Inbox Insider #38 - October 19th, 2025

Welcome to Issue #38 of "Inbox Insiders": Your Email List-Building Backstage Pass

In this issue:

1. By the Numbers: What worked and what didn't
2. Deep Dive: Be the Fun Uncle
3. Up Next: What I'm working on this week

Welcome to Issue #38

"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: 14,484 (last week: 14,434)
• Added last week (net): 50
• 5* Subscribers (engaged in the last 30 days): 9,747 (last week: 9,742)

My Ad Account - Lead Magnets:

• Ad Spend: $385 (last week: $385)
• Gross Leads from FB: 238 (last week: 205)
• Cost per lead: $1.62 (last week: $1.88)

Instagram (@emailschool): Started Feb 1st

• Total Subscribers: 540 (+4 this week)

Email School (Email-Focused Membership):

1. Paying Members: 244 (-2 from last week)
2. Monthly Recurring Revenue: $4,921 (-$84/mo from last week)

Other Audiences:

• LinkedIn Newsletter: (171 subscribers; +3 this week)
• YouTube: 759 (+2 this week)
• Featured Video: The Simple Secret to Emails People Actually Read

Deep Dive: Be the Fun Uncle

Everybody I know has a fun uncle and a weird uncle.

A buddy of mine has an uncle who does guided sailing trips around Greece.

Another who has an uncle who works on race cars.

Another is an oil magnate.

I have a fun uncle, too.

His name is Uncle Kelley, and he's my Dad's little brother.

I remember when I was a kid and he drove up to my Grandma's house in a brand new red Mazda RX-7.

Then he got into mountain biking and showed off his bike.

He always had cool hair, cool clothes, and cool cars.

When my wife, Christy, and I were newlyweds, we flew down to see them as often as possible.

He took us to the best restaurants and shows (It's where I first saw The Lion King).

His wife took my wife shopping.

Their fridge was always full of healthy, organic food.

I remember ordering a pizza with truffles, and I thought it would be a chocolate drizzle (because I'm uncultured).

Kelley introduced me to the finer things in life, and I vowed to be the fun Uncle someday.

The Waiting Room

I had a clear vision for what I wanted my life to look like, but I was stuck.

In my 20s, I got into the mortgage business, which collapsed when the rest of the world did.

In my 30s, I helped a childhood friend build his empire for meager pay and the myth of upside.

I entered my entrepreneurial era at the ripe age of 36.

It went ok, but I never really had a huge breakthrough.

But I had a problem: my sister kept having kids.

I still dreamed of being the "Fun Uncle" for the next generation, and the clock was ticking.

Glimmers of Hope

I remember taking my two oldest nieces for ice cream when they were little.

They live in Oklahoma, so we'd see them 1-2 times per year, max.

Sometimes we'd pay for shaved ice for everyone (my sister has a lot of kids).

Sometimes we'd pitch in for fireworks on July 4th.

Sometimes we'd treat everyone to Mickey Pretzels on a family trip to the Magic Kingdom.

But when they both got engaged in the last few months, I knew it was my time to shine.

Lake Como

No, we didn't take them to Lake Como.

But we did the next best thing.

My nieces came into town this last week with their shiny new engagement rings and fiancés in tow.

All four are in their early 20s, and we had a lot to celebrate.

My wife and I hatched a plan: we'd treat them to dinner at one of the best restaurants in town.

Last year, they all came to town for a vacation, and my wife took them to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, followed by a walk around The Broadmoor Hotel (a legendary 5-diamond property near the mountains).

And last night, we piled into two cars and surprised them with a fancy dinner at Ristorante Del Lago (at The Broadmoor; inspired by Lake Como).

TL:DR, it was amazing and they loved it.

They were super grateful.

Fun Uncle status: cemented.

Why I'm Telling You This

A lot of things had to go right for this to happen last night.

As we've gotten older, treating people to a great dinner has been one of the joys of our success.

What good is success, after all, if you can't share it with people you love?

I'm so grateful for my wife and our alignment in our mission...

And to my nieces for their desire to spend some free time with us in Colorado...

And for giving them a meal they won't soon forget.

It's like I got a vision 20 years ago for what I wanted parts of my life to look like.

And last night, much of it came true.

So, if you have a choice between being the "weird one" and the "fun one..."

Choose Fun.

Thanks for reading.

~ Cody

P.S. I'm working with a handful of founders to build our laidback business together, starting next month. Would you like to skip the line and see the secret invite?

Reply with "SKIP" in the subject line and I'll share the details.

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