I'm taking a month off from sending email marketing to my list this August. Here are 3 things I’m doing instead.

On July 31st, 2026, I sent the last email to my real, non-LinkedIn email list for a while.

The next time my subscribers will see my name again in their inboxes will be in early September.

It's the second August in a row that Ethical Emails is going quiet - both in terms of regular newsletter-ing and hosting the monthly roundtables.

It’s a strategic decision (which I wrote about in more detail here), and NGL, I love that for both my audience and me.

But in case you’re curious to know what I’m up to this month, look no further! Here’s what I have planned… so far:

1. Work my tail off

Just because I’m taking a month off from sending newsletters to my email list doesn’t mean that I’m taking a month off in general (could you imagine!). 

This month, I’m launching an entirely new email ecosystem for one eCommerce client, helping another B2B client promote their annual offline event, and continuing to support two more clients.

So yes, I might not be emailing my audience, but unbeknownst to them, many thousands of people around the world will hear from me next month *vigorously shaking my finger at the sky and ocean.*

2. Move my email list to a new platform

If you’ve been to any of my recent monthly ethical email roundtables, you’ve heard me talk about the fact that after two years with EcoSend, I decided to look for another email service provider. I still root for them and their mission, AND I need capabilities that they still don’t have.

I’ve narrowed my options to 2 very different platforms, Ghost and Fern CX, and while I’m not doing #1 and #3, I’ll be testing them out. 

(And I’m thinking about writing/recording a video/hosting an event where I’ll share my decision-making process and what was important for me, as someone who does this for a living. Would you be interested in smth like that? Leave a comment below and let me know!)

Moving email platforms is no joke, and there’s a lot of technical work behind the scenes that has to be done to get it right.

Most brands change ESPs for the wrong reasons (declining deliverability and engagement without checking what’s happening under the hood, for example), and without a migration plan - both of which I can’t disrecommend enough if I tried. 

3. Enjoy life & rest

Unlike previous years, I haven’t shared a ton about what’s been going on with me, personally, in my newsletters this year - or on LinkedIn, for that matter. And it's not because I had won the lottery or smth.

In a sense, I feel like I’m still in the eye of this beautiful, weird, exhilarating, and exhausting storm that is 2026.

Here’s a very incomplete list of what I’ve been up to in the past 7 months in no particular order (please do sit down before reading this, I got lightheaded just from writing this!) (Seriously.): 

Officially moved to Portugal with all of its ups and downs, started learning Portuguese, shipped all of my belongings from my Berlin storage unit to here in a mjor logistical operation, spent a month with my friends in the French Alps again, attended ChangeNOW in Paris, upped my movement game by more than a notch or two, lightly injured myself a few times in the process, hiked a bunch, had my first computer-less vacation in years, burnt out, gave my first keynote speech in Portugal, booked an exciting international speaking opportunity for early 2027, met and reconnected with amazing people, ate and cooked phenomenal food, saw RAYE live in Barcelona, and volunteered many dozens of hours at the local dog shelter.

It’s fair to say that this is… a lot. 

Like, a lot a lot.

Certainly a lot for one person to do/experience/handle in 7 months, while also, mind you, running a business.

I’ve never been more grateful that August is a quieter month for Ethical Emails, because I needed a bit of a break myself.

I'm using the time I write my newsletters or host the monthly roundtable to (finally!) get to the beach, binge-watch “For All Mankind”, “Ted Lasso”, inhale the weekly episodes of “Trying” and “Silo”, and maybe take a nap or two.

Our usual scheduled program of roundtables will be back on September 17th, and this time, we're talking about smth many CMOs and CEOs are still incredibly puzzled by - personalization and segmentation. So you don’t want to miss it.

Join my actual email list here to save your seat - look for the RSVP link at the top of the welcome email.