Steal these 20 newsletter ideas

2026 is purple, 25, and Thursday. I can’t explain it. It just is those things. And while I’m here, the math folder was always blue. History red. Science yellow. English purple.

I digress.

Hey, happy new year! Have you been circled back with yet?

Jokes aside, I hope you had a nice holiday season.

This week, I want to share some ideas I have for you if you’re thinking about starting a newsletter in 2026. Because I think you should start one! I was inspired by this newsletter-y idea because back on December 23rd, I hit 1 year writing this newsletter, which is exciting, because frankly, I didn’t think I’d last more than a month. But, here we are! yay us.

Let’s jump in.

These are all just my random thoughts. A brain dump, if you will. Please feel free to take these newsletter ideas and formats, and run with them.

1. A newsletter that showcases something you learned the hard way, so that someone else doesn’t have to. Call the newsletter Lessons by Me or Saved by the Mistakes.

2. Share short observations from your week at work. No advice, just patterns. Call the newsletter Career Field Notes.

3. Showcase some of the things you bookmarked on the internet throughout the week and that you found interesting. Articles, tweets (yes, they’re still tweets), tools and ideas. Call the newsletter Weekly Scroll or more directly, Things I Found on the Internet.

4. We all love a status update. Share updates each week on a project you’re working on. Side projects, work projects, home improvement projects, whatever. Call the newsletter Work in Progress.

5. Each week, break down a concept for your readers, as if they were brand new to learning said concept. And call the newsletter Explain it Like I’m 5.

6. Share unfiltered thoughts, half ideas, and questions you’re still sitting with. Call the newsletter Weekly Brain Dump.

7. What did you deprioritize that week? What didn’t get done? What actually matters to you? Call the newsletter The Anti-Hustle Newsletter.

8. If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that my newsletter format was not what it is today. I used to write 1 post each day, Mon-Sat, all 100 words, then on Sundays, I would send a newsletter recapping that week’s posts, linking to each post. That newsletter was also 100 words. It was a good challenge and forced me to be concise. Try out giving yourself some sort of word count structure. It helps to stay consistent. Call it In 100 Words or In [insert number] Words.

9. Do a behind-the-scenes of what it’s like working at your job or industry more broadly. Share what your work entails day to day, minus the buzzwords. Call the newsletter Lights, Camera, Action, and My Career.

10. Go with me on this. Create your own Wikipedia. Explain how you think about things; your thought process, frameworks, rules, and mental models. No overthinking; call it My Personal Wikipedia.

11. Share a weekly skill spotlight, where you do a deep-dive on one professional skill. You can call the newsletter Skill Stack Weekly.

12. If you’re a content creator, do a behind the scenes of what that’s like. Wins, failures, everything, as you built your content business or hobby. Create a transparent narrative. Call it something like Building in Public or The Creator’s Logbook.

13. Curate an opportunities digest. Aggregate and share vetted job opportunities, freelance gigs, collab opps, grants, and contests relevant to your niche. Call the newsletter something like Opportunity Radar or Your Next Move. (BTW, this one’s one of my favorites)

14. Do a case study breakdown each week. Analyze one successful person, campaign, or project, extracting actionable insights and strategies that your readers can apply in their own life and work. Call it something like Success Dissected or The Blueprint Weekly.

15. Create a tool or resource roundup. Review and recommend software, platforms, books, courses, and resources that accelerate career growth and/or content creation planning and execution. Call it The Creator Toolkit, The Growth Stack, or Resources & Receipts.

16. Write about mental models and frameworks. Teach one thinking framework, decision-making model, or strategic concept each week that applies to career and/or creative decisions. Call it Think Better Weekly or Framework Fridays (assuming you send the newsletter on Fridays. Or don’t. Create good confusion; hey, at least it’ll bring people back to ask why you’re sending it at 2pm on a Tuesday, right?)

17. Do interviews. Feature conversations with professionals and creatives at various stages, focusing on their strategies, mistakes, and maybe even unconventional wisdom. Call it something like The Growth Interview or Voices of Progress.

18. Talk about challenge and accountability. Set weekly challenges for your subscribers, with community sharing and progress tracking elements. (Even if you’re at 0 subscribers; write as if you’re talking to an audience). Call the newsletter something like Growth Labs.

19. Share some trend analysis or future-gazing. Identify emerging trends in your industry, analyze their implications, and help your readers position themselves for what’s coming. Call it something like Tomorrow’s Edge or The Signal Report.

20. Structure your newsletter as a Q&A, problem-solving discussion. Answer subscriber questions about career dilemmas, content strategy, growth challenges, and/or tactical problems. Call it something like Ask & Advance or The Career Clinic or even just Office Hours. And BTW: similar sentiment to #18: If you have 0 subscribers (which you will have when you start), make up questions. Who cares?

So what are you waiting for? Literally just start writing. It’s not that you don’t have time; it’s just a priority shift. Just like everything in life.

These ideas are just random thoughts. So go for it, steal these ideas. The last thing I want to do is gate-keep. Beehiiv’s great for newsletters, but also, you don’t need a newsletter platform. Write them on Google Docs. Handwrite them. Notion-ize them. Do whatever you want.

Start, show up, be consistent, and share your ideas. Your future self will thank you.

Thanks for reading and for being here. I don’t take for granted that you care what I have to say. Or even if you don’t care, and you’re still here; thanks for being a fan anyway. ❣️

All my links are here. Let’s connect!