43: The 30-Minute Email Newsletter System Every Solopreneur Needs to Grow (Without Funnels or Fancy Tech)

📧 What If Instagram Disappeared Tomorrow?

Real talk: would you still be able to sell?

If you woke up tomorrow and Instagram was just... gone, would your business survive? Would you have any way to reach your people, announce your next launch, or make a sale?

This isn't some doomsday scenario I'm making up to scare you. Instagram actually went down during one of my launches in 2023. And you know what? I kept selling. Because I had built the one asset that gives you complete control over your business: an email list.

But here's what I know about you right now. You're probably thinking, "Em, I KNOW I need an email list. But I'm not a writer. I don't have time. And honestly, the tech side of it all makes me want to throw my laptop out the window."

I get it. Because that was me too.

In this post, I'm breaking down the exact system I use to send a newsletter every single week without it taking over my life. The same system that helped me build 16,000 subscribers, maintain a 53% open rate, and generate a $95,000 launch where email was the backbone. Not viral reels. Not paid ads. Not some complicated funnel.

Just simple, consistent email marketing that actually works.

Sound like something you need? Keep reading.

Before we dive in, I need you to know about two time-sensitive opportunities happening right now: Flodesk (my beloved email service provider) is phasing out their unlimited pricing plan on November 28th at midnight. If you sign up before then, you're grandfathered into unlimited pricing forever.

Plus, I can get you 50% off your first year with code THECREATIVEBODEGA, or simply by CLICKING HERE, making it just $19/month. And my Start and Grow Your Email List from Scratch program? It's $200 off for five days only, now just $297. If you've been putting off starting your email list, this is literally your moment.

🛁 The Bathroom Newsletter Origin Story (Or: How I Went From Terrified to 1,020 Emails Sent)

Let me take you back to Fall 2020.

I was mentoring clients via Zoom calls while juggling a 3-month-old and a 17-month-old. Between calls, I would literally hide in my bathroom, frantically trying to piece together my first newsletter. My hands were shaking. I was on the phone with my mom begging her to proofread it because I felt like I was going brain dead.

"Mom, I just need another set of eyes. Does this make sense? Do I have any grammatical errors? Please just tell me this is okay."

Because here's the truth: I did not see myself as a writer.

I could create beautiful things in Canva all day long. I could design graphics that stopped the scroll. But writing? That terrified me. I was incredibly intimidated by the entire concept of having a newsletter.

And the email platform I was on at the time? ActiveCampaign. It felt like rocket science every single time I tried to use it. I needed my husband to help me find where the compose area was. It was like a scavenger hunt just to send a basic email. I only used it because he used it, and I wanted someone in my back pocket to help with the tech.

But as time went on, I hated the platform more and more. I wanted to throw my laptop out the window every time I opened it.

So I made a decision that changed everything.

I switched to Flodesk, even though my husband didn't know the platform. I was hearing from experts I respected that Flodesk was the answer. I was getting their emails and they were so beautiful, and mine weren't. And design matters to me.

And it turns out? I didn't need my husband's help anymore. The setup of Flodesk was so simple and beautiful that I could do it myself. That moment of independence, of realizing I could actually manage my own email marketing without needing tech support, was incredibly empowering.

But I still had the writing problem.

All the emails I was getting from the people I admired were like little mini blogs. Long storytelling pieces that circled back to a bigger lesson at the end. And I'm sitting there thinking, "Oh my God, this is like rocket science. I'm not a writer. How am I going to build this big email every week?"

That's when I decided to build a format I could rinse and repeat. Because that's my jam. In everything I do, I have a format. I have something I can rinse and repeat.

I developed what I call my 3-2-1 Create newsletter format:

• Short intro (under 100 words)

• Three ideas to grow your business

• Two things I'm loving right now (which gave me freedom to share Amazon links, clothing finds, whatever)

• One content tip pulled directly from my highest-performing Instagram post that week

Once I had the tool (Flodesk) that didn't make me want to cry, and a format that felt like fill-in-the-blank, the overwhelm dialed down dramatically.

