Transcript

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Hey everybody, welcome to another edition of Bootstrap MD, the podcast for physician and healthc care entrepreneurs. Super excited to bring a topic that is near and dear to my heart and that is newsletters. I've had a newsletter for the last few years. I just launched my second newsletter in a non-medical topic and it's been first and foremost on my mind.

 

And I want to share with you the importance of why building an email newsletter is important and how you can benefit from it. This episode, we're calling it building an email newsletter that people actually read. Now, most doctors, they don't necessarily need more followers. They need a place where the audience actually pays attention.

 

And here's the thing, social media, it's not necessarily that place anymore. You post on Instagram, maybe a few hundred people see it, maybe the algorithm decides. You post on LinkedIn, it dies in 12 hours. You're renting attention on platforms that change the rules whenever they want.

 

Email is different. Email is where the real relationship lives. It's the only channel where no algorithm stands between you and your audience. When you hit send, it shows up in their inbox.

 

Period. But here's what I hear from clients all the time. Mike, I have a list. I just don't know what to send.

 

Or, I started a newsletter. I sent three emails and then nothing. or my favorite, I feel like I'm shouting into an empty void. Well, today I'm going to give you the complete framework for building a newsletter that people actually read.

 

What to write, how often to send, what platform to use, how to grow your list without feeling like a spam artist. Now, this isn't theory. This is what's working for myself for other entrepreneurs who are building authority, generating leads, and staying connected to their audience. So, let's ready rock.

 

Let's go. So, why do most doctors newsletters fail? Let me give you a diagnosis. Most newsletters fail for predictable reasons.

 

And I see the same patterns over and over again. First, failure mode. Writing like you're charting. You know the ones.

 

Overly formal, passive voice sounds like you're documenting instead of having a real human conversation. So, if your newsletter reads like it needs an attending signature at the bottom, you're doing it wrong. Second failure mode, making it about yourself. So using phrases like, "I'm excited to announce I just launched.

 

I'm thrilled to share." Your reader is a tired doctor, most likely scrolling their inbox at 9:00 p.m., they don't care that you're excited. They care whether this email is actually going to help them with their life. The reframe is instead of saying, "I launched this," try instead of saying, "Here's why this matters to you as a doctor." Third failure mode, confusing newsletters with announcements. Now, if you only email when you're launching a program, hosting a webinar, or chasing prices, here's what you're saying to your audience.

 

You only hear from me when I want money. That's not a newsletter. That's a salesunnel with a subscribe button. The fourth failure mode, inconsistent cadence.

 

You send weekly for two weeks and then you silent for two months, then you reappear with, "Hey, sorry, it's been a while." Inconsistency kills trust factor than bad content ever will. So here's what the core reframe is that I want you to internalize. A newsletter isn't marketing. It's a relationship maintenance at scale.

 

That's the game. So what is the actual purpose of a newsletter? It's not to educate exhaustively. It's not to prove how smart you are.

 

It's not to summarize the news. Your newsletter has one real job, and that is stay relevant in the reader's mind. That's it. You're staying in conversation with people who might work with you, refer to you, or buy from you eventually, but not today, not this week, maybe not this month.

 

But the newsletter keeps you present. Before you send every email, ask yourself one question. Would I open this if I was a tired person at 9:00 p.m.? If the answer is no, rewrite it.

 

And that's how you measure success. It's not through open rates, not through click-through rates. You measure it by replies, DMs, messages that say, "Hey, I've been meaning to reach out." That's the signal. That's when you know your newsletter is working.

 

So, let's talk structure. How long should a newsletter be? Sweet spot is about 300 to 500 words, 3 to 5 minutes to read. Why?

 

Well, especially with doctors, doctors skim, phones dominate, short emails feelable. If maybe your audience isn't doctors, maybe you can go a little bit longer. But I caution you that long essays die unread. So here's a structure you can repeat every week.

 

Number one, a hook. Have you talked about this before? One to two lines. Something personal, something observational, slightly provocative.

 

Not hope you're having a great week. Try I talked to three doctors this week who all said the same thing. Here's what I learned about Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl and how it can apply to you. Number two, story or insight.

 

A moment, a mistake, a realization. This is where you make your point, but you're not lecturing, you're sharing. Number three, a lesson. What does that mean for them?

 

Not, "So, I learned this vibe a lesson." Try here's what this means for you if you're thinking about starting a side gig. And then number four, a soft CTA, soft call to action. Think about something. Reply with a question.

 

Click to learn more occasionally. Your email should feel like a colleague leaning over and saying, "Hey, quick thought." You don't have to be a TED talk, not a textbook, a conversation. All right, I want to give you the the framework of things that you can talk about what you can actually write about. Here are five, I'm calling them content buckets that work for physician entrepreneurs.

