Ever wonder if your newsletter should be the product…or just promote the product?

I’ve been treating mine more like a magazine than a sales tool — and it’s cost me. So I sat down with Dylan Bridger, who helps course creators and coaches turn their newsletters into profit machines.

We talk about:

• The difference between a “magazine” newsletter and a “sales team” newsletter
• How to actually warm up your audience so they buy when you make an offer

But we also get into the impact becoming a new dad had on Dylan’s workflows, and a short-lived side project that taught him big lessons fast.

This conversation helped me clear up a ton of issues with my own newsletter, and I think it’ll do the same for you.

Seeking clarity in your business systems? Take the Business Overwhelm Diagnostic.

Dylan Bridger is an email marketing expert who helps coaches and course creators increase their conversions while building stronger relationships with their lists. A full-time marketing consultant since 2021, more than 7,000 entrepreneurs follow his insights across newsletter and social media. When he's not working, you can find Dylan writing songs, goofing around with his daughter, or enjoying a nice cup of coffee.

Links

• Dylan Bridger
• Dylan on LinkedIn
• Dylan on Twitter/X
• Dead-Eyed Portraits: The Real Risk of AI Headshots
• Nathan Barry
• Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
• Ken McCarthy – Jazz on the Tube
• Beehiiv

What do you think? Send your feedback to streamlinedfeedback.com

Read to build your perfect site? Check out StellarSites.

When I was a kid, I said things like, “I won’t forget,” or “When I’m a dad, I won’t get mad.” Or…”I’m bored.”

But as you get older, and life puts you in various, unforeseen situations, it’s easy to get blindsided and react in a way you hoped you wouldn’t.

I think about this a lot when I consider what’s changed between turn 20 and turn 40. And there’s a common theme that has cropped up: pruning.

Letting go of what doesn’t work. Of where you used to spend your energy. About making more space in your life for the things that matter.

And I thought that there was no better person to bring on to talk about this than my friend, fellow freelancer, and fellow father, Austin L. Church. He’s a deep thinker, committed family man, and wants to help people.

Looking to prune what’s stealing your energy? Take the Business Overwhelm Diagnostic.

Top Takeaways

• Fluff vs. value in business books — many books stretch one idea into 300 pages, but the best insights are usually old, durable ideas worth revisiting.
• Growth by subtraction — focus and pruning beat doing “all the things.” Fractured attention leads to mediocre results.
• Attention as water — what you focus on grows. Stop “watering” indignation and instead nurture gratitude, creativity, and presence.
• Values over virality — not all success is worth emulating. If someone’s optimizing for attention or wealth at all costs, that doesn’t mean you should.
• Parenting parallels — kids remember how you respond more than what you say. Choosing patience, presence, and love shapes both them and you.
• “These are the good old days” — a simple mindset shift that makes it easier to stay present with family and avoid regrets later.

Links

• Austin’s post on pruning
• Austin L. Church — Freelance Cake
• Austin’s Book: Free Money
• Buy Back Your Time — Dan Martell
• Good Strategy Bad Strategy — Richard Rumelt
• Essentialism — Greg McKeown
• Dieter Rams — Principles Of Good Design

What do you think? Send your feedback to streamlinedfeedback.com

Read to build your perfect site? Check out StellarSites.

Episode 500 of the show came out on Monday. Here’s I I put it together using Google NotebookLM