Why you should (mostly) ignore everyone else

👉 my second big lesson learned from 2023

My second “lesson learned from 2023” is a very practical one about writing newsletters - but it also applies to most of your marketing.

The lesson sounds simple. Obvious even.

But it’s not, because we’re under tremendous pressure to do the opposite.

Let me explain…

One of the biggest lessons I learned was to ignore what others are doing and just focus on doing things I want to do in the way I want to do them that I know will be helpful to my audience and clients.

As I say, that sounds simple, but in reality it’s not. Certainly not for me at least.

When I switched over my newsletter to publishing on Substack at the start of the year I did the obvious thing of looking around at what everyone else on the platform was doing.

That was helpful, but in some ways it was also a mistake.

Because what I found was that there are a lot of very good writers on Substack.

And the majority of Substack newsletters are long. They’re more like essays than the little short emails I send out. And many of them are highly analytical with lots of data and examples.

The more of these in-depth newsletters I read the more I began to think “is this what people want these days? Is this the ‘right’ way to do newsletters?”

I began to look at my little blasts with the odd practical tip or good idea illustrated with a personal story and think “maybe they’re not valuable enough?”.

I ended up feeling a weird combination of envy at how well-written and in-depth these other newsletters were, plus fear that mine just weren’t enough.

I started hesitating and agonising over emails that I’d previously just have dashed off. I wondered if I needed to rethink what I was doing.

Eventually just listening to the great feedback I was getting for my “simple” emails broke me out of it.

I realised that there’s plenty of room for different types of newsletter. Just as there’s room for plenty of different types of marketing.

Just because someone else seems to be succeeding with one type doesn’t mean it’s the right type for you.

Their situation is different. Their skills are different. They have a different amount of time available. Their audience expects something different from them.

What they like to do and they’re good at can work for them and what you like to do and are good at can work for you - at the same time.

And it’s certainly the case that trying to do something you don’t like that you’re not good at is a guaranteed route to ruin.

I also realised that audiences are pretty sophisticated. When I watch TV I watch comedies. I watch action films. I watch drama.

I might have my preferences but the vast majority of us appreciate lots of different formats and styles. In fact we get bored watching the same type of thing time and time again - we need variety.

It’s the same when it comes to newsletters. Just because someone is a big fan of an in-depth analytical monthly doesn’t mean they won’t also love my three-times-a-week stories with a message.

They’ll certainly find them easier to fit into a busy day :)

So if you find yourself worrying and procrastinating because you think someone else’s newsletter is better than yours or their marketing is better than yours or their whatever-it-is is better than yours, take a step back.

Ask yourself whether what you’re doing is valuable for your audience. Do they like it and enjoy it? Do they email you back? Does it eventually result in sales?

If so, it doesn’t matter what the other guy is doing.

- Ian

PS I suppose that mini crisis of confidence had a positive outcome. It reaffirmed that my approach to email really does work, and it gave me the confidence and energy to create possibly the best course on writing Effective and Engaging Newsletters there is.

PPS of course, at times, looking at what others are doing can be hugely helpful. Just don’t get overawed by what others are doing or assume you have to do things the same way. There’s plenty of room as long as you’re different enough and good enough.