The Only Asset You Actually Own: Why Every Maker is a Newsletter Creator in Disguise

I remember the morning I lost everything. Well, it felt like everything at the time. I had spent six months building up a presence on a specific social media platform. I was posting every day, I was getting great engagement, and my project was finally starting to get some traction. I woke up on a Saturday, reached for my phone, and tried to log in.

"Your account has been suspended for violating terms of service."

No explanation. No warning. No way to talk to a human. Just a dead end. In an instant, the audience I had worked so hard to build was gone. The traffic to my site dropped by 90% overnight. It was like I had built a beautiful house on a piece of land that someone else could take away whenever they felt like it.

That was the day I realized the hard truth about indie hacking in the 2020s. If you don't own your audience, you don't own your business.

The Rented Land Trap

We all do it. We get addicted to the quick hits of dopamine that come from a viral tweet or a front-page post on a forum. We tell ourselves that "platform X" is our main channel. But platforms are companies. Companies have shareholders. Shareholders want growth at any cost. And eventually, that growth comes at your expense.

They change the algorithm. They start charging for reach. They pivot to a new content format that doesn't fit your style.

When you build your audience on a social platform, you are essentially a sharecropper. You’re doing the work to create content that keeps users on their site, and in return, they give you a tiny sliver of the attention. It's a bad deal for the maker.

The only asset you actually own in this digital world is your email list.

Why the Email List is Still King (Even in 2026)

Every few years, someone writes an article saying that "email is dead." They say that Slack, or Discord, or Telegram, or whatever the latest shiny object is, will replace it. And every single time, they are wrong.

Email is the only decentralized protocol that everyone uses. No one company owns the "Email Network." If you have someone's email address and their permission, you can talk to them directly. There is no algorithm standing in the way. There is no shadow-banning. There is no one who can suddenly tell you that your message isn't "on brand" for the platform.

For a maker, a newsletter is the ultimate distribution engine.

When you launch a new feature, you don't have to hope the algorithm smiles on you. You just hit send. When you want to ask for feedback, you have a direct line to your most loyal users. When you’re having a bad week and you just want to share the struggle, you have a community that is actually listening.

The "Ghost" Visitor Problem

Think about your current website or your Makers Page profile. People land on it every day. Some click around, some stay for a minute, and most of them leave and never come back.

These are your "ghost" visitors.

They liked your vision. They appreciated your verified revenue. They thought your projects were cool. But life is busy. They got a notification, they closed the tab, and they forgot you exist.

If you don't have a way to capture that interest right then and there, you’ve lost that person forever. You’ve spent all that effort to get them into your world, and then you just let them walk out the back door.

This is why we built the newsletter integration directly into the profile. It’s about turning those ghosts into relationships.

Content as a Magnet, Not a Product

A lot of makers get stuck because they think they need to be a "writer" to have a newsletter. They think they need to produce a weekly essay that is as good as a New York Times column.

That's a trap.

Your newsletter doesn't have to be a masterpiece. It just has to be a log of your progress. In fact, people actually prefer the "shipping log" style over the "polished essay" style. They want to see what you're building. They want to see the screenshots of your new UI. They want to hear about the bug you finally squashed after three days of searching.

Your content isn't the product. Your product is the product. The content is just the magnet that keeps people stuck to it.

I’ve found that the best newsletters for indie hackers are the ones that feel like a quick check-in from a friend. "Hey, here is what I shipped this week. Here is what I’m struggling with. Here is a cool thing I found. Talk soon."

That’s it. That’s the whole strategy.

The Beehiiv Revolution (And Why it Matters)

I’ve used every email tool out there. Most of them are built for big corporate marketing teams. They have complex automations, confusing pricing, and UIs that make you want to scream.

This is why platforms like Beehiiv have been such a game changer for the indie community. They’ve made it simple again. They give you the tools you need capture forms, clean templates, and simple growth features without the enterprise bloat.

When you integrate something like Beehiiv directly into your profile, you’re creating a frictionless path for your audience. They read your manifesto, they see your results, and if they want to stay updated, they enter their email. No redirects. No popups. No friction.

It’s the silent engine of your business. While you’re sleeping, your profile is working to build your list. One email at a time.

Trust as the Foundation of Your List

There is a big difference between an email list and a community. An email list is just a database. A community is a group of people who trust you.

This brings us back to the core theme of everything we do: transparency.

If you want people to give you their email address, you have to prove you’re worth the space in their inbox. This is why having your verified revenue right next to your signup form is so powerful. It tells the visitor, "I’m not just another person with a newsletter. I’m a real founder who is getting real results."

Honesty is a growth lever. When you are transparent about your numbers, your failures, and your process, people are much more likely to want to follow along. They see that you have skin in the game. They see that you’re not just selling a dream; you’re living the reality.

Stop Waiting for the "Perfect Time" to Start

I talk to so many makers who say, "I'll start a newsletter when I have 500 followers" or "I'll start it when the product is launched."

That is backwards.

You start the newsletter to get the followers. You start it to launch the product.

Even if you have zero subscribers today, start the list. Add the form to your profile. Send that first update to an empty room if you have to. Because eventually, someone will find you. And when they do, you want to be ready to catch them.

The best time to start was the day you started your first project. The second best time is right now.

Your Newsletter Action Plan

If you're ready to stop building on rented land, here is how you can get started this afternoon:

1. Pick a Simple Tool: I obviously recommend Beehiiv, but pick whatever feels easiest for you. Just don't spend more than an hour deciding.
2. Setup the Integration: Connect your list to your Makers Page profile. Make it the first thing people see after they read your bio.
3. Commit to a Format: Don't promise a massive weekly essay. Promise a simple update. Call it "The Shipping Log" or "The Weekly Ship."
4. Send Your First Email: Even if it's just to yourself and your mom. Just get over the fear of the "Send" button.
5. Share the Link: Put your profile link everywhere. Direct the traffic from the "rented platforms" to your "owned platform."

Building a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder by letting someone else control your access to your audience. Own your data. Own your relationships. Own your future.

I’ll see you in the inbox.

Ready to Turn Visitors into Fans?

If you're tired of losing your "ghost" visitors and you want to start building a list you actually own, check out our new Beehiiv integration. It takes two minutes to set up and it might just be the most important thing you do for your business this year.

Stop renting. Start owning.

Claim your handle on Makers Page and start building your legacy.