Behind The Scenes: How I Co-Write This Very Newsletter with AI.
🕓 Read time: ~4 min (+10 min video)
This newsletter is written by two brains, not one.
Last week, I promised to show you what really happens behind the curtain of this newsletter, so here we go.
When I first thought about creating this newsletter, I wanted AI to make the process simpler and faster. I’d been toying with the idea of a newsletter for a long time. But I hesitated... because I knew it was going to be a lot of work. Not because I don’t have ideas (I have plenty...too many at times). What I don't have is time to write a decent enough version. So what I wanted most was for AI to make the process easier, faster, and more sustainable. After all, I aim at sending one edition per week.
My goal was clear: take my unstructured thoughts and turn them into a consistent, recognizable weekly newsletter, while cutting down the manual effort and editing time.
So yes, I write every edition myself. But I don’t do it alone.
I have a virtual team member called NewsletterGPT. It doesn’t own my newsletter, it doesn’t replace my ideas. What it does (brilliantly, if I may say so): it helps me get my ideas and insights out of my head and into your inbox.
Here’s what that actually looks like:
I keep a simple Trello board where I drop thoughts, half-formed ideas, and story fragments. Sometimes I just open NewsletterGPT directly and start talking. I dictate what’s been on my mind, what I’ve noticed in client conversations, or a theme I want to unpack next.
From there, NewsletterGPT does what it’s meant to do: shape, sequence, and polish the content, supporting my creativity, not replacing it. It follows a structure I’ve designed so every edition lands with clarity, warmth, and flow.
It also takes care of the heavy lifting that involves no creativity or originality whatsoever: formatting, hashtags, SEO metadata, and previews. That means I can focus purely on the human part: the ideas, the insights, the stories.
Getting NewsletterGPT right took a bit of time. And it helped me add further clarity to my own goals and the process along the way. And that's totally ok because now that it's up and running, we're like the best team ever. On average, the entire weekly process takes about 15-20 minutes for a text-only newsletter. Add a video (like this one 👇🏼), and it's a bit more.
Want to see it in action?
🎥 Watch the Loom walkthrough and see exactly how this newsletter comes together.
Where automation fits (and where it doesn’t)
I get a lot of questions about what’s automated in this setup, so here’s the honest rundown. The formatting is applied in one click that's built right into my process, and subscribers are added automatically to my newsletter when they meet certain criteria inside my email system. Beyond that, not much else is automated yet. And that’s intentional. The current setup already saves me plenty of time, and since this newsletter is still evolving, I’m evaluating what truly needs automation and what doesn’t. Sometimes, there’s simply no strong business case for it.
For example, I’ve experimented with sending final newsletter drafts straight from NewsletterGPT into Kajabi (the platform that hosts this newsletter), but it hasn’t saved me time. For now, a quick copy-paste is more efficient than the automated option. In any case, I always want to stay in control of final approvals because every AI-assisted workflow still needs human validation.
Key Takeaway
AI and automation are powerful helpers. They support my process, not define it. And they certainly can’t replace my ideas or insights.
The real magic comes from knowing what to delegate and what to keep human. For me, that started with getting clear on what I wanted to achieve with this newsletter and how I wanted it to look. That’s the real gift of AI: not replacing your creativity, but giving it room to breathe.
Til next time,
Elena
P.S. Are you findig these "Behind the Scenes"-Editions helpful? What else would you like me to cover in a future edition?
