Beat your "I can't think of a damn thing" email topic demon

--> Because we all have one

Ever find yourself staring at a blank screen, desperately trying to conjure up an idea for your next newsletter?

Me too. Like today.

I’ve had a busy day, been travelling a lot, and by the time I sat down to write this email, my brain was at a chocolate teapot level of usefulness.

For a while I wondered if I could get away with a "sorry, brain empty, try again tomorrow" email. But then it struck me, if I could beat this demon, I could share with you how to do it.

And it’s important to beat it.

Because if we can't come up with ideas for our emails quickly and easily, we usually end up not writing them at all.

And that’s a big problem. Because online, it’s those emails that allow you to build relationships with potential clients, show off your expertise (in a good way, not a "look at me, I'm amazing" way), and become top of mind for when they need help.

No emails = no relationships = (eventually) no business.

How did I get out of this pickle? And more importantly, how can you when you face it yourself (because we all face it).

Well, it’s just one method, but it’s a quick and easy one.

First, look back at your 3 most recent client conversations where you discussed problems or challenges they had.

And if you don’t have direct client conversations? No worries. Look at the 3 most recent emails where people asked you a question.

And if you don’t get many emails like that, think about the 3 most recent problems you've faced yourself.

In this case, it was obviously the last version: a problem I found myself facing recently (like now).

Why 3 problems or challenges?

Well, any more and you'll end up going round in circles trying to decide which one to write about.

Any less, and you might not find one that's email-worthy. Three is the Goldilocks number - just right.

Once you've got your three, pick the one that jumps out at you. The one where you think, "Aha! I know how to solve that!"

Then, think of 2 or 3 specific examples where you've solved this problem or helped clients solve it. Because it’s often the little details that come out in an example that are the most helpful rather than the theoretical steps.

The “think of 3…” guidance in this email comes from exactly that real-world experience - I’ve tried listing a dozen and been overwhelmed by the choices. I’ve tried to just do the last question I was asked and got stuck because I couldn’t compress the answer into an email.

But when you look at just 3 you almost always find one you can do.

By basing my advice on a real example I can make it more practical than “think of all your client’s problems and challenges” or “think of the last problem or challenge you discussed with a client”. Both of those sound great in theory, but experience has shown me it’s better to focus on 3.

And with your advice, if you base it on practical experience it’ll be more useful (and it’ll get the message across that your expertise is practical and experience-based, not just something you read in a chatroom somewhere).

And that’s it really. A dead simple approach to picking an email topic.

It’s not rocket science, but it allowed me to get started writing this email. And once I got started with the topic, it became much, much easier.

You can do the same with your next email - or the next - or any time the “I can’t think of a damn thing” demon comes calling.

It’s simple, and it gets the job done.

Of course, if you want to dive deeper into the world of email newsletters and never run out of ideas again, you might want to check out my Effective and Engaging Email Newsletters Course. We cover coming up with email topics in depth, along with a whole bunch of other useful stuff. But that's entirely up to you.

For now, just remember this simple method…

…next time you're feeling stuck go for 3 recent problems, 1 solution, 2-3 examples.

And let me know how it goes!

- Ian