 

Bucket number one, case studies. Hey, a client I work with last week share a starting point, a constraint, one decision that changed momentum. Why this works? I think especially for if your honest or doctors, they learn best from case studies.

 

We're pattern recognizers. Bucket number two, mistakes and misconception. So, why do most doctors start the wrong side hustle? The myths of passive income in medicine.

 

What I wish I knew before I launched my first online course. Vulnerability builds trust. Authority comes from lived experience, not credentials. Bucket three, behind the scenes.

 

Share what you're testing, you're building, fixing, what you're dropping. This makes readers feel like they're inside your world. They're not just consuming content. They're seeing how things actually work.

 

Bucket four, frameworks. Simple models, three options, four stages, five questions. Doctors love structure. They love clarity, decision aids.

 

Give them a framework they can screenshot and reference later. Bucket five, timely commentary, AI updates, private equity, tele medicine shifts, employment versus ownership. You'll see a lot of this in my newsletter, the lounge. But here's the key.

 

We don't just try to report the news. We also try to interpret it for you, too. Position yourself as a physician who explains what this means for physicians. You're an interpreter, not a reporter.

 

Now, let's talk about how often should you send. Frequency and consistency. So, here's my clear recommendation. Once a week, same day, same general time.

 

Here's why weekly works. Daily, I think it'll burn you out. Monthly, it makes you forgettable. Weekly though, it builds a habit.

 

Some emails will be great. Some will be average. Some you'll think of, yeah, that could have been better. But silence, silence is worse than average content.

 

Here's the reframe. Consistency builds trust. Perfection builds procrastination. And I know a lot of doctors out there, you love to be perfectionists.

 

You're not trying to go viral. You're trying to stay present. All right, let's talk about actual tools and workflows. And let's keep it simple.

 

Here's some of the tools. Email platforms. There's basically three. Convert kit.

 

And I think it's best for creators and coaches building funnels. Substack. This is an audience first. This is a lighter infrastructure.

 

There's minimal tech. What I use is Beehive. And that's be e h i h i i v. I think it's great for media style newsletters.

 

It gives you a clean reading experience. But try them out. Most of them have some type of free trial. Pick the one that removes friction between your audience and your ideas.

 

What is a writing workflow? draft immediately after a podcast recording, a coaching call, insight hits. Save ideas in one running document titled newsletter ideas. When it's time to write your polling from a list, not staring at a blank page.

 

I also want you to incorporate automation. Build a simple week's welcome sequence. Email one, who is this for? Email two, your story.

 

Email three, here's what to expect weekly. Everything else, live weekly email newsletters. Don't have to over complicate this. Now, let's talk about list growth.

 

Lead magnets that have always worked are checklists, decision trees, what I wish I knew before. Just keep it simple. One page, one problem solved. And where can you promote these lead magnets?

 

Podcast outro every episode, website headers, YouTube descriptions, one pin social post. And what are some call to action examples? Don't just say subscribe to my newsletter. Just say, "Hey, I write an email a week for doctors looking to build income outside clinical medicine." There's no spam, no fluff, just what is actually working.

 

The right readers grow a list faster than tactics. Finally, let's talk about making money without burning trust. You don't have to sell on every email. Let readers selfidentify.

 

You can mention offers casually. Hey, this is exactly what we're working on inside. Now, if this is something, this topic is something you want help with or hey, I've been getting questions about this. the golden rule.

 

If your newsletter feels helpful, selling really feels natural. You're not interrupting the relationship to make a pitch. You're offering a next step to people who are actually thinking about it. So, in closing, I want to give you a challenge.

 

I want you to commit to 12 consecutive weekly emails, same day. No excuses. You want to track replies, conversations, opportunities. You don't have to track vanity metrics like open rates.

 

Beehive does that for you already. But your newsletter isn't just about reach. It's about building resonance. So if 10 people reply and say, "You know what?

 

This made me think differently." Then you've won the game. And start this week on your newsletter and you're going to win the game. So I hope you like it. It was short and sweet this week.

 

Remember, and if you want to check out our newsletter, it's called The Lounge. You can find it at bootstrapmd.com. And we'd love for you to be a part of it. If you like this podcast, let other people know.

 

This is how our podcast grows organically by just people referring it to other people, physicians referring it to other physicians. I want to thank you again for the opportunity for letting me voice my opinions on the Bootstrap MD podcast. Remember, you're going to have ups and downs as an entrepreneur. Do something a little each day to get you closer to your goals and keep moving forward.