Hey, how's it going? Anything nice for dinner? We're having a mexican-style chicken bake.

(I'll be honest, I'm still not sure how to start these emails 🤷)

Anyway...

I don't know how you like to start a new year, but I kicked off 2023 with an existential crisis, doubting everything about myself, and the world around me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 😬

See, at the end of last year I decided to refocus my business towards email, and felt really good about it.

I was going to take time off over Christmas to recharge, then hit the ground running in January.

What a fool I was.

It ended up being less of a run, and more of a terrifying plummet into the abyss.

(Is this too dark for the second email of a newsletter? My gut is telling me yes, but it’s better to be honest, right?…RIGHT?!?)

The catalyst for this mental breakdown was the rebranding process.

I’m a firm believer that brands should be honest, and represent the person/people doing the work. And a big part of this is introspection.

Makes sense in theory, right?

But when you’re a neurotic 35 year-old with a history of depression, anxiety, and recently diagnosed ADHD, this process has its risks.

My self-esteem’s default position is already rock bottom, so asking myself “why do people like me?” is the easiest way to stamp it into oblivion.

But stamp, I did!

It was a tough few weeks, questioning why anyone would ever like me, and struggling to find a single thing to add to my list.

Luckily—with the help of my VERY supportive wife Jessie—I came out the other side with a list of positive attributes, and a snazzy new tagline.

It wasn’t an easy process, but I now have a good grasp of who I am, and more importantly, how that translates into my ‘brand’.

‘Their Inbox Deserves Better’ might just look like a snappy tagline, but it comes from a genuine frustration I feel every time I open my emails.

Email is a great opportunity to build a relationship and trust with people, but most emails are clearly written for the sake of the sender, not the reader.

Most emails are written like landing pages:

“Get More Done By Putting Your Work on Autopilot”**

“Save time and sell more with our new tools”**

“New: Address collection made easy”**

These are three genuine examples I just pulled from my inbox

(Not my proper inbox, obvs. You lovely folk get my real email address, everyone else gets the spam account.)

Seeing shit like this in my inbox pisses me off! It’s such a wasted opportunity. And it’s a sure-fire way to get people to unsubscribe.

Every email you send is an opportunity to tell the reader why they should care about you. Why they should care about your company. Why they should care about your product or service.

For a while, these frustrations were the reason I avoided email projects. But I realised that this is actually a strength, and I should mold my brand around them.

And all it took was a deep and crippling mental breakdown.

Easy peasy…

*ahem*

Have a great week!

Jon

p.s. This email was supposed to go out last Friday, but I had a bad week, so decided to wait until I was in a better headspace. It also reminded me to remind you that we all have good and bad days, and if you’re having a bad day, I promise good days will come. And if you’re having a good day…bon appétit!