Hello World 👋
When we started this podcast, one of the first things we did was set up a newsletter.
Why? Because everyone told us to.
“Collect emails from day one.” “You need a newsletter.” “Build your list.” We’d heard it a hundred times. So we did it. Signed up for Substack, added a subscribe button, started sending emails every week.
But a few weeks ago, someone asked us a question we couldn’t answer: Why?
Why the newsletter? Why every week? What’s the actual goal here?
And we realised we’d been conflating two very different things.
📧 Collecting emails is not the same as running a newsletter
Here’s what we wish someone had told us earlier:
Collecting emails = having a way to reach your audience directly, whenever you need to.
Running a newsletter = committing to showing up in someone’s inbox on a regular schedule.
You need the first one. The second one is optional.
🔐 Why emails matter (even if you never send a single one)
Every follower you have on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok isn’t really yours. They belong to the platform. One algorithm shift, one suspended account (hi, this literally happened to a creator we know this month), and they’re gone.
Email is the only way to reach your people directly. No algorithm deciding whether they see you. No platform that can cut you off.
It sounds old school. It kind of is. But it’s also the one thing that’s actually yours.
Even if you have nothing to sell, nothing to say, and no idea what you’re doing (hi, that’s us most days), collecting emails means you have options later.
Want to launch something in six months? You can tell people about it.
Want to start a community? You can invite people to join.
Want to just... disappear from social media and still have a way to reach your audience? You can.
🚀 The minimum viable email list
You don’t need a lead magnet. You don’t need a welcome sequence. You don’t need to commit to weekly emails.
You need a landing page with one sentence:
“If I ever make something, you’ll be the first to know.”
That’s it. Link it in your bio. Mention it at the end of your videos. Let people opt in.
You can figure out what to do with those emails later. The important thing is that you’re collecting them now, while people are paying attention.
Kit, Substack, Beehiv (all free to start). Pick one. Set it up. Move on.
💌 So do you need a newsletter?
Honestly? Maybe not.
A newsletter makes sense if:
You enjoy writing and want to do it regularly
You have something to say that doesn’t fit on social media
You want to build a deeper relationship with your audience over time
A newsletter doesn’t make sense if:
You’re only doing it because someone told you to
It feels like a chore every single week
You’d rather just email people when you actually have something to share
We chose to run a newsletter because we like the accountability of showing up weekly. But if we didn’t, we’d still be collecting emails. We’d just use them differently.
The point is: don’t let “I’m not ready to run a newsletter” stop you from collecting emails. Those are two separate decisions.
✨ Your one thing this week
Set up that landing page. One sentence. Link in bio.
You don’t have to know what comes next. Just start collecting.
And if you already have an email list sitting there that you’ve been ignoring? Maybe this is your sign to send them something. Even just a “hey, I’m still here.”
Hit reply and tell us: do you have an email list? Are you using it? What’s stopping you?
Becky & Bhav x
📺 For those of you who prefer to watch on YouTube 👇
💼 Want to work with us? Book a call with Becky | Bhav
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