Come on… be honest. How many e-newsletters can you actually read?

When I started my business last year, I subscribed to a kabillion newsletters about copywriting and freelancing. One of my books had a list of successful copywriters and their websites, and I dutifully visited them all, signing up for their free ebooks, their weekly newsletters, their seminar announcements.

My inbox grew each week. I figured I had to subscribe since they were successful and I wasn’t. I decided that what they had to say would be worthwhile, even though I hadn’t read it.

In the last few weeks, I’ve done the same thing on Twitter. I have been following the marketing and writing people who have 2000+ followers. I figured they must be doling out pearls of wisdom that would make me a better person, right?

But here’s what happens. I was getting 5 or more expert newsletters a week. I was getting 5+ Twitters a minute. And when they came in, I’d move them out of the way so I could get to things I wanted to read.

The moral? It’s time to cull. Let’s cut out all the emails and Twitters and other distractions that do not contribute to our conversations. As a producer of an e-newsletter myself, I’d rather deliver to a few hundred who want my info than to thousands who never read it. And perhaps when we cut down on unwanted emails, we’ll be better able to keep up with the ones that deserve our attention.