Hi Friends,

I wanted to talk about my recent experiments with newsletters.

I’m an entrepreneur and for years I’d start my projects by coding a product, but no more.

These days the VERY FIRST THING I do when I come up with a business idea is spin up a newsletter (and I don’t even code my own newsletter platform). Here’s why.

Reason 1: To see if I like the market

People often pick their market by accident—they learn to code, come up with an idea that is creatively fulfilling and before they know it they’re a month into building a product they hope can earn them some money…

But there’s a problem. They’re stuck in an illusion. They think the product is the business, but they’re wrong. The heart of the business is actually an intangible idea—that there is a “problem” that the customer faces and that the business can (somehow) provide the solution.

The brand, marketing funnel and communication messages are the tools that take a random person on the street and convince them to use the product—that stuff is all writing.

So when I start a new idea the first thing I want to start playing with is ideas. What might I say? Who might I say it to? Do I like writing on this topic? Which problems do I find most interesting?

The act of writing teaches me about the market. What I like, don’t like, and how I reach the market.

Reason 2: To build a brand, audience and credibility ASAP

If I launch a new habit tracking app into the app store tomorrow I’ll likely get 0 downloads (I know, I’ve tried). I lack ratings, stars, credibility. Other products will always beat me unless I’m literally the only thing on the shelf (and I’m solving a super painful problem—this is not the reality in the app store these days).

I can build credibility though.

I can create useful mini-products (articles), help people in the community, and slowly build up that reputation. Reputation is the kindling that gets those first precious customers and eventually turns into the pile of market-leading ratings, stars, and credibility.

Reason 3: To explore the market (try solving a few tiny problems) without having to make a big time commitment to a particular product or problem right away

It’s rare for an entrepreneur to know what problem to work on when they first enter the market. We forget this because we are typically trying to emulate fully-formed companies for inspiration for our own ideas, but most founders explored the market for a while before “stumbling” into their billion dollar idea.

Elon Musk was originally going to build a greenhouse on Mars. The guys who created Doom were originally writing shareware that came with a magazine. Steve Jobs and Woz originally tried to sell phone hacking equipment.

The point is you need a way to explore the problems in a market.

Writing articles fits the bill. The big problems in a market are made up of an infinite number if teeny-tiny problems. Entrepreneurs want to market (big problem) so they need to select a good logo color (teeny problem).

Get busy solving teeny problems as you search for your big problem.

So spin up a newsletter

So spin up a newsletter to kick off your projects.

Your newsletter gives you a way to collect fans and a way to communicate (with words) with them. It’s how you can start forming relationships and solving problems and that is the heart of a business.

Hope you enjoyed today’s email. Stay tuned for more.

-Walt