yes, virginia, your newsletter is competing with starbuck's

[The “Glob” cartoon that went out on the newsletter recently. You can buy the print here.]

People’s morning coffee is damn important to them. And your newsletter is competing with that. Never forget it. Ever.

Earlier today, Nikki Gore kindly remarked that my daily newsletter to her was “as important as my morning coffee”.

Heh. Thanks, Nikki, that’s a lovely compliment.

Her remark got me thinking…

It seems to me, most people read the newsletters they subscribe to first thing in the office. Sure, a lot of it is for the “Useful Content” itself, but a big part of the equation is, it’s part of their “Daily Sacred Begin-Work Ritual”.

That thing we do every morning, that gets our head in the right frame of mind, so we can begin getting down to the stuff we actually get paid for. It can include things like checking your emails, drinking your coffee, exchanging gossip with the guy in the next cube, checking your diary, checking your phone messages… and reading your favorite blogs and newsletters.

The thing is, it’s a very important part of the day for most people. It’s “Sacred Time”. And if your newsletter is part of somebody else’s Sacred Time, you should damn well treat it as sacred, too.

I never had this attitude when I was just blogging; it never quite felt so time-sensitive. It didn’t feel like my work was cutting into such an important part of the day as much, even if it was. But since I started the newsletter, I’ve become more aware of it. Live and learn…