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How To Turn Your Notes Into Endless Newsletter Content
The simplest way to create original content
Matt Giaro
March 28th, 2025
Matt Giaro helps experts turn their ideas into income in their spare time using persuasive writing, automated systems, and artificial intelligence (AI). You can find him at mattgiaro.com.
Everyone and their dog are starting newsletters.
But which newsletters stand out? The ones that make you think differently. The ones that share unique insights you won't find anywhere else.
Many creators are running on empty. They sit in front of their computer, desperately trying to come up with something fresh to send to their subscribers.
And now with AI in the mix? Things are getting worse.
Sure, AI can give you ideas. But if you only rely on AI, then you’re literally writing about the same stuff as your competitor next door. ChatGPT, Claude, or Deepseek don’t come up with original thoughts -- they only predict ideas based on what's already out there.
There's a better way.
What if you could turn your notes into an endless stream of unique newsletter content?
What if every time you sat down to write, you had a never-ending fountain of original insights to write about?
That's exactly what you'll learn in this article.
I'll show you how to transform your scattered notes into a content-generating machine that keeps your subscribers coming back for more.
Let's dive in.
Table of Contents
The Secret Behind Never Running Out of Newsletter Ideas
If you’re anything like me, your best ideas don't show up when you're sitting in front of your computer.
Instead, they probably come to you when you’re going about your daily activities such as: when:
Taking a shower
Walking your dog
Doing the dishes
Are you capturing these ideas or just letting them fly by?
Richard Branson said it best: "If you don't write your ideas down, they could leave your head before you even leave the room."
That's why you need to set up a capture system first. Think of it as your idea safety net -- always ready to catch them before they slip away.
When you have such a system in place, you’ll never run out of ideas.
And all you have to do when writing your newsletter is sit down at your computer, open your notes, and scroll through dozens and dozens of ideas you could write about. (That’s better than X (Formerly Twitter) and TikTok combined!)
I’ve been doing this for years, and my content idea bucket fills up with more content than I can create.
Think of it like a savings account, but for ideas. The goal is to always save more than you spend.
Here's how to build one:
First, pick an app that works across all of your devices. You want something fast and simple. I personally use Bear because it loads in milliseconds and syncs automatically (so I can access it even on the toilet.)
But the app doesn't matter as much as the habit.
The key is making capturing ideas:
Fast
Easy
Convenient
Not only do you want to capture the ideas… but you also want to create a dedicated “bucket” for them so that you don’t waste your time trying to retrieve your ideas.
Some apps use tags to classify your notes; others use folders. Some allow you to do both. If you're using an app that uses folders, create a "Content Idea" folder. If your app uses tags, create a “Content Idea” tag.
That’s it.
I made it even easier: I’m using an Iphone, so I’m leveraging “Shortcuts” to create instant capture widgets.
When I tap the icon, it asks me for the idea; and when I hit OK, it automatically saves it in the content idea bucket.
The bottom line: Remove every possible barrier between your brain and your capturing system.
How To Use Your Forgotten Highlights, Bookmarks, and Clippings
As a newsletter operator, you’re probably consuming (and saving) a lot of information every day.
But if you don’t do anything with this information, you're just an information hoarder.
A better way to turn what you consume into fresh content is by applying something called “The Feynman Technique”.
Simply put, rewrite everything you save in your own words, as you would explain it to a six-year-old.
Is this more work than merely hitting “save”? Yes, absolutely, but it’s worth it.
Why? Because copying or “saving” is not thinking. When you rewrite an idea, you're forced to wrestle with it. To understand it. To make it yours.
This simple act of rewriting does three things:
Here’s an example of me rewriting a book highlight:
Stop Killing Your Best Ideas (By Organizing Them Wrong)
By now, you’re starting to see a solid system emerge: a system that allows you to do something interesting with the information you consume… and a system that allows you to capture your best ideas when you have them.
You could stop reading here and jump straight into the next section of this post, where I show you how to turn ANY note into newsletter content.
But if you like playing around with ideas, then you definitely want to go the extra mile right here and start connecting your ideas.
Instead of letting your ideas sit in your savings account, you want to organize them in a way to spark fresh insights.
Do you know how breakthrough and interesting ideas actually happen?
It's when you combine things that are not directly related to your industry with something else.
A lot of successful inventions are inspired by combination:
- The printing press is a combination of wine presses with coin-punching metalworking techniques.
- The airplane is a combo between bicycle mechanics (balance/steering systems) with internal combustion engines.
- The telephone is a mix of electrical signals with sound transmission.
Our brains are hard-wired to think in associations. There are about 100 billion neurons total in the human brain. Each of these neurons can have up to 15,000 connections.
So why not mimic our natural way of thinking in your note-taking system?
Enter: links.
Here's how it works:
I use Obsidian because it has this killer feature called "graph view." It shows all of your notes and their connections like a cosmic web of ideas:
Want to write your next newsletter?
Just pull up the graph view and watch the magic happen:
- See clusters of related ideas you never knew were connected.
- Spot gaps in your thinking that could make great newsletter topics.
- Find unique angles nobody else is writing about.
The best way to take advantage of this is by creating “atomic notes.”
Instead of dumping everything about a topic into one massive note, break it down – one idea per note.
Think of each note as a Lego block. Alone, it's simple. But combined with others? The possibilities are endless.
And the best part?
Your notes organize themselves. No more wondering "which folder should this go in?" or "what tags should I use?"
Just write the note, link it to related ideas, and let the connections grow naturally.
This is how you turn your note-taking system from a dusty filing cabinet into a living, breathing idea factory for your newsletter.
Not all newsletters are created equal:
Some are personal stories that feel like emails from a friend.
Others are mini blog posts packed with tactical advice.
Some curate the best tips from across the internet.
The beauty of a linked note-taking system? It works for all of them.
Let me show you how.
I write personal emails sharing specific insights I've learned along the way.
Here's how I use my notes for this:
I pull up my graph view.
I look for a personal experience that connects to a bigger lesson.
I follow the links to find supporting ideas that strengthen the story.
If you're writing more structured, educational newsletters, your linked notes become your outline machine.
Let's say you're writing about productivity. Pull up your graph view and watch the magic:
- Your note about morning routines connects to decision fatigue,
- Which links to willpower research,
- Which connects to environment design.
- Suddenly, you've got a killer outline about "Why Your Desk Layout Is Making You Work 32% Slower."
See how that's way more interesting than another generic "10 Productivity Tips" email?
This is where things get really fun.
Let's say you're curating investing advice. Instead of just sharing random quotes from famous investors, use your linked notes to spot patterns nobody else sees.
Here's an example:
You found that both Warren Buffett and Naval Ravikant talk about reading, but they had different takes:
- Buffett: "Read 500 pages every day. That's how knowledge builds up, like compound interest."
- Naval: "Read what you love until you love to read."
Following the links in your notes, I found Peter Thiel's view: "Competition is for losers. Read what others don't."
Boom.
Now you're not just sharing random quotes on “reading.” You're showing how three different investing minds approach reading -- from volume (Buffett) to enjoyment (Naval) to strategic advantage (Thiel).
That's the kind of insight that makes subscribers actually look forward to your newsletter.
The Secret Sauce: Your Note-Taking System Does the Heavy Lifting
No matter what type of newsletter you write, the principles are the same:
Save your ideas. Rewrite what you learn.
Connect your ideas through links.
Use the graph view to spot patterns and relationships.
Turn those connections into unique content that your subscribers can't find anywhere else.
Your subscribers don't just want information. They want insights, and now you know how to come up with these.
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