Inbox Insider #34 - September 21, 2025

Welcome to Issue #34 of "Inbox Insiders": Your Email List-Building Backstage Pass

In this issue:

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

Welcome to Issue #34

"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: 14,569 (last week: 15,855)
Added last week (net): Added 190 but cleansed 1,400 so net ~ shrunk by 1,200
5* Subscribers (engaged in the last 30 days): 8,642 (last week: 8,841)

My Ad Account - Lead Magnets:

Ad Spend: $381 (last week: $385)
Gross Leads from FB: 199 (last week: 210)
Cost per lead: $1.92 (last week: $1.83)

Instagram (@emailschool): Started Feb 1st

Total Subscribers: 528 (+0 this week; didn't post anything 😬)

Email School (Email-Focused Membership):

Paying Members: 253 (-2 from last week)
Monthly Recurring Revenue: $5,207 (-$92/mo from last week)

Other Audiences:

LinkedIn Newsletter: (166 subscribers; +1 this week)
YouTube: 739 (+8 this week)
New YouTube Video: The 3 Email Automations I Use for Every Promotion (Steal These!)

Deep Dive: Dynasty

OKLAHOMA

I went to the University of Oklahoma on a technical scholarship.

All I had to do was declare an engineering major and I got $20K.

Done.

It was 1999, so I naively asked my advisor, "What pays the best?"

"Computer Science," he replied.

"I don't know what that is, but I'm in."

Computer Science was impossibly difficult, but Saturdays were fun.

Why?

College football.

In my freshman year, 1999, Oklahoma Football struggled.

In my sophomore year, 2000, we won it all.

National Champions.

The dynasty began.

EXCEPT IT DIDN'T

The next year?

We went 11-2 and finished 12th in the final rankings.

Then we finished 8th. Then 11th. Then 6th.

So, we were good.

But we didn't win another championship (and still haven't...25 years later).

DYNASTIES ARE HARD

Solo sports can have champions for a while (See Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Scottie Scheffler).

Team sports? Nearly impossible.

The Chicago Bulls had a good run in the 90s.

The New England Patriots did it in the 2000s.

But after you win it all, the machine fractures.

An assistant coach leaves for another program.

A star athlete wants to get paid more and eyes the exit.

New staff. New stadium. New stars.

You go undefeated one year and end up at the bottom of the pile the next.

I've seen it a hundred times.

OFFER DYNASTY

I've been in the online space for about 13 years.

I've seen every type of offer imaginable.

I've likely offered it myself.

Once you get an offer to pop, everything gets easier.

But it will inevitably burn out.

Buyer expectations change.

Markets get sophisticated.

Platforms shift.

Competition creeps up.

Or, maybe you're like me and you get bored.

"SO AM I DOOMED?"

No.

You'll make it.

You just gotta adapt.

Here are the 5 areas of your offer you can update, modify, tweak, or enhance.

The Promise: What is the most valuable outcome you can confidently create in the shortest amount of time? Clarifying your promise will help people more clearly see around the corner and build their confidence in working with you.
The Payment Plans: I joined a program earlier this year that offered weekly payment plans. I've toyed around with offering weekly payment plans in the past. I've also joined something that had a graduated payment plan. Month 1 was less, Month 2 was more, and Month 3+ was the "normal" price.
The Time Frame: Earlier this year, I sold a VIP Day for $3K. But I realized I didn't need a whole day. I could get it done in an hour or two because I have a stable full of thoroughbred CustomGPT workhorses. So if I can collapse time and get a cool outcome in less time, it's more valuable. My next cohort I'm running will be 6 weeks. Not 12 (like usual). Collapse time. Charge more.
The Bonuses: Use bonuses to obliterate objections. Why aren't people buying? Create a bonus that overcomes that objection.
The Price: Whenever someone says "no" to your offer...they don't mean "no." They mean, "not now," "not that way," "not at that price point," or "not from you." So, find new ways to price and package your offer to appeal to a different audience.

I've run pretty much the same offer from Sep 2023 to April 2025 when it stopped converting. I got about 160 people through it and generated several hundred grand in revenue from it.

But then it stopped working. So I'm changing it based on the criteria above.

Will it work?

Who knows?

That's part of the fun.

Run your offers until they stop converting, then change them.

Keep the dynasty alive.

Thanks for reading.

~ Cody

What's Next:

I'm hosting a 3-part workshop this week called the "Upgrade My Offer" Bootcamp. Want to join? Click here ($20 USD).
Want to skip the line and just get my help with creating and selling your next offer? Reply with OFFER and I'll get you the details.

Thanks for reading this issue of "Inbox Insiders."

See you next week,