Be Known Well.
Newsletter
Foundations
A hands-on workshop for business owners in Austin who are building thought leadership in their field
Next Cohort Begins Aug. 6th
Be Known Well.
Newsletter
Foundations
A hands-on workshop for business owners in Austin who are building thought leadership in their field
Next Cohort Begins Aug. 6th
Your Newsletter’s Good… Let’s Make It Excellent
Take a look at this table below…
Those numbers are from a recent article by Tim Ferriss about how AI is killing the non-fiction book industry, and they show changes in his domestic print sales for all five books over the last few years.
His big point: as LLMs become the go-to source for information, people are skipping books, websites, blogs, and even newsletters in order to get answers to their questions.
Sounds like bad news for writers, right?
Wrong.
If you’re the kind of person who really cares about sharing cool, useful insight, this is probably one of the best things that could have ever happened to help you stand out.
It’s not that readers aren’t reading anymore. They just want more from the voices they pay attention to.
As Tim put it in his piece, “The market for information is collapsing into the chatbot. The market for transformation—for sitting with one mind, at length, on a subject it has bled for—might just get smaller, weirder, and more interesting.”
So every person who’s competing with you by putting out boring, vague, cookie-cutter content about your industry is about to get obliterated (if they haven’t been already).
The only people left standing will be the ones who actually have a point of view, and something interesting and transformational to offer people.
Now, let me show you something I’m pretty proud of…
This is something we call a cohort analysis of readers of my main newsletter, The Austin Business Review.
It analyzes readers, based on what month they subscribed, and shows what percent of them are still reading every month after that.
As you can see here, despite growing popularity of LLMs, somewhere between half and two thirds of all readers are still actively opening, even SIXTEEN months after signing up (which is way higher than the norm).
So readers aren’t disappearing. They’re just being choosier about what they pay attention to.
This course is about how to make sure they choose you.
It includes a bunch of the best insights I’ve collected over years of doing this for myself, my clients, and for companies like Hampton, and it’s got 1-1 sessions built in so you and I can dig into your specific newsletter, assess where you’re at, what’s working, and what can improve.
“In a way, we’re reverting to the earlier days of the Internet,” Tim says in his article.
As you’ll remember, that was an excellent time to build an audience.
-Ethan Brooks
Curriculum
What’s Inside?
The workshop is made up of four live Zoom sessions (each one is also recorded, in case you can’t make one), plus three 1-1’s directly with me, and two asynchronous rounds of editorial feedback on your drafts. You also get a year of membership to my newsletter mastermind for ongoing support. Details on that below…
Session 1. Getting Your Newsletter Setup Right
Aug. 06 at 3PM CT
There are so many tools out there, and so many opinions on what to use, it’s overwhelming. The first thing we’re going to do is a quick review of exactly what you actually need, and what you don’t, so you can finally feel completely confident about the tools you’re using, and the automations and analytics you have set up.
While we’re at it, I’ll share the two of the most important mental models that you’ll use over and over to make decisions moving forward.
Private 1-1 Session: Reviewing Your Setup
Session 2: Creating Content People Love
Aug. 13 at 3PM CT
This session is focused on what it actually takes to create killer content, week-in and week-out, that gets noticed and shared by leaders in your industry. We’ll talk about practical stuff, like setting up your calendar so that the work is manageable and is less overwhelming, the five tools I use every week, how I find fascinating stories no one else is talking about, and what to do when you don’t feel like writing. Lessons here will keep you in the game longer than anyone else, which is the key to getting all the rewards.
Editorial Feedback No. 1: Async Review of Your Newsletter
Session 3. Winning Top Tier Readers
Aug. 20 at 3PM CT
Rather than worrying about how to get as many readers as possible, we’re going to focus on the specific, tactical methods for getting the top names in your industry to read and love your email. We’ll talk about high-touch outreach, how to leverage interviews, and the simple little trick a small-town editor used to get the highest reader penetration of any newspaper in the country. The things you learn in this session will open more doors than you can imagine.
Private 1-1 Session: Reviewing Your Growth Plan
Session 4. Turning Attention Into Money
Aug. 27 at 3PM CT
Having an audience doesn’t automatically translate into money. You need to know how to marshal attention toward your most important offers. In this session, we’ll talk about the most valuable real estate in your newsletter, building profiles of your readers based on their interests, and how to use both of those to reach the right prospects at the right time to make sure your newsletter is a valuable asset in your business.
Editorial Feedback No. 2: Async Review of Your Newsletter
Your Final 1-1…
…is yours to keep. Use it now or in the future to get 60-minutes on my calendar to talk through specific challenges you’re having.
Only Five Seats
I spend several hours 1-1 with each student in this course, and further time solo, sifting through drafts and offering detailed editorial feedback.
