Inbox Insider #32 - September 7, 2025

Welcome to Issue #32 of "Inbox Insiders": Your Email List-Building Backstage Pass

In this issue:

By the Numbers: What worked and what didn't
Deep Dive: Shorten the Gap
Up Next: What I'm working on this week

Welcome to Issue #32

"Inbox Insider" is my Sunday newsletter sharing the behind-the-scenes of what I'm doing to grow my email list to 100,000.

I share what works, what doesn't, and how I'm growing.

Thanks for reading.

Let's dive in:

By The Numbers:

My Email List

Total Subscribers: 15,868 (last week: 15,817)
Added last week (net): 84 (last week: 58)
5* Subscribers (engaged in the last 30 days): 9,449 (last week: 9,444)

My Ad Account - Lead Magnets:

Ad Spend: $514 (last week: $534)
Gross Leads from FB: 265 (last week: 284)
Cost per lead: $1.94 (last week: $1.88)

Instagram (@emailschool): Started Feb 1st

Total Subscribers: 527 (+2 this week; didn't post anything 😬)

Email School (Email-Focused Membership):

Paying Members: 257 (-4 from last week)
Monthly Recurring Revenue: $5,379 (-$171/mo from last week)

Other Audiences:

LinkedIn Newsletter: (165 subscribers; +0 this week)
YouTube: 723 (+15 this week)
New YouTube Video: Are You Emailing Too Much? Or Not Enough?

Deep Dive: Shorten the Gap

ChatGPT went mainstream in November 2022.

A month later, I was fired from my Marketing Director job (unrelated; sort of).

I'd used some AI writing assistants in the past, so I didn't see what the big deal was at first.

Now it's part of my everyday activity:

Researching flights (Denver to Bangkok; shortest route; use Amex points; Business Class)
Finding music to listen to
Planning trips

A year later, in November 2023, OpenAI allowed us to create our own Custom GPTs.

I didn't notice.

But then...

I was at a VIP day in January 2025 with Stu McLaren (the membership guy).

And he showed me how he and his higher-end clients were using CustomGPTs.

I didn't sleep that night.

I got it.

Weeks later, I rolled out what I call a "Course Companion" GPT to help people get through my flagship course.

A month later, I rolled "Inbox Storyteller" trained on my best performing story-based emails.

I included it with the annual membership level of Email School.

Now?

It's been used 1,000+ times:

Then...

A few weeks later, I hosted a workshop on how to make your own CustomGPT and sold hundreds of tickets.

Recap:

I learned about it late January
I made 2 of them in February
I taught a workshop in March and sold tickets

The Learning Loop

A few years ago, I noticed a trend in how I (and others) were getting stuck.

I called it "The Learning Loop" and sketched it out

Get excited about something
Buy a course/workshop on the topic
Watch it
Do nothing
Repeat

Ever been there?

Me too (no judgment).

So how do we break free from this doom spiral?

Implementation.

Gap #1: From Learning to Doing

My biggest business successes all came from me shortening the gap from learning to doing.

Notable milestones:

Learned how to host VIP days and crossed the $100K sales mark 4 months later.
Learned how to host a group coaching program and launched within 3 weeks
Learned how to host a mini-workshop and launched my first one within 30 days

Every one of those strategies yielded multiple six-figures in revenue on its own.

And the success happened because I learned something useful and implemented it within 30 days.

I have stories from the opposite, too (took me over a year to launch a membership, create a podcast, or write a book).

But shortening Gap #1 is crucial.

Gap #2: From Doing to Teaching

Now, your business is different than mine, so this next Gap may not apply to you.

But if you run any kind of info or expert business, this is Gap #2.

I have 3 levels of an "Expert Business."

Email School (low ticket, front end membership about Email Marketing)
Laidback Membership ($100/mo, business mentoring membership)
Laidback Coaching Program ($1k+/mo, tons of access, planning and support)

In a way, I'm a tribute for each of these programs.

I go out into the world on their behalf, learn useful stuff, implement what works, and share the best bits with the relevant audience.

You may have seen my accelerated timeline above (from "learning -> doing -> teaching" in 2 months flat) and scoffed.

Was I an expert in creating CustomGPTs?

Do I have a Master's Degree in CustomGPTs?

Nope.

But I left the comfort of my basement, went into the wild, hunted for something valuable, killed it, and brought it home for everyone else.

This is the 2nd gap to shorten.

Gap #3: Repetitions

If you asked me how much time would need to pass before you could bench press your body weight, I'd say you're asking the wrong question.

It's not time. It's repetitions.

If you do one bench press every 90 days, you'll never get stronger.

Likewise, in business, if you do one kind of promotion every 18 months, you won't get better.

That's why, in my coaching program, I encourage people to do one promotion per month.

This is cool for a few reasons:

First, you put less pressure on yourself per promotion because you'll do another one next month.

Second, you start to develop templates and systems to bring each promo to life faster.

Third, you get much more feedback on what works and what doesn't work.

Action Step:

Where do you struggle the most?

Gap #1: Learning -> Doing?
Gap #2: Doing -> Teaching?
Gap #3: Doing It Over And Over?

Shorten the gaps.

Help more people.

Make more profit.

Thanks for reading.

~ Cody

What's Next:

I sold out of my September DFY Growth Engine spots (yay for me, boo for you), but you can join the waitlist here.
On Monday, I'm opening the doors to a new 3-part workshop on how to tune up your offers so they sell more easily. Would you like to join us? If so, reply with "OFFER" and I'll get you the link.

Thanks for reading this issue of "Inbox Insiders."

See you next week,