Email newsletters have been around since the beginning of time (well, a few decades at least), but over the years many devolved into nothing more than annoying spam. But in a surprising turn of events, newsletters suddenly are enjoying a huge renaissance. Journalists are abandoning their media companies and flocking to newsletter platforms like Substack where they can better monetize their work. And companies are putting more valuable content in newsletters to solidify customer relationships.
For readers, there are two subscription extremes: gluttony (resulting in an inbox clogged by newsletters) or abstinence (with a hard-and-fast rule not to subscribe to any newsletters). Most of us fall somewhere in between. I certainly do. Newsletters make me smarter. They help keep me relevant and often contain gems of information I wouldn’t have found otherwise. That said, I am committed to Inbox Zero. So I’ve developed a newsletter curation method that works really well for me.
The method is straightforward. I am liberal in subscribing, and I am liberal in unsubscribing. When I find an interesting writer or topic, I subscribe—no questions asked. (Except when there’s a fee involved. Then I start with a free option and only occasionally move on.) I make a point of reading the first few issues of a new subscription. If I don’t find value, I unsubscribe. Also, tastes change, and I am pretty ruthless about unsubscribing when I notice a pattern of a newsletter going unread multiple times.
Here are five newsletters (and a bonus!) that give me tons of value, week-to-week, month-to-month. Most have a bent towards tech. They are all free (or offer a free version).
James Clear
There’s no better per-word value out there, partly because James’s weekly 3-2-1 newsletter is exceptionally brief. It contains three thoughts from him, two quotes from others, and one question for you. As he says, “If you were forced to unsubscribe from every newsletter in your life, start again at zero, and add back only the ones you missed the most, I’d want this to be the very first one you’d return to. That’s a high bar, but it’s the standard I try to hit every week.”
Product Habits
This every-Monday newsletter from Hiten Shah is primarily a collection of links, and I always find something helpful there. The focus is on what’s relevant in tech, with a slight emphasis on product management.
BrainPint
This is a new one for me, which I’m finding very useful. Janel Loi compiles an enjoyable smorgasbord of interesting reads, learning, resources and tools, and take-a-brain-break content. She works in tech, so her newsletter side-project always feels relevant for those of us also in that world.
Not Boring
Packy McCormick describes his newsletter as “Strategies and investing, from big companies to small. Not boring.” Because our world today is dominated by tech companies (and Packy comes from the startup world), quite often the topic is tech-related. The writing is long-form for a newsletter, but as he says, it’s never boring.
Platformer
Casey Newton left The Verge to start his own newsletter, which has a free version weekly on Mondays and a four-day-a-week paid version. Casey has particular expertise (and deep contacts) in tech companies and social media. Because of this, he describes his focus as being “at the intersection of technology and democracy.” His recent coverage of the Basecamp debacle was groundbreaking, as has been his work on Facebook moderation issues. (For the free version, on the signup page click “none” or “free” for subscription plan. You’ll receive one free issue per week.)
Bonus: Pop Culture Mondays
If you’re not 25, you may feel a little out of it when it comes to pop culture. Which is why I love this newsletter that Brooke Hammerling sends out every week. (This is actually an email that includes a link to her roundup on Medium.) It includes all things buzzy from the past week, including the Tik Tok memes you would probably never stumble on yourself. Every week it’s hilarious and eye-opening. What are “the kids” talking about? Subscribe and you’ll know.
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