Mind of a Maker
A daily blog inspired by Matthew Dicks
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”
To become better at something, you have to practice. What better way to become a better writer and storyteller than to practice by making a habit of writing daily?
In this daily blog, we’ll discuss Maker-related topics as well as what inspires projects, including YouTube videos, Movies, TV Shows, Disney, Star Wars, LEGO, Books, and more. Everything is on the table, and nothing is off-limits.
Disclaimer: The thumbnail images featured on this blog are often AI-generated. See Disclosure page for more information.
3 Mistakes Makers Starting Newsletters Should Avoid
You've taken the plunge into creating a brand around your Maker content and a newsletter seems like the best next fit.
You probably started by subscribing to other Maker newsletters (if you weren't already) and tried to emulate what they did. The issue is that most newsletters are terrible and you're just repeating the same mistakes they do. Ultimately, you don't get any traction, the newsletter takes a backseat (if you keep sending at all), and you wonder why you wasted your time and effort.
2 Reasons You Shouldn't Discount Email Marketing For Makers
Your email inbox is already overflowing, so why should you even think about keeping up with your own newsletter?
Every website you go to has an annoying pop-up or "subscribe for news and updates" form buried at the bottom of the webpage. So if it's already so saturated (and usually annoying), should you even try?
The Top 5 Mistakes That Will Sink Your Maker-Related Newsletter Before Year-End (And What To Do Instead)
Since the mid 2000's, people have said that email is dead and they are partially correct.
Email lists can be amazingly powerful and provide leverage to get your message in front of more people without going through algorithms. However, you're almost certainly in the ~85% of newsletters that ultimately fail. Instead of wasting all the time and effort you've already put in, let's make a few tweaks to get into the ~15% of successful newsletters.
Is AI The Death Of Your Maker Newsletter?
We're all constantly bombarded with headlines about what AI is going to kill next, so will it be your newsletter?
AI is becoming more accessible to more people every day. Updates come faster than ever, whether it's updates to Chat-GPT having access to real-time internet or Claude updating how it creates documents.
3 Faulty Beliefs Maker Small Businesses Have About Newsletters
You've graduated from hobby to trying to build up your side hustle Making things, but dislike the idea of starting a newsletter.
I overall dislike most newsletters as well, but it's still an extremely powerful platform that can explode your business if done correctly.
To do that, we need to change how we think about it.
The Top 2 Mistakes Causing Your Maker Newsletter To Be Left Unopened (and how to fix it)
Whether you're a brand or creator, you put a ton of time and effort into your social media presence, but have largely neglected your newsletter.
Contrary to popular belief, email is an incredibly popular and profitable form of getting your message directly in front of your audience.