And the way he writes feels personal like he’s talking to you as a close friend.
2. Austin Kleon
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Creativity, Writing
About the newsletter
Austin Kleon is a New York Times bestselling author known for multiple books, notably Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work.
In his newsletter, he shares 10 noteworthy items each week. These range from insights into famous writers’ creative processes, interesting articles he liked, tidbits about his kids, to the music he’s enjoying.
Why I love Austin’s emails
Amongst all the creative newsletters I subscribe to, this is one I never fail to open. Trying to be a writer in the online world definitely comes with its challenges, namely self-doubt and the ever-annoying writer’s block.
His emails have inspired me to make my writing process more enjoyable, so much so that I am considering upgrading to his paid substack (you know you’re really good if someone is willing to pay to read your writing, especially in a digital world where alot of info is free).
If you’re a content creator struggling with the creative process, definitely subscribe to this one.
3. Creatorboom
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Online Business Tips
About the newsletter
Creatorboom is a curated newsletter written by John Bardos, a long-time digital nomad and expat.
Each week, he screens dozens of online articles, podcasts, and videos to bring you the best links to help you grow your audience and build an online business.
Why I love the Creatorboom
I always get my notetaking tools ready before I start reading this newsletter.
There are a lot of valuable insights from those who have done what I want to do to build a digital presence.
Learning from their behind-the-scenes stories can make the whole journey of establishing an online business less overwhelming.
4. Create & Sell
FREQUENCY: 2x Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Email Marketing
About the newsletter
Create & Sell is written by Brennan Dunn – founder of Palladio & RightMessage, which are email marketing tools.
This newsletter was created to help companies master email marketing so they could scale their efforts faster.
Why I love Brennan’s emails
Though it may seem like this newsletter isn’t for beginners, as someone who started diving into email marketing a few weeks ago, I get tremendous value from it.
Brennan shows you behind-the-scenes stuff about how he runs his list, how to personalize your message, which email tools to use, and more.
If you have an email list, I highly suggest joining his.
5. James Clear
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Personal Growth
About the newsletter
James Clear, author of the New York Times bestseller Atomic Habits, is not someone who needs an introduction in the personal development world.
In his 3-2-1 newsletter, he shares:
- 3 ideas from him
- 2 quotes from others
- 1 question for you to ponder (these make excellent journaling prompts)
He started this newsletter in 2012, and he now has an impressive 3 million subscribers!
Why I love the 3-2-1 newsletter:
James Clear’s emails are likely the shortest ones I receive. Yet, every Thursday, they are the ones I’m most eager to open and find the most valuable.
As he says on his sign-up page, “They pack the most wisdom per word.”
6. The Curiosity Chronicle
FREQUENCY: 2x Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Personal Growth
About the newsletter
Sahil Bloom is a financial educator and investor who is passionate about sharing knowledge and insights on finance, business, and personal growth through his newsletter, The Curiosity Chronicle.
The Curiosity Chronicle provides actionable tips “to help you build a high-performing, healthy, wealthy life.”
Why I love Sahil’s emails
I kick myself every day for not discovering this newsletter sooner. The Curiosity Chronicle is one of the most insightful newsletters on this list for becoming your best self.
It’s jam-packed with insights, and it never fails to motivate me each week.
7. The Saturday Solopreneur
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Online Business Tips
About the newsletter
Justin Welsh is a former tech executive turned entrepreneur who built a 7-figure online business in under 4 years.
With his Saturday Solopreneur newsletter, he sends 1 actionable tip to help you grow and monetize your audience. With over 215K subscribers, including names like Dan Koe and Sahil Bloom, you know it’s got to be value-packed.
Why I love Justin’s emails
My favorite thing about Justin’s emails is how action-oriented they are. He not only gives you the strategy but at the end of each email, he also gives you specific next steps to help you apply what you’ve just learned.
Knowledge is powerful, but its potential is hard to maximize without action.
He talks about content creation, getting more email leads, copywriting tips, and more. This newsletter is a must-read if you want to level up your business.
8. The Imperfectionist
FREQUENCY: 2x monthly
TOPICS COVERED: Productivity, Mortality, Personal Growth
About the newsletter
Oliver Burkeman is the NYT bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks – a book about embracing one’s mortality by accepting how little time we have in a single lifetime (4000 weeks on average).
In The Imperfectionist, Burkeman encourages people to focus less on the not-so-important things and more on building a more meaningful life filled with the things that truly matter.
Why I love the Imperfectionist
I am not a fan of really long newsletters (blame it on my short attention span), but The Imperfectionist is the one newsletter for which I’ll gladly make an exception.
There’s just something about Oliver Burkeman’s contemplative writing that keeps me hooked. He’s one of those writers who makes me want to print out his articles and go through them with a highlighter to fully understand his ideas because I want to learn to think the way he does.
If you’re still on the fence about signing up, here’s a sample edition – There’s no such thing as a fresh start.
Here’s my favorite line from that article:
I wish he wrote these newsletters more frequently than twice monthly, but at the same time, I wonder if my brain could handle it or if I would value each one as much.
