Stop asking me if I exist.

Is this true for you? I keep getting emails from newsletters asking me if I’m still around.
Maybe it’s because I use Apple products, which emphasize privacy, and mask a lot of opens and clicks that newsletters (still?!) use to determine engagement, as if we were living in 2015.
Why are so many creators so quick to unsubscribe a loyal and engaged reader? Blaming it on data is avoiding the question and creating a bigger problem — because I never respond.
Sometimes I wonder “what ever happened to…[creator who unsubbed me]?” That’s not a place you ever want a reader to be.
Publishing in 2025 means never trusting the data alone. Slow down on the cost-cutting and dig a little deeper into who is subscribing to you. You may be surprised.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read. — CJ
Newsletters are about to get hot…again.
Omeda has published their 2025 State of Audience Report. A few things here rung true with me based on conversations I’ve had with agency owners: Search traffic is way down and more businesses are turning to email newsletters to reclaim ownership of their audience.
Email ROI is ridiculous.
The tagline of the new 2025 Litmus State of Email Report echoes exactly what my book said: It’s all about relationships now. According to the report, “One-third of companies see an ROI between 10:1 and 36:1 and another third see ROI above 36:1.” Not bad for an old, boring form of media.
AI is the cure that causes the illness.
I tried being a little positive in my last email about AI and creators. But it looks like I picked the wrong month for that, as one of the most dire articles about AI effects on the economy was published, then boosted by industry leaders and a former President. My take: With such a reduced need for labor in 1-5 years, why would continuously increasing productivity become the focus long-term? The workers are the consumers. Reducing prices only goes so far when your clients have no money at all. This race to the bottom is going to kill companies we think of now as unkillable.
Warner Bros. misses the physical media they abandoned.
The AI story above isn’t the only case of giant companies sabotaging their long-term success for potential short-term gains. Media giants are now missing the days of huge-margin, physical media releases. Mike Deluca, Co-Chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, says “When we lost DVDs, when DVDs went away, we did lose a safety net, and streaming doesn’t quite make up that gap.” Huh. You “lost” DVDs. Like your car keys? I guess we just give up then? No one has the imagination to offer something better than increasingly unpopular streaming services? Maybe look into a few of these companies who are doing quite well.
“The scariest thing about AI is realizing your employer doesn’t need you any longer. The exciting thing about AI is realizing you don’t need your employer any longer.” — Jack Zerby
“It takes a lot of imagination to do nothing and you have to be sufficiently self-confident not to have a bad conscience. You have to have a taste for life, so that every minute is complete in itself and so you don’t have to keep saying ‘I’ve done this or that.’ You need strong nerves to do nothing.” — Françoise Sagan via Austin Kleon