Inbox Insider #14 - Sun May 4, 2025

Welcome to Issue #14 of "Inbox Insiders": Your Email List-Building Backstage Pass

In this issue:

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

Welcome to Issue #14

"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: 16,012 (last week 15,872)
Added last week (net): 290 (last week: 240)
5* Subscribers (engaged in the last 30 days): 9,259 (last week: 9,368)

My Ad Account - Lead Magnets:

Ad Spend: $792 (last week: 992)
Gross Leads from FB: 329 (last week: 416)
Cost per lead: $2.41 (last week $2.38)

Instagram (@emailschool): Started Feb 1st

Total Subscribers: 418 (last week: 408)
New Subscribers last week: 10 (last week: 2)

Email School (Email-Focused Membership):

Paying Members: 237 (-1 from last week)
Monthly Recurring Revenue: $4,343 (down $30/mo from last week)

Other Audiences:

LinkedIn Newsletter: (120 subscribers; +2 this week)
Threads: 21 followers (+1 this week)
YouTube: 633 (+14 this week)

Deep Dive: Splashes and Ripples

Today's newsletter is inspired by one of the best bank heist movies of all time: Heat.

It's a classic.

DeNiro. Pacino. Kilmer.

It's a mid-90's action movie about robbing a bank.

Months of planning. Inside men. Equipment. Dynamite.

Big risk for a big score.

It's how a lot of us treat launching.

CHASING THE MOMENT

A few years ago I wanted to get into live event hosting.

The plan: shut down my DFY ad agency and shift into leveraged group coaching.

I'd heard that the best way to sell high ticket was at a live event.

I hired the best coach: $50K.

I booked a beautiful boutique hotel in downtown Denver: $30K.

I hired the best tech team: $7.5K.

Big risk for a big score.

The punchline is that it kinda worked. That first event made just over $108K (June 2019). The second made $86K (Dec 2019).

The third was sidelined when a global pandemic broke out.

But the pressure to "create a moment" was seared in my brain.

The pressure to perform.

The big marketing budget.

The calculated risk at a big payday.

My understanding of "running an online business" meant I arranged my year around creating these moments.

THE "VELVET ROPE" PROBLEM

I love live events.

My wife is an event planner.

It's in our blood.

But...

If my live events were where I dished out my best stuff...

Welp, I hope you were free those dates, found childcare, booked a flight, found a hotel, paid for parking, and were able to come hang out.

Kinda selfish, right?

THE RIPPLES

In between plotting my next meteoric, complicated, seismic events...

I hosted some more accessible events.

Free 5-day challenges.

Lower ticket workshops.

Easy to say "yes" to.

A SURPRISING DISCOVERY

In Sep '23 (9 months after restarting) I hosted a $20 workshop on how to setup your Meta Ads for list building.

I called it "The Laidback List Builder Bootcamp."

A mouthful, I know.

100 brave folks joined my first low ticket 5-day workshop.

That week, I did about 15 hours of live Zoom training.

I did my famous "last man standing" Q&As where I would be the last person on the Zoom until ALL the questions were answered.

Did some calls go 3 hours? Yes.

Did I mind? No.

I was grateful to have an audience and I had nowhere else to be.

People stayed the whole time.

I was shocked.

Conversions were high, too.

Maybe I was onto something?

THE PAYOFF

I learned a powerful lesson over the years.

Instead of saving my best content for the lucky few who could come to my infrequent, small events...

Focus on helping more people make progress.

Reduce their pain, confusion, and frustration...

Increase their ease, understanding, and progress...

Some will buy my stuff now.

Some will buy later.

Some will tell a friend about me.

But all who participate will have a brighter future with a lighter load.

THE LONG GAME

Listen, after getting a 2nd chance at entrepreneurship, one thing has become clear.

I'm not cut out for a traditional job.

So, I've got ~20 years left to make my mark in the online world.

Imagine the ripple effect...

I help a person.

Their life gets better.

Maybe they're more generous in their community.

Maybe they're more present with their kids.

Maybe they check an item off their bucket list.

Maybe they get in better shape.

Who knows?

If I stop focusing on making a big splash...

Imagine how far the ripples will go.

Thanks for reading.

~ Cody

What's Next:

Here's what's on my radar this week:

I'm hosting a new thing called "Ads Machine Build Week," and it's free to register.
The doors to The Launchpad (8-week coaching cohort where I install my Laidback Operating System in your business) are open until Thursday, May 8th. I'm setup a "Pay As You Profit" model so it's easier than ever to get started.
Want one of the coaching spots when it reopens in June? Reply with "COACHING" in the subject line, and I'll get you the details.

Thanks for reading this issue of "Inbox Insiders."

See you next week,