Archaeologist decodes 4,000-year-old Babylonian prophecy declaring 2026 is…

The Year of the Email Newsletter

And this doesn’t mean that there will be a flood of new Email Newsletters. Quite the opposite, actually.

The prophecy speaks of false idols that will arise and distract the herd:

• Ever-changing social media trends…
• Vanity metrics that don’t pay rent…
• AI models that promise leverage, but erase distinction…

So let’s take marketing genius Dan Kennedy’s advice:

“Do the opposite, and you will pretty much be headed in the right direction, because the majority’s always wrong.”

So in this situation, what’s the opposite of the herd?

The prophecy’s three idols have 1 thing in common – they keep us stuck in the Never-Ending-Now. David Perell describes:

The structure of our social media feeds place us in a Never-Ending Now. Like hamsters running on a wheel, we live in an endless cycle of ephemeral content consumption — a merry-go-round that spins faster and faster but barely goes anywhere.

The feed is designed to keep users scrolling by showing a stream of new content. So if your goal is to become popular on social media, you’re opting into a system that has…

1️⃣ No Memory

Went viral last week? The algorithm doesn’t care unless you can publish something that hijacks attention today.

Feels to me a bit like a dog chasing its own tail… lots of motion, no forward progress.

2️⃣ No Ownership

You don’t control distribution… the algorithm decides if you’re worthy to be shown.

You may build a tremendous relationship with your audience on LinkedIn, and get really great reach on every single post… but the moment you try to launch a new product (that’d be helpful to your audience), your reach gets throttled.

If you’re not serving the algorithm’s goals (to keep people on their platform), you’re chopped liver.

3️⃣ No Equity

Your social media audience doesn’t compound.

Grow followers, but you’re not building something you own. You’re doing your small part to help LinkedIn increase ad revenue and keep stockholders happy.

(This may seem like ‘prepper mentality‘… what am I, scared social media will take it all away? It’s a lot more than that. Building a list that you own – an asset that compounds in value over time – has literal life-changing benefits… more about this below ⬇️⬇️⬇️)

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The social media trap

A lot of people post on social media with this unspoken belief:

“If I generate enough buzz on social media, ROI will eventually follow.”

They chase likes, comments, and followers. And without realizing it, they step into the role of Unpaid Employee at LinkedIn.

Think about it…

❓ What is LinkedIn’s incentive?

To keep people on the platform for as long as possible, so they can maximize ad revenue.

LinkedIn’s marketing team may say they have other, more noble motives – “we help business owners thrive!” But they are owned by Microsoft, a publicly traded company – they have a legal obligation to act in their stakeholders’ best interests… and that is to keep users hooked.

❓ How do they achieve this?

Platforms like LinkedIn have hired the world’s smartest minds to build algorithms that hijack our most basic biological wiring, so they can keep us glued to the screen and scrolling.

That algorithm determines what will keep each user hooked – and then serves that content up to them.

❓ What is the incentive for content creators?

To use the algorithm so we can reach more new people than was ever possible before. And the metrics for us doing so – impressions, comments, likes, followers…

So if we get really good at optimizing for those engagement stats, that simply means that we’ve gotten good at serving the algorithm what it wants.

Congrats – you’ve won LinkedIn’s Unpaid Employee Of The Month.

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Don’t trust LinkedIn…
LinkedIn is asshole!

⬇️ FROM THIS VIDEO ⬇️

You work hard to create good content… the algorithm likes it and shows it to more people. It’s a win-win at first:

LinkedIn gets what it wants (people to stay on its platform).
You get what you want (to reach new people).

So you keep posting and build some traction. You build a real relationship to your audience – developing real trust and credibility.

Then – after providing a ton of value and entertainment – you have something to sell.

Something that will genuinely make a positive difference in your audience’s life.

So you go to post on LinkedIn – the place where you’ve worked hard to develop a strong connection with your audience. But the second you post something that actually drives sales…?

CRICKETS. 🦗

See, LinkedIn has a bad case of “what’s in it for me?” And by driving sales, you’ll drive people off of their platform – the exact opposite of their legal incentive (to keep people scrolling).

Imagine a person who acted like this? We have a name for folks like that – asshole.

I’m not suggesting we never use LinkedIn. Social media has given us an unprecedented ability to reach new people… people we never would’ve otherwise crossed paths with… and not tapping into this is just plain stupid.

But instead of relying on social media as your only medium, turning social media attention into email subscribers gives you…

👥 An owned audience… not rented reach that suddenly disappears once you launch a new offer or try to make a sale.

📧 A direct line of communication… no algorithm decides if your message gets to be seen by the people you want to see it.

📈 A compounding asset… that grows in value with every new subscriber that joins, and every touchpoint you send (by building stronger relationships).

And by building a strong list intentionally, it’ll act as an on-demand ATM:

Need some cash? Simply send a one-time offer directly to people who already trust you – priced so fairly it’s a no-brainer – and watch the money roll in.

It may not be something that builds overnight… for most businesses, building a strong email list will probably take much longer than building a social following.

But every bit of social media attention that isn’t funneled into something you own is attention you eventually have to earn over and over again.

The prophecy was correct…

If you’re a professional service business owner who already has:

• Expertise people are willing to pay for…
• A proven offer that delivers far more value than its price…
• And zero interest in becoming a full-time “content creator.”

I put together a done-for-you Newsletter Package for you. And it’s on sale through January 31st, 2026.

Use the button below to check out some of my past samples.
And ⬇️ scroll down ⬇️ to check out the discounted Email Packages.

The Year Of The Email Newsletter
DEAL

Each of the following Newsletter Packages includes…

1️⃣ Email Newsletter Strategy

Based on your launches, promotions, and other announcements – I’ll help you strategize the best approach for your upcoming email sends.

If you’re new to email marketing, I’ll help you map out all the Xs and Os to make this medium work best for you and your goals.

2️⃣ 1-Hour Content Ideation Call

I’ll ask interview-style questions to tease out the stories, insights, and opinions that’ll be most interesting, useful, and emotionally resonant to your specific audience.

And IF it’s our first time working together…

3️⃣ + 1-Hour Client Discovery Call

This is where I’ll get all the information necessary for me to write exceptional copy for your brand:

• Your audience’s unique intricacies
• What makes your business truly unique (why your audience chooses you over competitors)
• The underlying drives that truly motivate you to build your business

If it works for you, we can combine this + the content ideation call.

✅ BONUS: Story Bank

A working doc that breaks down all of the collected stories from our Content Ideation Call. Can be used for future content.

✅ BONUS: Content Ideas Bank

Same as the Story Bank – except for all content ideas that were collected from the Ideation Call.

📧 THE EMAIL PACKAGES 📧

~25% OFF | 5x Newsletters = $750 $555

~25% OFF | 10x Newsletters = $1300 $999

~25% OFF | 30x Newsletters = $3,000 $2222