Happy birthday to MarketINK!

On 2 May this newsletter turned one year old! Hooray!

How did we get here - through constant work and patience. While we all know we should work hard, being patient is a virtue we often neglect in our super busy lives.

But patience can be a superpower.

Below, I share 6 lessons from my experience publishing this newsletter. But I only learned those lessons as I published more issues. If I’d done two or three and moved to something else, I wouldn’t have reached that knowledge.

Oliver Burkeman shares a parable about Helsinki’s main bus station: several bus lines go from it, and for the beginning of the journey, they all follow the same route. However, at some point, they diverge and go to unique destinations. Think of your creative journey as those bus lines. You pick your lane and, for a while at the start, you follow unoriginal routes. However, if you stay on the bus, you will eventually reach a point where you will create unique work.

You can only reach the end if you have the patience to endure the first, boring, unexciting part of your journey. So be patient, and stay on the bus!

🥳 6️⃣ Lessons from 1 Year of MarketINK! ✍️🎉

Lesson 1: Define what matters

I wanted to create a newsletter and keep posting. My efforts resulted in 24 editions and not a single missed week. (I was a day late on 2-3 occasions, but that’s ok). This was my most important metric - not subscriber count, not conversions, but consistency. And the results show my project was a success. The positive feedback is just a bonus :) Know what you are aiming for!

Lesson 2: Ask people for advice

When I was wondering what the concept for my newsletter would be, I shared my plans with a colleague - and she offered a very sober perspective on my wild creative plans. She helped me form my concept and gave me the idea for the name, which I still really like. I just added my unique touch - the exclamation mark at the end - and voila!

Lesson 3: Ideas will evolve as you execute

I planned for my newsletter to have a few sections, each with three separate elements. At the start, this was easy - I was full of enthusiasm and ideas. After a few editions, however, I realised that I wouldn’t be able to add as much content as I’d like without extensive research (also, people don’t have time to read long newsletters.) So, I redesigned my newsletter to have less content, which I believe improved it. Don’t be afraid to make changes after you start!

Lesson 4: The process will drive you

At the start, I had loads of time to think about what I was going to write, but as my schedule got tighter (and I lost the initial enthusiasm for a new thing), I had to adapt. I learned what type of content I wanted in my newsletter - and when I spotted it during my daily browsing, I collected it. This helped minimise the research needed for my newsletter and left the selection, which was more fun (and free of the pressure of not having enough content to include.) When this process developed, my work became much more manageable.

Lesson 5: Optimize!

A lot happened during the past year (including three different jobs), and as time got tighter, I had to adapt. How could I save time? I was first writing my newsletter on Notion before transferring the final edit to beehiiv - which was wasted time. Ruthlessly optimise, and have good processes. When I had loads of time to write my newsletter, it was a long process. When I had less, I found ways to do it quicker.

Lesson 6: You will get better and it will become easier

In an interview, the Bulgarian rapper Boro Purvi shared that the more songs you make, the easier the songwriting process becomes and the better the songs are. This surprised me when I first heard it, but now I know it is true - and not only valid for music. The more I understood the process behind creating my newsletter, the better I was at making it. You will get better at focusing on the important parts, you will know what to expect, and you will be one step ahead - which improves the quality.

It used to take me almost 2 full weeks to write an edition, now I can make it in 2 days. And I belive the quality is much better!

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for my newsletter here - 28 people have signed up already - so it must be good!

📚 Shelf Shocks 💥

1. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington

The hardest part about productivity is executing your plans: the authors highlight the “execution gap“ and urge us to bridge it. Their suggested method is to shorten our execution cycles. Instead of having yearly goals (which tend to get drawn out), have quarterly goals - this will help intensify the workload and bring big deadlines closer to you, which will motivate you to act and stop procrastinating.

🎧 Summary

2. Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport

I spoke about patience earlier and the new book from Cal Newport (author of ‘Deep Work') will help you dive deeper. Yes, something is broken in our understanding of productivity and achievement, and this provocative book wants to help you rethink your relationship with work.

He deconstructs our modern notion of pseudo-productivity and briefs us on how to do fewer tasks, but better and at a pace that won’t overwhelm us - this will result in a stronger feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.

🎧 Summary

3. The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter

Can discomfort be the solution to our generation’s epidemic of depression and anxiety? Award-winning journalist Michael Easter’s investigation suggests that might be the case.

He travels to remote places to undergo excruciating challenges, meet exciting scientists, and live with people who have rejected our cushy lifestyle for something closer to what our ancestors experienced. In the end, you will walk away with a new appreciation for challenges and be encouraged to go outside your comfort zone more often.

🎧 Summary

Fun Links ⏰ ❗️

1. Sell subscriptions easily!

If you or your company are looking into the subscription model, Skio is a great tool that allows you to start selling subscriptions. The pricing is premium, but the tool offers a simple solution for your needs, coupled with a great team to support you. Learn more here!

(Okay maybe you don’t really need this service, but I had to share it for their amazing cat!)

You've reached the end of my newsletter. Hooray! If you’d like to see more of my work, you can GET MY BOOK Write Better: A Simple Guide to Better Business Writing or connect with me on LinkedIn for more fun and educational content.

If you have any comments or would like to share what you enjoyed the most, feel free to get in touch! See you in two weeks!