Fast forward to now: I haven't missed a Tuesday newsletter in four years. I've sent 1,020 emails. My email list sits at 16,000 subscribers. My average open rate hovers around 53% (the average is 20-50%). My click rate lands around 2.7-2.9% (the average is 1-2%). And my unsubscribes? Tiny. Just 0.4-0.5%.

From shaking hands in my bathroom to over 1,000 emails sent. That's what's possible when you have the right tools and the right system.

Ready to build your own email list with a proven system? My Start and Grow Your Email List from Scratch program walks you through everything from creating your freebie to setting up Flodesk to launching your weekly newsletter. It's instant access, self-paced, and includes four modules with bite-sized lessons. Right now it's $200 off (just $297) for five days only. This is the exact path I took to build my 16,000-subscriber list.

🎯 Why Email Gives You Control (And Social Media Never Will)

Here's the math that should wake you up:

Instagram reach: 3-6% of your followers on a good day
Email open rate: 20-50% (mine averages 53%)

If you have 1,000 Instagram followers, maybe 30-60 people see your sales post. If you have 1,000 email subscribers, 200-500 people actually see your message.

That's not theory. That's my week-to-week reality.

Social media is rented land. You don't control your reach. You don't control who sees your posts. You don't control whether a launch you poured your heart into actually surfaces in more than a tiny fraction of your followers' feeds.

But email? You build your list once and you own it forever. You can move platforms, you can change offers, you can pivot your entire business model, but you still have a direct line to your people.

When Instagram went down during my 2023 launch, I kept selling. I don't even rely on Instagram during launches anymore. I'm barely posting on my feed these days. I show up in Stories because those are my people, but I'm sending emails. That's where the real connection and conversion happens.

My $95,000 launch? Email was the backbone. Not viral reels. Not a magic funnel (I don't have funnels). Not paid ads (I've never run a paid ad).

Just consistent, strategic email marketing.

💡 The Two Big Myths Keeping You Stuck

Myth #1: "I'm not a writer."

Great news: you don't have to be.

You need a format. That's it.

My 3-2-1 format takes 30 minutes total:

• 10 minutes: Draft the three ideas section

• 15 minutes: Fill everything in (half of this is repurposed from my Instagram content)

• 5 minutes: Link it and schedule it

Keep your intro under 100 words. Add three ideas that can literally be bullet points. Add two things you're loving (or two anything that makes sense for your brand). Add one tip from your highest-performing post that week or a quote you love.

Done.

Inside my Start and Grow Your Email List program, I give you a menu of different newsletter frameworks to choose from. But honestly? You can just steal mine. It works.

Myth #2: "I don't have time to start a regular newsletter."

Trust me, I feel this to my core. I didn't have time either when I started.

But you also don't have time to fight the algorithm every single day, hoping that maybe today your post will reach more than 50 people.

The 30-minute workflow I just shared? That's sustainable. That's doable. That's how I've sent 1,020 emails over four years without missing a single Tuesday.

And here's a bonus that blows people's minds: you don't even need a website to start with Flodesk. Their forms are standalone, so they provide the links for you. You can have a freebie landing page live today that collects names and email addresses, delivers your freebie, and introduces you to new subscribers. No website development required.

Lock in Flodesk's unlimited pricing before November 28th at midnight. Use code THECREATIVEBODEGA for 50% off your first year (just $19/month, then $38/month after that). After November 28th, they're moving to a per-subscriber pricing model, and you'll never get pricing this low again. Even if you only have 10 subscribers right now, lock this in. Your future self will thank you.

🔧 Why I Chose Flodesk (And Why I'll Never Go Back)

I've used other platforms. MailChimp was painful. ActiveCampaign was so complex I needed a Sherpa to guide me up the mountain.

I wanted to write an email, build a form, deliver a freebie, set a simple email sequence, and see if people opened it. That's it. Basic stuff that shouldn't require a computer science degree.

Flodesk does those core things simply and beautifully:

Emails: Write and design them in minutes using gorgeous templates
Forms: Standalone, embeddable, beautiful out of the box (you can grab a link instantly)
Workflows: Simple "if this, then that" automation to deliver freebies and send welcome sequences
Analytics: Opens, clicks, and growth at a glance (I can actually read and understand them)

The interface is so simple that it became a place I wanted to hang out. Whereas ActiveCampaign was a place where I wanted to throw my laptop out the window.