For that reason, I have to limit this to five people. If you’re investing in your newsletter this year, and want high quality, hands-on guidance from someone deep in the space, join me using the link below.
Buy now, pay later, with Klarna
YOU ALSO GET…
BONUS: One Full Year of Ongoing Accountability
My goal is to make this THE most effective training for business owners who want to take their newsletter seriously.
So joining this workshop also gets you one full year of membership in the newsletter mastermind I run.
It’s specifically designed to help answer the question, “What’s next” with…
01
Online Community
Members get access to a Slack group where you can ask questions, share ideas, and see what others are building
02
Guest Experts
I tap my personal network authors, founders, and industry experts to join us for detailed Q&A’s
03
Regular Office Hours
The second and fourth Tuesday of each month, bring your questions to group office hours where we can discuss them live
04
In-Person Events
Every Friday, I host “Content & Contraband,” a chance to catch up with piers IRL while getting two dedicated focus-hours of work done on writing
This is absolutely the best way I know to help you with your publishing goals.
But space is limited, so reserve your spot now.
Enroll NowWhat makes this 4-week workshop different?
01
Hands-On 1-1 Sessions
This is not just some class that you watch and forget. You and I meet regularly to make focused progress on your specific newsletter & audience
02
Personal Editorial Feedback
Line-by-line, word-by-word reviews of your newsletters, with written notes, and a recorded Loom video you can keep and refer back to
03
A Year of Community + Coaching
Joining this class gets you 1 year of access to my newsletter mastermind, with online community, ongoing office hours, in-person events, and guest experts
04
My Personal Background
I’ve sent between one and four newsletters every week for the last five years. This is my world, and I’ve spent thousands of hours studying it (see below)
About your instructor…
My name’s Ethan Brooks. I’m the owner of The Austin Business Review. I’ve been building content and communities for business owners for years.
Prior to ABR, I was the first content & community hire at Hampton, and before that, I spent years at The Hustle, where I researched and wrote this book on how newsletter companies work. Newsletters and business are my obsessions, plain and simple.
Question about whether this workshop is for you?
Email me directly here.
SPECIAL FEATURE
1-1 Sessions
I’ve been teaching this stuff for a long time, and what I’ve found is that to do it seriously, takes 1-1 guidance. So that’s exactly what we’re gonna do.
We’ll meet 1-1 to review your newsletter setup, reporting, audience, and automations. In our second call, we’ll go through your growth plan and any other questions you’re working through as we round out the course.
You also get one more free spot on my calendar to use any time you want.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Editorial Feedback
If you’ve ever wondered, “Is this newsletter actually good?” or “Am I structuring this right?” this is for you.
As part of the course, I’ll take two of your newsletter drafts, review them top to bottom, and offer…
Line by line edits
Structural feedback
Strategic recommendations
A 15-20 minute personalized Loom video you can review, walking through every note and explaining everything
Join now
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
I only want your money if you’re thrilled with the work. So if you’re dissatisfied for any reason in the first 30 days, I’ll give you your money back, no questions asked.
Enroll NowBuy now, pay later with Klarna
FAQ
Questions, answered
Here’s what people wonder about…
I can’t make one of the class dates, will it be recorded?
Yes. Every group session is recorded and shared so you can re-watch any time you like. You can also download and save for later if you want.
How long are the 1-1 sessions?
One-on-ones are 60-minutes, and are scheduled to fit your calendar. The first takes place between Aug. 7th and Aug. 17th. The second, between Aug. 21st and Aug. 31st. The third is yours to hold onto and use any time you like.
What’s the deal with the Editorial Feedback sessions?
These are asynchronous feedback sessions delivered via Google Docs and Loom. You will submit a newsletter to me (either a draft of an upcoming piece, or a past newsletter you’d like feedback on), and I will do a full review, offering line-by-line edits to punch up the text, as well as structural/strategic recommendations to get more out of your email.
The notes are delivered in a fully annotated Google Doc, and I record a 15-20 minute Loom talking through all the recommendations in more detail.
Can I pay over time?
Yes, there are buy now, pay later options via Klarna available at checkout.
What’s the refund policy?
If you’re dissatisfied for any reason within the first 30 days of the workshop, I’ll refund your investment, no questions asked.
No hassle. No gimmicks. I don’t want your money if you’re not anything but thrilled.
Do I need to have a newsletter to join?
Yes. This training is specifically designed for business owners who are already writing a newsletter, and want to take it to the next level with some hands-on feedback and guidance from someone in the space.
EXCEPTION: If you started a newsletter, but haven’t published in a while and you’re looking to restart it with renewed seriousness, this will be great for you too.
