One of my threads went “viral” (for me) this week.
It was humbling, exciting, and affirming.
The funny thing was I had no intentions of writing the thread while I began listening to the podcast that inspired it.
I saw Dickie tweet about the quality production on Jay’s podcast so I threw it on Spotify1 while working.
But then Dickie shared a nugget. And then another nugget.
Nugget after nugget.
Dickie was dropping gold. I was scrambling to pick it up.
I suddenly realized I had stopped working entirely hanging on every word.
So I paused the podcast and came back to it after work—furiously taking notes in a Notion doc.
I listened to Dickie Bush explain—in generous detail—how he struggled for the first 26 weeks of writing his newsletter and building his online following.
I felt SEEN. It was reassuring and validating.
It was the reminder I needed that overnight success is a myth.
This newsletter has only been around for ~13 weeks. I’m halfway to where Dickie was when he made some big adjustments. I have a modest ~60 subscribers—with only 33% of those opening the newsletter regularly.
But I’m making traction.
In the podcast episode, Dickie mentions advice he got from Khe Hy of Rad Reads:
“Write an email newsletter every week for a year and watch it change your life.”
I’m exactly 1/4 of the way there.
Where are you?
CREATOR SPOTLIGHTS 🎨
There are truly too many great creators to just highlight one per week, so you’re going to be introduced to more creators—but with shorter summaries.
→ The Louis & Kyle Show || Two ambitious & talented UA students publishing a new podcast episode each week. Best episodes IMO: Dickie Bush, Tal Gur, Jordan Harbinger, Wes Kao, Jake, Robbie Crabtree, Nicolas Cole.
→ Janel Loi of Brain Pint || Writing a curated weekly newsletter that hits over 3k inboxes each week. Here’s an awesome resource she shared about how she’s curated such a successful weekly newsletter: How I Curate A Weekly Newsletter
→ Janis Ozolins || A bright young visual creator who is “deconstructing ideas for ambitious creatives.” His newsletter: ozo.li/newsletter
THIS WEEK’S GROWTH CURRENCY ⚡💡
✏ WRITE
90 Journaling Prompts by Ness Labs
Journaling lowers stress & improves mood—and let these prompts help you!
→What are simple things that make you happy?
→What are your three biggest priorities at the moment?
→How would you describe life to an alien?
📈 MARKETING
16 Best No Code Website Builders for Small Business (2021)
Save some time figuring out which no-code website builder is best for you.
👀 PRODUCTIVITY
The PARA Method in Notion by Khe Hy
An in-depth video by Khe Hy as he demonstrates how he uses Tiago Forte’s PARA Method for organization. Use Notion & this method to get—and stay—organized.
🎧 PODCAST
Dickie Bush on Creative Elements with Jay Clouse
The aforementioned podcast where Dickie breaks down everything he did in 2020 to create his own “luck”—and how it turned into the successful Ship 30 For 30 program (aff)2.
Summed up, Dickie was successful by sticking with the following…
→ CONSISTENCY: publishing weekly + daily
→ ANALYSIS: figuring out what works + why
→ ITERATION: tweaking rhythms, platforms & topics
→ ACCOUNTABILITY: joining + creating accountability groups
→ SWEAT: he puts in the time + effort
💰 BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Ultimate Guide to #buildinpublic
Jelmer & Markus over at Venturism.io are putting out some great content for creators. This guide covers the benefits of building in public.
TL;DR — what happens when you #buildinpublic 👇
Marketing Outcomes:
Social Capital – You will build an audience.
Belief Capital – You will build credibility as a maker.
Networking – You will meet interesting people.
Serendipity – You will experience major, unexpected upsides.
Product Outcomes:
Validation – You will know what your customers want.
Accelerated Learning – You will learn from peers & friends.
Neo-Moats – You will find and establish your Niche.
Accountability – You will have a support & accountability system.
Thank you so much for reading to the end.
Was there something worth sharing in this week’s post? Please help spread the word and share :)
As Dickie talks about, I’m hungry for feedback loops [insert Froot Loops redesign]. Please let me know what you’d love more of—and less of—from this newsletter.
My goal is to make this a must-read every week for you.
Or! Let’s go feedback-for-feedback. I’ll give you some feedback on your project as well :)
Hit reply or send a DM on Twitter.
LASTLY
What are you working on right now that’s got you fired up?
‘Til next week ✌
-Dylan
PS - If you want to help support this email newsletter, feel free to buy me a coffee. And not one of those super fancy ones. I take a drip, medium roast, black. ☕
I rarely listen to podcasts on Spotify: no playback speed options. Just the classic 1x speed. Wonder if it’s cuz Joe Rogan hates how he sounds at 2x… 🤔
This is an affiliate link. I’ve disclosed in a previous post how I only endorse and affiliate with products I’ve used and believe are truly helpful. Truth: I haven’t gone through Ship 30 For 30—however—I’m enrolled for the May/June cohort and have seen the power of this course.