And the design matters. When your emails look beautiful and on-brand, people want to open them. When your forms are gorgeous, people actually fill them out. When the platform is intuitive, you actually use it consistently.

That consistency is what builds a list. That consistency is what generates revenue.

📊 The Numbers That Prove It Works

Let me share some receipts, because numbers calm my nervous system:

• 16,000 subscribers (I've actually gathered 23,000 email addresses over time, but I clean my list regularly to maintain high engagement)

• 53% average open rate (industry average is 20-50%)

• 2.7-2.9% click rate (industry average is 1-2%)

• 0.4-0.5% unsubscribe rate (incredibly low)

• 1,020 emails sent over four years

• $95,000 launch where email was the backbone

And I'm not the only one seeing results. Some of my students who've taken Start and Grow Your Email List from Scratch have shared:

Ashley: "Short videos, step by step. This is the first course I've actually bought that has moved the needle for me."

Janet: "I half-started for years with my email list. Em's format inside this course helped me finally take action. All I have to say is do it."

Angela: Joined for accountability, now sends a newsletter every Tuesday just like me, and made her money back from the program in a week.

Denise: Wanted to create a freebie for years but was paralyzed with overwhelm. In just a few days after starting the course, she finished one she was extremely proud of and couldn't wait to get out into the world.

💪 A Pep Talk For My Recovering Perfectionists

Listen, I'm still a recovering perfectionist myself. So I need you to hear this:

Good email is the one that arrives.

Good email is easy to skim. Good email helps your reader solve a micro problem. Good email invites them to take the next step with you.

It doesn't need to be a cinematic story with a plot twist and a moral lesson. It doesn't need to be a mini blog post. It doesn't need to be perfect.

I used to think I needed all of that. I was so overwhelmed by what I thought email "should" be that I almost didn't start.

But then I realized: the fear of judgment was just keeping me small.

My hands were literally shaking when I sent that first email. And now I'm 1,020 emails in. The only way to get from shaking hands to confident sender is to hit send even when it's scary.

Send it even if it's 90% done. Your future self will thank you.

🛠️ Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode

Email Marketing Platform:

• Flodesk - Beautiful, simple email service provider with unlimited pricing ending November 28th at midnight. Use code THECREATIVEBODEGA for 50% off your first year (just $19/month). After that, $38/month. Lock this in before the pricing model changes forever. [Affiliate link - I earn a commission at no cost to you, and you get 50% off]

Emily's Programs & Courses:

• Start and Grow Your Email List from Scratch - Emily's self-paced program with 4 modules and 10-12 bite-sized lessons each. Covers everything from creating your freebie to setting up Flodesk to launching your weekly newsletter. Currently $200 off (just $297, normally $497) for 5 days only.

Newsletter Framework:

• Emily's 3-2-1 Create Format - Short intro (under 100 words), 3 ideas to grow your business, 2 things you're loving, 1 content tip from your highest-performing post

🚀 Your Next Step: Stop Waiting and Start Building

Here's the reality: you can keep trying to outsmart the algorithm, or you can build the asset that actually pays you.

Email is the lowest-overhead, highest-control sales channel you can have. And it can be stupid simple when you do it the way I've mapped out here.

The clock is ticking on these opportunities:

1. Flodesk unlimited pricing ends November 28th at midnight. Lock it in with code THECREATIVEBODEGA or by clicking here for 50% off your first year.

2. My Start and Grow Your Email List program is $200 off for five days only. That's just $297 for the complete system.

If you grab both, you're paying roughly $43/month for 12 months total. And if you follow my program and do everything I teach you about growing and monetizing your list, there's no doubt in my mind you'll make more than $43/month by selling your offers.

This is your moment. Not next month. Not when you "feel ready." Not when you have more time.

Right now.

Go lock in Flodesk. Grab your spot in Start and Grow Your Email List. And send your first newsletter next week.

You've got this. Your future subscribers are already out there waiting for you.

Comment below and let me know which part of this system resonates most with you. Are you team "I'm not a writer" or team "I don't have time"? I want to hear from you! And save this post so you can come back to it when you're ready to set everything up.

Here's to building the asset that actually grows your business.