When you're a first-time founder/maker, and you're the only person using your own product, you probably overlook important things. That's why you need to test the product with as many people as possible.

The problem is that time is limited. You have to decide not only how many people will test it, but also who those people should be.

I've always struggled with promoting my own work. It always felt a little awkward because I grew up in an environment where drawing attention to yourself wasn't really encouraged.

That's not exactly ideal when you're trying to build a business, and even less so when marketing is literally how you make a living. :D

Since I haven't been able to meet my work goals very well in the last few quarters, I now plan to approach them more systematically and not push myself too hard on work goals, as that ultimately led to problems that made my plan less sustainable.

So here is my structure and list:

Everyone perceives entrepreneurship completely differently, and the weight of certain challenges varies from case to case. You always see things differently depending on the stage of life and business you're in, because your position is different each time.

• When I was a teenager my biggest problem was "What will people think of me when I will start doing this?"

• In my early twenties my biggest problem was "What if I can't figure out accounting, taxes, legal stuff?"

• Now I have a different problem how do I scale something?

AI is incredibly good, I d even say almost perfect.

And for many people, that uniformity of perfect templates is starting to feel annoying.

As a growth designer, I look at newsletters from two perspectives: how fast they prove their value, and whether they make me feel like I m giving away my inbox for nothing.

Getting an email address is relatively easy. The harder part is designing a sign-up experience that promises genuine value without feeling like a bait-and-switch.

Going through 40+ opt-in pages recently, a few things stood out to me:

Most pages use vague promises like "Join 10,000 readers." A high-performing page tells me exactly what I will learn in the first issue.
The best opt-ins don't ask for a commitment upfront they offer a free sample issue or an archive link so I can test the waters first.
Trust matters: the pages that kept me engaged showed a clear frequency (e.g., "One email every Tuesday") and a visible "unsubscribe anytime" button.