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Hi All,

Merry Christmas. This week was a sad one. My Christmas Day got cancelled due to a sick family member. Normally we go to their house by the beach but now we're not. So we'll be staying home and doing nothing which is a weird feeling.

Because our house is small, we don't have room for a Christmas tree so I'm trying to get creative.

I'm sure I'll find plenty of the things to do with my my daughter on Christmas. I've taken her to see Santa three times. Probably should do it another few times...haha!

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Here's my most shared tweet this week (click to read all of it):

Tim Denning @Tim_Denning I'm 38. When I was 28 I worshipped identity politics, went woke & believed in the fantasy of equality. Then I discovered Albert Camus, and he changed my life forever. 11 lessons from France's most controversial & unknown philosopher: 9:35 PM • Dec 18, 2024 1128 Retweets 8345 Likes Read 1038 replies

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As a 6-Figure Newsletter Writer, I Can Help You Get More Subscribers Using 5 Rules

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You don’t give a sh*t that I make 6-figures a year from my newsletter.

In fact, it probably annoys you. What’s smarter is to learn from people a few steps ahead of you using an open mind. That’s the opportunity for you.

The most important newsletter rule people miss is this…

1. Master short-form writing

A new idea I’ve tried to pioneer is that most writers burden readers with a high cognitive load.

How?

• Cryptic headlines that try to sound smart or that use metaphors
• No persuasive reasons why someone should read their essay/newsletter
• Taking strangers straight to long-form essays

It gets worse. Many old school writers want to take a stranger on the street and send them to their newly published book on Amazon. All the reader has to do is give up $15–20 and 15–20 hours of their life.

None of this works anymore because the internet and all its information have burdened us with a high cognitive load.

Our brains hurt.

The solution is to master short-form writing. It started with platforms like Tw!tter/X. Now there’s S*bstack Notes, Threads, and Bluesky.

Short-form content is where you share big ideas, be a little contrarian, drop cliffhangers for your stories, and share who you are. It gives people a taste before throwing up a paywall or asking them to read your 20-hour book.

Short-form writing also forces you to to say a lot with few words. Short-form is also how you find readers for your long-form newsletter content.

Master short-form, or forget making money from writing online.

2. Forget writing about a topic or niche

Social media isn’t divided neatly into topics like a bookstore.

Users of these platforms follow people, not topics. I’ve found that means users are focused on your worldview to see if you’re worth subscribing to. Your worldview is made up of multiple topics because none of us are dumbass, single-topic humans. We’re a multi-topic species.

To master sharing your worldview you must stand for something.

3. Ask people to subscribe (not how you think)

The average writer f*cks this up.

They guess.

To create a 6-figure newsletter you must understand how to build your email list. And some of that involves the subtleties of how to ask people to subscribe to your newsletter.

Saying “Regards, Timbo” followed by “Thanks for reading” or worse, “please subscribe” doesn’t work.

You don’t say please. You shouldn’t make us feel like we owe you something or ask us to buy you a coffee (scoundrel).

I’ll say it slowly. Getting people to subscribe to your newsletter means using copywriting. It means you must sell them on why they should subscribe, which means you must list one clear benefit so they’ll do it.

Make sure to ask people at the end to subscribe (not before). And ask them once.

Oh, and only ever make one freaking ask, which is to subscribe. Do not sell or place a link to a book or “book a call with me.” Ever.

4. Insert more of you than feels comfortable

AI screwed most writers up the butt.

You can’t be lifeless, hide behind a fake name, use a monkey picture as a profile photo, and spit out Wikipedia facts anymore.

More than ever you’ve gotta be yourself in all your glory. That means sharing a little of yourself.

Here’s how:

• Document small parts of your life
• Write how a topic or opinion/idea makes you feel
• Share the occasional personal photo from your iPhone

Don’t do any of this to be an insufferable influencer. Do it so people feel a personal connection with you. Just don’t overdo it.

5. Build distribution through other creators

Writers/creators who go it alone don’t make it.

You can expand the distribution of your newsletter and writing by networking with other creators. They might comment or share your stuff, and you could do the same.

Not in an organized fashion or in a way that feels forced. Just in the nice way of friends supporting friends.

The friends you make are often the best part about writing online.
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– Tim Denning

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P.S. I need your help with something…

In 2025, I want to help you:

1. Write more viral posts
2. Make more money

But I need to know what EXACTLY you need help with.

​Take this 5-question survey and give me the details.​

The more you share, the more I can help

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