TCL #2 - Starting Over From Scratch…

What’s going on! Jay here.

I’m a little discouraged…

I had this week’s newsletter edition all set and ready to publish…

And…

Meh.

It was just meh.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not the quality that I was judging.

Was it valuable? You bet.

Was it actionable? You know it.

But was it “me”? Eh, not really.

You see, for the past week, I’ve been studying some of my favorite newsletters.

• What do I like about them?

• What do I not like about them?

• How can I emulate them in my own way?

…and while that was great to gain inspiration…

Something was missing.

It felt… off.

I had written that email with their style. With their vibe. Off indeed.

But at the same time, I didn’t want to start over from scratch.

This was a solid 1-2 hours of my life we’re talking about.

Big deal, huh? Well, it was to me.

But, if you’re reading this, then that means I did indeed start over from scratch.

So lemme explain why:

Nowadays, it seems like everybody and their grandma has a newsletter.

So what makes YOURS different?

Well, I knew I couldn’t make mine longer… because I just didn’t have the time to spend researching and writing.

I knew that I couldn’t make it much shorter… because then I’d lose my internal drive to write it.

And I knew I couldn’t make mine more “valuable” than others… because all work and no play is no fun. (Plus, if all people wanted was "tips and tricks", couldn't they just go to Google?)

So… what did I do?

I doubled down on what made me… me.

1. More storytelling

2. More personality

3. More random “ahah” ideas

4. More freestyle “off the cuff” writing

5. More raw, sometimes vulnerable moments

Because at the end of the day, “valuable” writing can be outsourced.

Now, even AI tools can write a whole newsletter for you.

But what AI can’t replace?

Creativity. The ability to connect 2 seemingly unrelated ideas.

An “Ahah” life moment + A writing/creator lesson

That’s hard to replicate.

So even though The Sunk Cost Fallacy is kickin’ in…

And I may not get as many new subscribers from this...

I feel much better writing straight from my heart, to you.

Plus, you'll build far deeper connections with your audience when you write with your heart:

And hey, maybe I’ll make that scratched newsletter edition into a Twitter thread sometime soon.

So keep your eyes peeled. 👀

Talk soon,

Jay “Doubling Down On Myself” Yang

Jay’s Picks 🔍

• Read more about the Sunk Cost Fallacy. What it is. An example. And 3 ways to apply it to your business.

• Marketing Frameworks (Sponsored). Are you a founder or maker looking to level up your marketing stress-free? MakeBox Frameworks has a library of 50 battle-tested marketing frameworks to grow faster, sharpen your positioning, increase sales, and build your audience with 10-minute guides.

• How to turn one of my favorite hobbies (people-watching) into market research?

P.S. Because these letters will be shorter, I may write to you more often. Reply to this email with how many times a week you’d ideally want me to write to you. (Once? Twice? 3x? Daily?)

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