Hi Reader,

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How are you feeling one month into 2022?

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I'm freakin' energized and pumped for this year!

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I just returned from sunny California, where I spent one week with the Forte Labs team planning the new year and another week working exclusively on marketing with Tiago and Marc, our Director of Content.

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Don't we look so proud with our brand-new BASB shirts? (Why the heck are my eyes closed in this photo 🙈)

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This week, I reflected on the planning process we went through at our retreat and wrote it all down.

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You can now read about our 6-step process to clarity and a well-defined list of goals and initiatives here:

​How a 7-figure online course business planned its year​

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I've also included action steps you can take to plan your year.

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Now, let's dive into this week's newsletter...

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✍️ Marketing & Copywriting

Stew Fortier @stewfortier I've now asked 30+ successful newsletter writers how they got their first 1,000 subscribers. Their answers are all similar. Here's how to go from 0 to 1K subscribers (thread): January 28th 2022 2 Retweets 28 Likes

Building an email list is one of the highest-leverage things you can do. Stew breaks down the how.

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​8 marketing principles every online course creator should know and follow​

If you want to build an audience and find your ideal students, check these out. The most counterintuitive one is probably number two: Give away your best ideas for free.

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🤓 Online Courses

Daniel Bustamante @dbustac Automation for Course Creators 101 10 simple Zapier automations that will save you thousands of hours (and make your students happier) 🧵 January 19th 2022 47 Retweets 317 Likes

This thread is well worth diving into if you want to make your life as a course creator a little easier.

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​Should you offer discounts for your online course?​

Discounts seem to be the default to create urgency and get people to buy now. But they have some considerable downsides. So, here's an alternative you might not have thought about.

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📈 Productivity

Julia Saxena 🚀🚢 @julia_saxena I'm rereading the 4-hour workweek and decided to start checking my emails only 2 times per day. So far... • I'm more focused and don't get lost reading newsletters throughout the day • I haven't missed anything truly important Was it really that easy? January 26th 2022 1 Retweets 22 Likes

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As I'm settling back into a routine, I noted down the following operating principles for myself:

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• Define a daily highlight: What are the 1-2 things I really want to get done today? Work on this first.
• Limit meetings as much as possible and schedule them in the early afternoon when energy for deep work is usually low
• Check emails only two times per day: just before lunch & in the evening
• Work in Pomodoro sprints without interruptions
• Finish work by 4:30 pm and hit the gym by 5 pm

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Following these have made for an insanely productive week. As the weekend arrived, I feel accomplished but not drained or strained.

Hope to repeat that next week!

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Julia

Your Copywriter & Online Course Specialist

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PS: We're looking for a Social Media Specialist to join the Forte Labs team part-time.

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If you want to help us reach more people on Twitter and LinkedIn so they can start building a Second Brain, apply here by Jan 31st.

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Or please share with someone who could be a great fit.

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PPS: Missed the last newsletter? I shared 9 lessons learned and my best content from 2021. Read it here.