how to apply the e-myth to your email list

Happy Thursday!

One of the first entrepreneurial books I ever read was The E-Myth by Michael Gerber.

If you've read it, you probably know the big idea:

There's a difference between working IN your business and working ON your business.

It's one of those concepts that sounds almost too obvious when you first hear it…

But over time, you realize how important it really is.

For instance:

Some seasons I'm deep in "publisher" mode, designing systems, mapping out offers, thinking strategically about what I'm building…

Other seasons I'm buried in the weeds, cranking out content and putting out fires like everyone else.

It's a constant tug of war.

Anyhow:

I've been thinking a lot lately about a parallel distinction that applies specifically to email list owners.

One that most people never make.

And it's this:

There's a massive difference between writing vs publishing as a list owner.

Writing is the craft.

It's the words on the page, the stories, the hooks, the subject lines.

It's working IN your business.

Publishing is the strategy.

It's the architecture around those emails that determines whether they actually generate revenue on a consistent basis.

Things like how you structure your offers, how you sequence your content, how you think about your list as a business asset instead of just an audience.

That's working ON your business.

Most list owners I talk to are stuck in "writing" mode.

They're focused on getting better at the craft (which matters, obviously)…

But they've never stepped back and thought about the bigger picture of what it means to be a publisher.

And when you're only doing one of those two things…

You end up with great emails that don't make money.

Or worse…

You burn out because you're grinding on the writing without seeing the results that would make the effort worth it.

And, candidly:

This was probably the single biggest gap in the first edition of my book.

The original version was almost entirely focused on the writing side.

How to tell stories, how to structure emails, how to make offers without being salesy.

All important stuff.

But it was missing the other half of the equation:

The publishing side.

Which was my #1 motivator in choosing to put out a second edition.

I wanted to patch that hole and give you the foundational knowledge to understand how writing and publishing integrate together to actually monetize your list…

Without violating my sacred commitment to short books :)

Here’s everything you’ll discover inside the 2.0 version of the Playbook:

How to use my new 4-step "Email Storyselling" formula to collect daily sales and profits from your subscribers (even if you're NOT a natural writer or storyteller)

The two jobs of every email list owner... almost everyone obsesses over the wrong one (pg. 4)

Why "value" emails officially stopped working (blame AI and a 200-year-old law of economics) (pg. 7)

The dark side of traditional email newsletters (and the $0.05-per-subscriber mistake I made with my own newsletter for 4 years) (pg. 9)

The invisible 3-part "contract" every profitable list owner honors with their audience (this is something TV producers figured out ages ago… break any part of it and you quietly train your subscribers to STOP opening.) (pg. 22)

9 not-so-obvious reasons why Email Storyselling is so effective (pg. 26)

What NEVER to do when selling digital products (this is a mistake I see all the time... even with seasoned experts and niche celebrities) (pg. 31)

The only 2 kinds of stories you should tell in an email (and which one CONVERTS better) (pg. 43)

3 ways to generate UNLIMITED story-driven email ideas (pg. 51)

How to build a gigantic "story repository" in just 5-10 minutes per week that you can mine for YEARS (so you never have to struggle with writer's block or feel stuck on what to write about) (pg. 54)

How to generate polarizing and emotionally resonant "commandments" you can recycle again and again in your emails to convert subscribers into buyers (pg. 55)

The secret to writing story-driven emails really FAST even if you can only type 20-40 words a minute (pg. 60)

The "facet match" trick that makes 5 straight emails about the exact SAME offer feel like 5 totally different emails (pg. 64)

The lazy person's guide to telling simple stories that sell (even if you're a total beginner) (pg. 71)

My contrarian "paint by numbers" approach to Email Storyselling (this feels plain WRONG to most writers... but it's helped me sell $10,000,000+ worth of stuff with email) (pg. 73)

Swipe my fill-in-the-blanks Email Storyselling template to start selling ASAP... or feed it to your favorite AI chatbot so it can write winning emails FOR you! (pg. 84)

How to write dozens of KILLER subject lines in minutes with the "Curiosity Matrix" (pg. 89)

A simple technique for creating offer “tension” that keeps subscribers addicted to your emails (even if they’ve already bought stuff from you) (pg. 95)

11 sneaky ways to “reframe” an offer your list has already seen, so you can promote the same thing again and AGAIN without burning anyone out (pg. 98)

The exact 30-day promo calendar that pulled $32k from a list of 2,800 subscribers (steal this) (pg. 103)

And lots more

As you can see…

It’s packed full of tactical nuggets you can use as soon as tomorrow to start making more money from your email list.

Grab yourself a copy for just $3 right here:

→ Get your copy of The Email Storyselling Playbook 2.0 for only $3

Jim Hamilton

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