In this instructional video, Alex Cattoni presents her curated list of ten online brands and newsletters that she recommends content creators and freelance copywriters follow to spark fresh ideas and improve their copy. She frames the need for "lateral learning"—seeking inspiration outside one’s usual niche—to break out of echo chambers and fuel creative growth. Each brand is introduced with a brief description of its focus, publishing cadence, tone, and why its content serves as a model for effective email design, storytelling, or audience relevance. Alex highlights specific copywriting lessons such as snappy subject lines, authentic voice, concise formatting, visual appeal, and the power of surprising facts. Throughout, she intersperses calls to action for viewers to subscribe to her channel, where she offers weekly tutorials on building and scaling a freelance copywriting business. The video concludes with a reminder to watch related storytelling‑formula content and a friendly sign‑off.
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Need a Little creative reboot this week I'm counting down my top 10 picks for brands to follow for mad content inspiration. Hey guys, it's Alex. I am glad you're here, because in this video I'm sharing my top 10 favorite brands you need to follow to supercharge your creative flow. Because as a content creator, sometimes the best, and I mean the best inspiration comes from stepping outside your niche and that little bubble of an echo chamber that is your Instagram and Facebook feeds. In fact, it's exactly what your brain needs to spark new ideas and spot unconventional growth opportunities. I'm constantly picking up interesting magazines or attending new events, or subscribing to online newsletters outside of the typical marketing and copywriting world. Because and write this down. Lateral learning is legit, so keep that in mind as you're browsing the magazine shop or looking for meetups in your local area. But in this video, I'm sharing 10 online brands that have content so good it'll become instant fuel for your copywriting mind and business growth. And of course, be sure to subscribe to my channel below because once you get your creative juices flowing, you'll need to know how to turn that inspiration into income. Which is exactly what I'm here for. And every single week I release a new tutorial on how to start and scale your freelance copywriting business. So once you hit subscribe, be sure to hit that little bell icon so you don't miss any more videos from me. Alright guys, let's dive in. Here are my top 10 picks for brands you should follow for mad content inspiration. Starting off the list at number 10 is the skim. This site has been a favorite among content creators since their daily newsletter started back in 2012. The skim is a digest of news stories intended to be simple and easy to read, and their tagline also deserves a nod from AM to PM Info you need where you are. The Daily Skim prepares you for your day in minutes. Every morning, Monday to Friday, they send out a newsletter that includes a quote of the day, a featured story, a quick summary of some selected news articles, and a few recommended casual readings to lighten up the mood. Their content is snappy, witty and matter of fact, and their newsletter design is a great example of email marketing that uses very little visual content yet still garners impressive subscription and click through rates. Okay, so moving right along to number nine. Brain pickings. Brain pickings started in 2006 as a weekly email by writer and avid reader Maria Popova, which she would personally curate and Send to just 7 friends today. She has over 1 million subscribers worldwide. How cool is that? The Brain Pickings newsletter is your dose of culture and design, aptly called an inventory of the meaningful life. Every Sunday, Maria sends a rundown of the week's most inspiring and interesting articles on art, science, philosophy, creativity, literature and ideas around truth, beauty and meaning. Heads up Though, it's a really long newsletter, like really, really long. So while it might be the most comprehensive email you receive each week, this digest guarantees top notch content and sparks plenty of conversation starters and copy ideas. Okay, now onto number eight of my top ten list. The Greatest. The Greatest is an awesome blog of health and well being, wisdom for millennials and gen zers. The Greatest aims to inspire you to live your happiest and healthiest without being miserable in the process. Because having fun without the guilt is the greatest. Their newsletter sends a concise and visual roundup of five new and interesting stories from their site every single week, ranging from workouts and recipes to inspiring practices and lifestyle tips. So if you're a writer looking to inspire those aged 18 to 35, I highly recommend you check out the simple and beautiful brand. Okay, lucky number seven goes to Austin Kleon. Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of Newspaper Blackout, Steal Like An Artist and Show youw Work Every week, the self proclaimed writer who draws curates a list of 10 things he believes are worth sharing. From new art to great writing to other worthy musings to check out. What makes Austin's newsletter so great is that you feel like you're receiving email from a friend who just wants to share cool stuff that he found online. We all have that one friend. You're not only getting cool content on creativity and life in general, but his genuine casual tone is a great example of using personality and authenticity in email copywriting. Which leads me to number six on the list. Jay Clouse Here is another entrepreneur known for his authentic and conversational copywriting. Founder of the Unreal Collective, Jay Clouse helps creatives thrive as business owners. On his blog, Jay reflects on his latest learnings from building his own business. His down to earth tone creates a powerful connection with his subscribers, creating an environment of trust and engagement as he shares his experiences and unapologetically reveals his feelings, wins and mistakes. All right, we're halfway through the list and number five is Next Draft. Next Draft is dead simple and that's part of the reason why I love it so much. Curated and written by writer and news addict Dave Pell and Nextdrap shares the day's most fascinating News Every day Dave visits over 70 news sites and picks out the ten most fascinating stories of the day, which he then curates and summarizes in a very witty and entertaining way. He's not only fun to read, but he's able to deliver information in a fast, clear and digestible way, which takes some badass copywriting skills. After all, he calls himself the Managing Editor of the Internet. So on behalf of the entire Internet, thanks Dave. Now for number four on the list really Good Emails. So do I even need to tell you why you should subscribe to really Good Emails? God, I just love a benefit driven brand name. Really Good Emails is a curated collection of the best looking promotional email campaigns and newsletters around. They showcase the most optimized, innovative and functional emails from both a coding and a design perspective. But their website copy deserves a nod too. Go to their website and subscribe to their newsletter to have a good chuckle at their pop up call to action. Their newsletter features great email templates, copywriting samples and design tweaks to make your customers actually look forward to seeing you in their inbox. All right, we're getting close to the number one spot on my top 10 list of brands to follow in 2020. The third spot goes to this Is True. Now while this really old school looking blog should maybe take a page out of the really Good Emails design playbook, this Is True has some of the best and most thought provoking entertainment on the Internet. Founded by Randy Kassingham, the newsletter gives you a thorough, researched, well written and captivating report about everything from dog breeds to strange crimes to weather and unicorns. Obviously, never underestimate the value of random facts, no matter how bizarre. After all, you never know when you'll need to drop some interesting tidbits of trivia into your copy to make your story more compelling and humorous. Even Steve Wozniak, the co founder of Apple, has claimed that he has never received a single this Is True email without laughing out loud. Now the number two spot goes to a sinfully simple newsletter that provides mad content inspiration, and that is Think Clearly. Initially a consulting practice with clients like Google and Bloomberg. Today, Think clearly is a public newsletter that delivers creative wisdom on learning, leadership and personal growth. But here's what makes it really, really special. It is all handwritten. That's right, Think clearly is where a love letter meets email marketing so you can sign up for uplifting notes and reflect collections to help you tap into your analytical and creative mind. All right, drumroll please. We are finally at number one on my list of top ten Brats to follow for MAD content inspiration. The top spot goes to Vox. If you want to understand complex topics in just a few minutes, look no further than Vox, the media brand behind one of my favorite shows to binge watch on Netflix. Explained honestly, that show has answered so many questions for me. Vox also has a killer online platform that I highly recommend you check out if you have no interest in watching the news. They do a great job at making topics like politics and policy easier to understand and will get you up to speed on the best stories of the day. Their tagline Understand the news. It's as simple as that. And every single copywriter needs to know what's going on in the lives of their audience. So Vox is a great source to conceptualize a relatable story angle or add some relevancy into your copy. And if you want to learn some more great storytelling techniques that you can use in your copy, check out my video on four storytelling formulas to create content that sells. You can watch that video right here. And guys, that wraps up my top 10 list for this week. Thank you so much for watching. Be sure to subscribe until next week. I'm Alex. Ciao for now. Boom chakalaka boom chakalaka boom Boom chakalaka boom.
