52 Button Pushes: The Real Problem with Newsletter Consistency
Why do smart, successful people start newsletters with such enthusiasm, only to abandon them after a few weeks?
It's not what you think.
After almost four years of publishing weekly newsletters and watching countless others start and stop, I've learned something that would have saved me months of struggle: the problem isn't your writing ability.
The problem is that you're treating newsletter consistency like a creativity challenge when it's a courage challenge.
This isn't about writing better
You already know how to communicate. You send clear emails. You explain complex ideas to colleagues. You give advice that people follow.
The gap between knowing and doing isn't filled with more writing courses or content calendars. It's filled with understanding why you keep hitting save instead of send.
This series cuts through the productivity theatre around newsletter writing and addresses what stops you from publishing consistently: fear disguised as perfectionism, courage disguised as systems, and the uncomfortable truth that showing up matters more than showing off.
What you'll learn
These five posts will show you how to transform newsletter writing from an overwhelming creative project into a simple weekly practice. You'll discover why your most significant obstacle isn't time, inspiration, or writing skill—and what it is.
More importantly, you'll learn how to press publish 52 times in a year, even when (especially when) you think what you've written isn't good enough.
The 52 Button Pushes Series
Rick
Post 1: You already know how to write—that's not the problem →
Rick
Post 2: Your newsletter dies the moment you 'find time' to write →
Rick
Post 3: You're not a perfectionist—you're scared →
Rick
Post 4: I am my newsletter's biggest fan (and harshest critic) →
Rick
Post 5: It's just 52 publish buttons →You can s
You can start with Post 1, or jump to whichever title makes you most uncomfortable. That's probably the one you need to read first.
These posts give you the mindset. If you want the mechanics, I've built the systems: Ghostwriters for client newsletter management and Newsletter OS for personal publishing. Both templates turn the operational mess into something you can stick with; however, you are the one who needs to put in the work. The templates are there just for support.
Simple Newsletter OS
Newsletters are seen as the new gold with the rapid decline of organic reach in social media. Furthermore, sending out a regular newsletter is also a great way to develop your thinking and writing skills. Besides creating and publishing a newsletter, you also need to consider how you attract new people to your newsletter and promote your current editions; for this, you need some traffic drivers.
Ghostwriter's Zettelkasten Toolkit
The “Ghostwriter’s Toolkit” is a comprehensive Notion template designed to streamline the content creation, enhance note-taking efficiency, and foster continuous idea generation. It seamlessly combines a simple yet powerful content system for planning and executing newsletters with an advanced note-taking system inspired by the Zettelkasten method.