The wall nobody talks about

Let me cut straight to the chase.

Last week, staring at my 5th damn rewrite of a newsletter, I caught myself slipping into that old, familiar headspace:

“Am I actually moving the business forward? Or am I just — again — yelling into the void?”

If you’ve been in the trenches (like, actually doing the work, not just talking about it on LinkedIn), you’ve probably felt the same.

That moment where your open rates flatline, replies dry up, and it feels like the inbox is a black hole, swallowing every ounce of effort with zero payoff.

Here’s the truth nobody likes to admit:

We all hit the “is this even working?” wall.

And it’s not just you and me, 52% of email pros are now specialists hired just for email, not generalists.

That’s up by 40% since 2018.

Brands are finally treating email like the growth engine it is, but with that focus comes pressure. Even the experts are feeling these growing pains.

I learned this the ugly way.

Building a newsletter that matters isn’t just about clever subject lines or “best time to send” hacks. It’s about creating something people freaking care about.

But the problem isn’t really the algorithms or even people’s attention spans.

It’s the voice in your head convincing you that if things aren’t blowing up overnight, it’s not working. That every slow week means you’re losing. That the only way to win is with hustle so loud it drowns out actual strategy.

That’s bullshit.

Here’s what actually moved the needle for me, and for every client I’ve helped go from 1K to 100K+ loyal, paying subscribers:

• Double down on your differentiator. Make every email sound like you — quirks and all.

• Treat every send like a conversation, not a broadcast. Ask questions. Give more than you pitch. Make it human.

And above all?

• Keep freakin going. Consistency crushes every “new trick” you could try.

The obstacle isn’t the outside world, it’s believing you’re not making a dent when the right people the ones who’ll become diehard fans are silently taking notice.

So here’s what I want you to do:

If you’re ready to build a newsletter brand people actually care about (and can’t wait to buy from), let’s make that wall the last one you ever hit.

I’m opening a couple of spots to work 1:1 on newsletters that turn subscribers into fans and fans into customers.

Hit reply (or check out what working together looks like here).

— Shashank