I was massaging my ears this morning and watching a training hosted by marketer Ryan Lee.
Maybe you know Ryan — he’s been doing business online for 20+ years. He has coached and collaborated with and gotten endorsements from people like Russell Brunson and Ryan Deiss and Brian Kurtz and and Todd Brown — all big names in the Internet marketing space, in case you don’t know ’em.
Anyways, Ryan said:
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Biggest mistakes I’ve made by far, I just let a list go or I shift and I get out of that.
If I would have stayed in like the fitness market, just doing fitness stuff from 23 years ago, I’d probably be a billionaire.
Or if I got a piece of everyone’s business I taught, I would definitely be a billionaire by now. I’ve done fine, but I know, seeing what happened.
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When I heard Ryan say this, I let go of my ears. “Hmm,” I said. “HMM.”
Because back in March, I let my longevity list go.
For over a year, I had been writing a weekly newsletter to that list. The list was small but growing. Readers loved the content. But I didn’t have good offers to promote, and in spite of a year of work, I couldn’t make it pay.
I had had enough. So I stopped mailing it. It’s been sitting there ever since.
And it’s still getting people opting in to it… and even people writing in and asking me when I will write more newsletter issues.
The answer is, never. I have too much other stuff to do. But I had the idea this morning to look for a partner for this longevity list, somebody who would actually like to handle the regular writing part.
Maybe that partner could be you?
Before you start imagining that future, here are three facts of life:
# 1. I’m looking for a partner, not an unpaid coaching student or a drunk intern.
If you can write and enjoy research, then this could be a fit.
But if you cannot write, or if you’re sloppy with research, then it won’t work. I’d rather not send anything to this list than send a tossed salad of fluff and garbage. And while I have systems in place to help with the research and writing… and while I’m happy to give my feedback and ongoing input on the content… I also do not want to be constantly looking over your shoulder.
#2. This will only make sense if you are interested or rather obsessive about health and the science behind it.
If that’s not you in real life, this will not make sense — you will hate the day-to-day work, and the result won’t be very good, not in the long term.
#3. The list is not making any money right now.
If you need money yesterday, or by the end of the today, or by the end of this week, then this is not for you.
On the other hand, if the list ever does make any money, we can split it the way partners split stuff.
About the last part:
Even though the list is making zero money right now, it’s not impossible that it could make money, even right quick.
In part that’s because some things have changed since March — I’ve had a few potential good offers pop up.
Another reason is that, while I don’t want to spend time writing that longevity newsletter each week, I am willing to do other stuff.
Such as, finding offers to promote… finding partners for various JVs… growing the list… or even putting in money — assuming we have some hope of getting that money back.
Again, I am really looking for a partner. Writing is one thing you can contribute, but if you have other things to contribute too, then great. I’m also willing to do my part, long term.
This means we will have to like each other, have complementary skills and resources, and have some kind of common vision.
It’s highly unlikely all these things will line up. But maybe it’s not impossible.
If you’re interested, hit reply. And write me something to convince me that you’ve read this email thoroughly, that you could be a good fit for who I’m looking for, and that you’re actually interested in this idea, long-term.