The $10,000 Newsletter Format

How to write newsletters that *actually* get you clients

Hey, Daniel here!

Welcome to issue #8 of AI Email Marketing Prompts - the paid newsletter that helps you use AI to create high-converting:

• Newsletters

• Lead magnets

• And email sequences

…all in just a fraction of the time.

We're trying something different this week.

In fact, the full framework we want to share with you was too good - and too long - for a single email.

So we're breaking it into two parts.

In this first part, we'll help you lay the groundwork for a repeatable, authority-building newsletter format - so you can write faster, demonstrate your expertise, and attract high-ticket clients (even with a small list).

Then next week, we'll help you lock in a clear value prop and a compelling name to complete your format.

Now before we dig into any of the tactical stuff, let's talk about the elephant in the room first…

The "Spray & Pray" Newsletter Strategy

Most newsletters fail for the same reason:

The writer never defines what kind of content they'll send.

Instead, they wing it each week - hoping inspiration strikes. But without constraints, each week is a creative struggle.

That's when consistency slips… or the newsletter dies entirely.

The mistake?

Trying to write a "great email" without first deciding what kind of email you're writing - or how it's structured.

Here's what happens when you don't have a format:

• Monday: "What should I write about?"

• Tuesday: "Maybe I'll share some tips..."

• Wednesday: "Actually, let me tell a story instead..."

• Thursday: "Wait, should I do a case study?"

• Friday: Panic-write something mediocre

• Saturday: Send it out and feel disappointed

Sound familiar?

Without a clear format, every week becomes a creative struggle.

And readers never know what to expect - so they stop opening.

But here's the thing:

The solution isn't to just "be more consistent."

The solution is having a clear and repeatable newsletter format that you can easily stick to every week.

Because when you lock in a format, writing becomes automatic.

• You stop overthinking.

• You stop procrastinating.

• You just execute.

Now, if you want to get real results from your newsletter (like warm inbound leads), you also need to design your format strategically.

Specifically, you need a format that:

• Shows deep understanding of your craft

• Demonstrates your expertise (not just talks about it)

• And gets people interested in your services (without even mentioning them)

I call this The Niche Expert Breakdown format.

And I know it works extremely well because back when I was building my email marketing agency, this was all I did.

And every time I would send one of these emails, I would get a message from potential clients asking how we could work together - despite having a small list and never promoting my services directly.

Now, let’s break down this framework.

The Niche Expert Breakdown Format

First, the goal of this type of newsletter is to make it so extremely obvious that you know your stuff that people can’t help but reach out and ask how they can work with you.

How do you do that?

Simple:

First, you choose an asset or deliverable you normally create for your clients.

For me, it’s lead magnet funnels.

But it can be anything.

For example, if you…

• Design, it can be an interface

• Write copy, it can be a sales page

• Create thumbnails, it can be a thumbnail

Then, you start looking for examples of that asset in the public domain.

(Ideally from people or companies you’d like to work with.)

Lastly, you write weekly emails featuring the examples you find & breaking down:

• The things they’re doing well

• And the things they could improve

Here’s the most important part, though…

You also want to explain why the things they’re doing well are good…

And why the things they could improve are not optimal.

Because that’s how you demonstrate that you actually know what you’re taking about.

Now, there’s another nice benefit to following this approach:

After deciding what type of “asset” you’re going to audit & break down each week, you don’t have to think about your “newsletter format” anymore.

Because you are giving yourself a series of constraints from the beginning.

And by doing that, you make it 10x easier for yourself to write money-making emails consistently.

But now that you understand how this frameworks works, let’s start implementing it.

How To Effortlessly Write Niche Expert Breakdown Emails

Before you write your first newsletter, there’s 2 key decisions you need to make:

1. What type of asset or strategy will you break down each week?

2. What specific elements will you focus on when analyzing that asset/strategy?

Let’s break them down:

Step 1: Choose Your Signature Asset

Pick one specific type of asset to analyze in every issue - like sales pages, YouTube hooks, Instagram carousels, webinar opt-ins, etc.

This keeps your newsletter focused and makes it easy for people to understand the value.

2 examples:

• Funnel Breakdowns. As I mentioned earlier, I used to write a weekly newsletter breaking down lead magnet funnels from successful creators & infopreneurs. And in each edition, I would analyze the 3 big “elements” of the funnel: The landing page, the Thank You page, and the welcome email.

• Creator Hooks. Jakes Thomas runs a newsletter called Creator Hooks. The premise? Every week, he analyzes 5 different YouTube titles and breaks down why they worked so well along with the framework behind them (so you can use them for your own videos).

(And don’t worry - we’re going to give you an AI prompt to help you brainstorm “asset types” you could break down based on your specific service and ideal clients.)

Step 2: Create Your Breakdown Framework

Once you've picked your asset, you want to:

• Decide which “elements” of the asset you’re going to break down

• And create a quick audit/analysis checklist

That way, you can build a repeatable process you can apply to any example you choose.

Now, let me share an example - just to make this more tangible:

Say, you’re going to analyze viral YouTube thumbnails each week.

What are some of the elements you can speak to?

Maybe it’s…

• The background of the thumbnail

• The text/copy used in the thumbnail

• The “face” or main visual used in the thumbnail

Once you have picked which elements you’re going to speak to each week, you want to create a checklist where you clarify:

• What good looks like

• What are some of the common mistakes

• And why each of these elements matter

Now, here’s the thing:

You probably already have this checklist in your head.

But by articulating each of these things, you make your life 10x easier.

Because you’ll know exactly what you’re looking for when you sit down to write down your newsletters every week.

That makes sense?

Cool!

Let’s dig into this week’s prompts then.

This Week’s AI Prompts!

This week I have not 1 but 2 prompts for you:

• Your Newsletter Asset Ideator

• Your Newsletter Breakdown Checklist Generator

These prompts are designed to help you:

• Identify the best asset to analyze in your newsletter each week based on your specific niche & offer.

• Create a detailed breakdown checklist that you can use to streamline the whole process of analyzing your chosen assets & writing your emails week after week.

The goal here is to remove as much friction as possible from your writing process and clarify what your newsletter actually does - before you ever sit down to write.

So, start by using this first prompt. Then, once you’ve chosen the asset you’d like to run with, you can use the second prompt to create a v1 of your checklist.

Just keep in mind: The goal isn’t for the AI’s checklist to be perfect, but to get you 80% there with a fraction of the effort. After all, YOU are the expert.