9. Total Annarchy
FREQUENCY: Bi-weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Writing
About the newsletter
Ann Handley is a renowned digital marketing expert. She is a Wall Street Journal best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the world’s first Chief Content Officer.
Handley speaks alot about how businesses can stand out in marketing by focusing on storytelling and building relationships.
In Total Annarchy, she shares “writing tips, useful marketing ideas, fresh thoughts, and some high-spirited shenanigans.”
Why I love Ann’s emails
Ann’s writing is funny and engaging, and she feels like she’s talking to you one-on-one. Here’s an excerpt from one of her newsletters where she talks about the role of AI in writing:
10. Why We Buy
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Marketing (Buyer Psychology)
About the newsletter
Katelyn Bourgoin, known as “The Buyer Psychologist” on LinkedIn, is an entrepreneur who educates people on the psychology behind consumer buying habits with practical advice on how you can use this in your business.
Why I love Kate’s emails
Kate’s emails are super fun to read. She starts each one with a story that illustrates the psychological trait she’s explaining and gives real-world examples of this phenomenon at play.
She also shares practical tips on using this “mind trick” in your business to get more customers.
If you’re worried that it’ll be hard to digest because psychology isn’t your thing, trust me, it is easy to get through.
11. Dan Nelken
FREQUENCY: Bi-weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Copywriting
About the newsletter
Dan Nelken is a Canadian copywriter who has worked with some of the most popular brands, such as Lululemon, Nintendo, and Mcdonald. He’s the author of A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters.
In his newsletter, he shares tips on copywriting for creatives.
Why I love Dan’s emails
Dan’s newsletters are a delight to read because of his hilarious, witty writing.
There’s so much to know about copywriting that it can get overwhelming. But Dan’s real-world tips are easy to understand and implement for my own business.
I’ve only been a subscriber for a few weeks but I found so much value in each email that I had to include it in this list.
12. Wonder Tools
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Tech, Productivity
About the newsletter
Jeremy Caplan is the Director of Teaching and Learning at CUNY’s Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. He loves to explore new things, and his newsletter is a collection of those resources that he thinks are worth sharing.
Each week, he sends you a personalized review of sites and tools to make your life easier. He explains how each tool works, the best use cases, screenshots, and alternatives to consider.
Why I love Wonder Tools
As an online content creator, I am always looking for tools to improve my workflow and save time.
I have found so many useful resources from Dan’s emails that I never would have come across otherwise.
If you’re looking to perfect your toolbox, then definitely check out Wonder Tools.
13. For The Interested
FREQUENCY: Daily
TOPICS COVERED: Writing, Online Business Tips
About the newsletter
Josh Spector is a marketing consultant and writer who helps experts use writing to grow their businesses.
In his daily newsletter, For The Interested, he shares actionable tips for getting the most out of your content.
Why I love Josh’s emails
Josh packs so many insights into his emails that it takes time to absorb so much value each day.
One of my favorite articles of his was his explanation of how to find your target audience. I always struggle with this because I like to write about a lot of different topics. His concept that has stuck with me is that “your ideal audience is a previous version of you.”
Once I changed my perspective to that, I came up with so many possible content ideas for my blog.
14. Mark Manson
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Personal Growth
About the newsletter
Mark Manson is the NYT best-selling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and is well-known for his no-BS approach to life advice.
In his weekly newsletter, he shares 1 idea, 1 question, and 1 exercise to spark your next breakthrough.
Why I love Mark’s emails
Mark’s emails are quick and easy to read, but my favorite part of being a subscriber is reading the stories that people submit each week.
At the end of each newsletter, he asks his readers to submit a breakthrough they’ve had in the past week.
These are some of the most inspiring stories you’ll read. And you quickly realize how much of our struggles are similar to other people’s.
15. 3-Minute Monday
FREQUENCY: Weekly
TOPICS COVERED: Diverse topics – psychology, mental health, self-improvement, human nature, health, politics (ie. pretty much everything)
About the newsletter
Chris Williamson is a writer and YouTuber who is well-known for his podcast, Modern Wisdom. In it, he covers a wide range of topics, including personal growth, mental health, how the world works, psychology, and more.
In 3-Minute Monday, Chris shares:
- a deep dive into an idea
- 3 things he’s learned throughout the week
- his upcoming podcast episodes
- a life hack
Why I love 3MM emails
I adore his podcast because he challenges listeners to think differently. So when I found out he had a newsletter, it was a no-brainer to sign up.
With Chris’ newsletters, you never know what you’re going to learn. That’s how diverse his topics are. But regardless of how complex his topics may be, it’s an easy read to learn something new each week.
And if you’re a book lover like me, his lead magnet of “100 books to read before you die” is intriguing enough to sign up.
Your Next Steps
SUBSCRIBE TO ONE NEWSLETTER TODAY
Choose one newsletter from this list that resonates most with your needs and subscribe.
As you read through the newsletters, pick one actionable tip each week and implement it in your business or personal life.
If you’re an audio lover like me, check out this list of the best podcasts for bloggers, content creators & online business owners.
2 comments
Great list! I’ve been enjoying https://picklerooms.com/ though, might be worth an add!
Hi Rob! Just checked out their site and signed up for it, thanks for the suggestion! 🙂 They seem similar to starter story.