21 Essential Newsletters for Makers, Designers, and Creative Entrepreneurs
Newsletters are a big, free resource for learning how to build a business, and we subscribe to a lot of them. We like that newsletters give you a direct connection with authors who round-up bit-sized tips and curate lists of helpful resources.
If you’re looking for regular and *useful* information on a specific topic, great creative newsletter writers (like the ones below!) do all the internet sifting so you don’t have to. From writing tips, to marketing advice, to in depth stories about the creative process, and small business “how-tos” we gathered together our 21 favorite newsletters for makers, designers, and creative entrepreneurs.
We hate fluffy, feel-good-but-ultimately-useless advice so we surfaced only the crème de la crème of newsletters for entrepreneurs. No fluff here!
You know how we’re obsessed with research and studying our peers’ work? This newsletter gives us just that, peers’ Marketing Examples! This newsletter contains real world examples of copywriting and strategy. The author, Harry, does an amazing job of making super clear visual examples of each of the topics he writes about. Subscribe here.
This minimal newsletter delivers five easily digestible business tips every Sunday for the mindful creator. We love that this newsletter pays special attention to how to build a newsletter- a crucial tool in any small business’ tool box. Spanning topics such as strategies to better leverage your time, how to grow and engage your audience, and tips to create a better sign up page, For The Interested is an endless font of information. Subscribe here.
Maker Mind is a fascinating neuroscience-based newsletter from the founder of Ness Labs, Anne-Laure Le Cunff. This weekly writing is stuffed full of brain candy with topics ranging from "How neural networks build up their understanding of images" to "Building an anti-library: the power of unread books." Our favorite part? The ability to sign up for a Mind-Match to get paired with a fellow member for a virtual coffee chat. Subscribe here.
This is a great newsletter for getting down to the nuts and bolts of being a creative. We love that each monthly(ish) writing focuses on one topic and one topic only. Topics range between things like: "How to Balance Your Hustle with Your Art Practice," "How to Deal with Creative Jealousy" and other rarely-touched upon creative subjects. Subscribe here.
This bi-weekly newsletter by marketing veteran Ann Handley is a must in your inbox. Ann takes personal experiences and top stories of the day and expands upon them to teach us deep lessons in writing and marketing. Our most recent favorite? Copywriting tips from Fat Bear Week, which can be found here. Subscribe here.
The Craftsman Newsletter is full of inspiring stories of what it takes to become a modern maker. We really appreciate the beautiful imagery and long-form interview with makers about their inspiration and creative process. This monthly creative newsletter is definitely worth the wait, plus you can catch up on past issues on Gian’s Medium page. Subscribe here.
We had to include our own newsletter on this list! Not just because it’s ours, but because it’s in-depth, actionable, and no-fluff. Also, it’s one of the very few specifically PR-focused newsletters for entrepreneurs out there. We share useful media outreach tips, behind the scenes press strategy, case studies, and resources to help you get more media coverage for your projects and yourself. Subscribe here.
I Love Creatives is a must-see website for creatives with a new take on internet networking for all types of makers, designers, writers, and entrepreneurs. Their newsletter extends this awesomeness with a curated list of classifieds as well as available classes for you to get your education on. We’ve never seen a format like this before and we think this creative newsletter is useful and fresh. Subscribe here.
Ann Friedman is everyone’s favorite podcaster of Call your Girlfriend fame, but did you know she has an incredible newsletter too? She’s an accomplished writer, having written for many of the outlets we dream of being published in, New York Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, California Sunday, The New York Times, Elle, and more. Her musings range from how to write and maintain a business in today’s times to ugggh TODAY’S TIMES. While this isn’t a hardcore business newsletter, we always come away with a better understanding of why we run a business. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter to keep up with all she's reading, thinking and feeling. Our favorite? Her hand-drawn weekly pie chart that always nails our collective thinking. Subscribe here.
This newsletter from Animalz is an essential read for any business owner interested in improving their marketing skills. It’s one of those newsletters where you find yourself opening tab after tab as you go through it. And what’s better… all the links they share are SO helpful, in depth, and actionable. Topics include things like: how to become a thought leader, how to climb the mountain of data-driven content, and (the necessary) half-assing it with everything you've got. Subscribe here.
Jess provides simple, actionable steps to starting your own side hustle. Every week, the newsletter includes her curated list free and/or low cost resources to help you grow personally and professionally. We love the emphasis on creating and acting upon a side hustle because you love it, not because you need it to replace your day job. As a bonus, Jess also rounds up a short list of tools and things to listen to, read, and watch to make your week a little brighter. Subscribe here.
This image-based newsletter delivers stunning visual discoveries to your inbox twice a month. We love the focus on design, from 1920s hand-painted furniture to contemporary paintings to vintage interior design. We’re also fans of the Q&A’s with featured makers providing insight behind the objects they produce and ones they choose to collect. Subscribe here.
An extension of the Starter Story website, this newsletter highlights interviews with successful entrepreneurs and gives insight as to how to start a business of your own. We love that this newsletter focuses on the nitty gritty behind various enterprises such as profit and loss, sales figures, and passive income. Subscribe here.
John Saddington's daily newsletters for entrepreneurs are bursting with inspiration as to how (and more importantly: why) you should be building a creative community. We love the long interviews and their focus on the holistic side of being a creative. They’ve also built a quite extensive library of links to community building tools, like membership tools, books, podcasts, and video and voice tools. Subscribe here.
Erica Cerula and Claire Mazur deliver their knack for finding the "next big thing" right to your inbox. This short and sweet newsletter keeps you up to date on the things you might have missed from productivity hacks to offbeat recipes. They clearly make a point to highlight local business, small businesses, BIPOC businesses, and women run businesses— all things we can get behind! Subscribe here.
Jocelyn's newsletter is an extension of her invaluable insight as to how to be more productive, creative, and resilient by slowing down. An absolute balm to the hectic nature of our lives, these essential writings help us rest, find meaning, understand boredom, and ultimately unlock the path to a fulfilled and creative life. Subscribe here.
Austin Kleon, "one of the most interesting people on the Internet" as per The Atlantic, shares a weekly roundup of the things that, in turn, inspire him the most- music, books, art, music, and more. It’s sweet, interesting, and always delivers something we’ve never heard of before. Subscribe here.
Interested in all things media? Look no further than this daily newsletter where writer Delia Cai unpacks the stories behind both the top news, and news that might have slipped through the cracks, in journalism, criticism, new media, advertising, and long-form essay writing. It’s as if early aughts Gawker was a one-woman newsletter with more thoughtful insights. If you're looking for a new gig, her media classifieds have you covered, listing new job openings, new newsletters, and educational tools to get you in the door. Subscribe here.
A creative newsletter, by creatives for creatives, the It's Nice That team offers four different design-based newsletters to get your blood flowing. Our personal favorite is the Midweek Mentor which includes a short interview with a top mind in design as well as their curated list for further inspirational reading. Subscribe here.
The Craft Industry Alliance is an essential community for any small business owner in the crafting arts. This newsletter extends their wealth of knowledge to your inbox with tips on how to keep up with the Instagram algorithm, how to find a guest artist residency, and resources for retail businesses in the age of Covid-19. Subscribe here.
The Hustle takes a deep dive into the numbers behind the top business stories of the day. Sprinkle in some upcoming trends and a few history lessons and you'll find a daily newsletter not to be missed. Subscribe here.
