Why 700k people (including me) love Contrarian Thinking

It has a rare combination of clever teasers, strong writing, and a banger value prop

šŸ‘‹šŸ» Welcome to Newsletter Examples, where I highlight cool sh*t Iā€™m seeing in newsletters that you can steal for your newsletter.

This week, Iā€™m showing you 4 things I love about Contrarian Thinking, my front-runner for best business email of the year. Reading time: 2 minutes. 

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1ļøāƒ£ Engaging openers

I ā¤ļø what Codie Sanchez is building at Contrarian Thinking, a multimillion-dollar business that helps people take control of their financial lives. Her October 24 issue, ā€œThe 5 Habits That Changed My Life,ā€ is a model of how to write a newsletter from top to bottom, including this sick openeršŸ‘‡ļøā€¦

What I ā¤ļø about it: She shuns traditional business advice, instead teaching people to look at their own habits.

How to apply it: Show your readers what youā€™ve learned that they can apply to their lives.

2ļøāƒ£ Inspiring teasers

Codie is a master at getting people to click. Go to school on these subject linesā€¦

What I ā¤ļø about it: These teasers all build anticipation in different ways, making you wonder:

  • What business she could possibly be talking about

  • How something as boring as paint could make big profits

  • If they succeeded (and what you could learn from it)

How to apply it: Provide commentary and ideas that go against the grain. Be experimentalā€”do stunts.

3ļøāƒ£ Conversational writing

Codie and team (including Jacob Cohen, who I hired at The Hustle and who has more talent than 99% of the writers Iā€™ve worked with) write like they talk, from their subject lines to their headlines to every word after.

What I ā¤ļø about it: Codie uses lots of first person and a personal pic to make her story relatable. And she doesnā€™t just describe her own habits, she pushes people to build better habits of their own.

How to apply it: Like Codie, ā€œplay a little gameā€ with your readers to drive home the lessons youā€™re teaching them.

4ļøāƒ£ Clear value prop

Codieā€™s media ambitions go way beyond this lil newsletter, with each property playing off the other:

  • She hosts a podcast where she shares unfiltered truths about business.

  • She has a community to help you buy your first business.

  • Sheā€™s a YouTube star.

  • And sheā€™s the author of Main Street Millionaires, a forthcoming book about how to make extraordinary wealth buying ordinary businesses.

The common thread? Sheā€™s sharing smart, contrarian views on money, helping her audience gain financial freedom.

What I ā¤ļø about it: She makes people feel special (ā€œYouā€™re part of a rare breedā€) and inspires them to build for themselves (ā€œBe an owner in a world full of victimsā€).

How to apply it: Donā€™t just build a tribe of your own, name it (ā€œOwner Nationā€). And make your people feel special (ā€œWeā€™re built differentā€).

Hope you enjoyed this weekā€™s examples. Iā€™ll be back next week with a new set.

ā˜®ļø -Brad

P.S. Iā€™m running a contest for Best Newsletters of the Year, and I need help rounding out a list of nominees. If you have favorite newsletters in the entertainment, politics, or general interest categories (especially independent newsletters), send ā€˜em my way!

P.P.S. Want to work with me? I just started a content consulting businessā€”hit me up if youā€™re interested in learning more.

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