Writing and storytelling, are foundational skills to your entire life. If you write well, it almost makes you better in every other area of your life - you think more clearly, it exposes the gaps in your thoughts instantly, happens to me all the time. The amount you’ll just learn about a topic, simply by writing about it and breaking down complex systems into simple-to-understand sentences is insane.

In a business, writing proves itself to be crucial in many different areas.

Understanding how to tap into people’s emotions, how do you make someone feel something? And then make small iterations daily - get to the top 1%

Here, I want to break down [one] of two key areas that deliver the most proven ROI

1. Newsletters 

2. Email funnels

What is a newsletter and why is it valuable?:

It’s regularly distributed writing that shares valuable content, updates, or insights with an owned subscribed audience.

Keywords are regularly distributed, valued, and owned audience

Now that we’ve got the 101 basics out the way, why would someone want to build one for themselves?

There’s many reasons including some I named above, but what stands out to me is the leverage it has to bring you an Insane ROI.

In today’s economy, everyone is trying to start and grow a personal brand, to have influence that gives them the ability to have leverage inside their industry and if you're trying to raise more capital.

Their newsletter acts as this metric they can point to, which proves they know what they’re talking about when it comes to distribution. Honestly, this distribution looks to be more important than product right now, it’s become increasingly easier to duplicate products and offers, but generating and holding attention is getting more difficult over time.

How do you start a newsletter in today’s competitive world? Is it even worth it?:

I’ve wrestled with these questions myself, second-guessing my moves. But here’s what I’ve learned:

Competition isn’t something to fear—it’s a sign of life. We’ve all heard Peter Thiel’s view that competition is for “losers,” and while I agree long-term, at first, competition is actually validation. It proves there’s demand.

When it comes to media, it’s all about “permissionless leverage”—anyone can build it. The key to standing out? Being authentic.

Look at Joe Rogan—he’s into aliens, MMA, mushrooms, and comedy. Alex Hormozi loves business, psychology, and fitness. They’ve built their brands by showing who they truly are, not by trying to fit into a mold.

By sharing your unique experiences and quirks, you create an audience that resonates with you. Some people may only care about one part of your journey, but others will connect with it all. This is how you become a monopoly in your space—no one can beat you at being you. At best, they get second place.

Building a newsletter is simple:

1. Leverage your socials.

2. Use a reinvestment strategy to fuel growth.

3. Secure sponsorships and paid promotions (like on Beehiiv).

These profits go into two buckets: paid ads and affiliate programs like the creator network. With this, every subscriber you gain can bring in 0.5-1.5 new subscribers from your partners.

In just 3 months, your newsletter becomes a self-sustaining cashflow machine—and all it takes is less than 3 hours of work per month.

Owned Audiences:

Owning your audience is one of the most powerful assets you can have. Unlike social media followers, who are at the mercy of ever-changing algorithms and platforms that can decide to throttle your reach at any time, an owned audience is yours to control.

When you own your audience—whether through a newsletter, a community, or a direct platform—you have direct access to them. You’re not relying on a third party to connect you with your followers. You have their email addresses, phone numbers, or other contact points that you can use to communicate whenever you want, without needing to worry about someone else taking a cut or deciding your content isn’t “on-brand” enough.

The beauty of an owned audience is that it’s a long-term investment. Social media followers might come and go, but your owned audience grows stronger over time. You can nurture these relationships, personalize your communication, and create deeper trust. This leads to higher engagement, better conversions, and, ultimately, more revenue.

In short, owning your audience gives you freedom. You control how and when you reach them, and you’re building something that won’t be taken away by platform changes or algorithm shifts. You’re building a foundation that’s yours to keep, and that’s a rare and invaluable thing in today’s digital world.

See you next week,

Vice