🛠 Titanium Times – Issue #18 (Week of August 25 - 29, 2025)

Plain steps, steady wins, local first.

Lots moving this week. A simple switch lets clicks add people to the right list. Tags on links help you see what readers want. There’s a safe way to pause a workflow, adjust it, and start it again. And a light contest tool is about to open for us. We wrote down what changed and how to use it today.

🔥 Theme of the Week: Publish once, place it where it fits (Trilogy growth)

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✅ Auto-subscribe across your publications (optional)

Turn this on in the publication settings when you’re ready. If a reader clicks from your community issue into an article that lives on your food site, they can be added to the food list automatically. Keep trust first. Use clear link text so people know they’ll join that list. This routes readers by interest without extra forms and lowers the cost to grow each list.

"If they click from one of your newsletters into a related publication, we can add them there so they get the updates they actually want. It’s optional. You control the toggle."

✅ Subscriber source icons (live) and per-article source detail (coming soon)

The subscriber list shows where a person came from at a glance: Letterman Article, Lead Snagger, Member Grabber, Quizforma, and more. The next step will point to the exact article that brought them in. That helps you repeat what works and trim what doesn’t. 

"Right in your list you’ll see the source—articles, member tools, surveys—so you know what’s pulling. Next up, we’ll point to the specific article for even better insight."

✅ Per-article link tagging

You can attach a GC tag to a link inside an article. When someone clicks, that tag is added to their record. Start with a few clear interests you’ll actually use, like pizza, brunch, pets. Don’t tag every link. Tag the ones that drive a helpful follow-up or a tighter broadcast next week.

"Tag the link in the article and we’ll place that tag on the contact when they click. Use it for simple interests you plan to act on."

✅ No-Index reminder

Want an article to appear in Google and on your sitemap? Leave “No Index” off. Only turn it on for pages you truly want hidden from search.

"If you flip on no-index, you tell Google to skip that page. Leave it off for anything you want found."

🟡 Article and /archives redesign (coming soon)

The public article page and the news feed are getting a cleaner look. A small breaking line up top, bigger share buttons, and a simple trending cue. The point is to feel like a proper local outlet and nudge more signups. 

"Cleaner layout up front, more obvious sharing, and a tiny trending signal—so your site looks and feels like a local publication people can trust."

Chad Show Off The New Article Format

✅ Trilogy Playbook, Week 1

We run three related publications: community, food, and cause. We publish a strong story once, place it where it belongs, and share it to a sister publication only if it truly fits. If we turn on auto-subscribe, a clear link can add the reader to that list when they click over. This is how one story does more than one job without wearing people out. See the four exact steps with examples

"Don’t write three versions. Place one good piece where it fits, then let it travel when it makes sense. If they click over, we can add them so they get what they actually want."

✅ Auto-subscribe etiquette and pacing

We keep this toggle off until we’re ready to be clear with readers. When we do turn it on, we tell them in the link text that a click will join the related list. If someone ends up on two lists, we space the sends so they don’t see the same story twice in a row. Learn this simple, powerful rhythm

"Be plain about what the click does, and keep timing gentle when someone joins two lists. Trust first. It pays back."

✅ Per-article tagging that leads to action

We pick three interests we’ll actually use next week. We tag those links only. In GC, we send one short follow-up to each interest group. It’s small, repeatable, and it teaches us what our town wants.  See the quick setup 

"Tag only what you’ll act on. One small follow-up per interest is enough to learn and to help the reader."

✅ Creative Day on Mondays

Each Monday the team reviews ad accounts for Done-For-You Newsletter clients. If cost per lead drifts over a dollar, they rotate in fresh images and copy. It’s a simple rhythm that keeps costs in check without a full rebuild.

"Monday is creative day. We scan CPL and swap creatives when it creeps up."

👉 Local Newsletter Hustle (DFY): New Price $594 + 5k subscriber guarantee — what’s included, what to expect Find out more about DFY

🟡 Mintbird Public launch date

Public launch is set for October 21, 2025. The team is lining up assets and partners for that date.

"We’re locked on October twenty-first and moving pieces into place so the rollout is smooth."

✅ Offer Lab: what it is and why Chad wants our help

Offer Lab is a marketplace where creators find products and build funnels, no matter which page builder they use. If MintBird becomes an official integration, our products can be pulled into that marketplace with less friction. That means more affiliates outside our circle can find what we build. Chad asked all of us to create a free Offer Lab account and submit an “Add MintBird” request. The more requests, the faster MintBird gets added. Here’s his link: https://chadnicely.com/offerlabs

"Sign up for Offer Lab and ask them to add MintBird in integrations. More requests means faster movement and more affiliates seeing your offers."

✅ Freeze a workflow step, then edit safely

We can pause contacts at a timer step, add an email, fix timing, then unfreeze. No one skips ahead. No one gets duplicates. It’s the safest way to patch a live sequence and keep trust. 

"Freeze them here while you add your step. When you’re done, unfreeze and they’ll continue from this point without bumps."

✅ GC Freeze: edit live workflows without hiccups

We use freeze when we spot a gap or want to insert a thank-you note after a purchase. We add the step, check timing, and resume. Simple and safe and it allows the sequence to stay active and not end if you don't want it to. See the full checklist we follow

"Short sequences with a clear goal work best. Freeze makes quick fixes calm instead of scary."

✅ SMTP.com sending tip and quick fix

For steadier delivery, Chad recommends SMTP.com. If links break because of tracking, log in and set the Default Tracking Domain to “SMTP native tracking.” That stops the bad redirects and you don’t have to change your copy. [

"Go into your SMTP.com settings and switch the default tracking to the native option. That fixes the redirect issue right away."

🟡 Mastermind early access this week

ShareBirdy builds simple contests. Short prompt. Join to vote. Then a share page with a small reward at a milestone. You can run multiple landing angles to the same contest so people bring friends from different posts. Rewards fire off GC tags. Comments are planned to spark debate and sharing.

This is what it's looking like:

"Short page, one clear prize, a small milestone reward—people will pass it along because it’s easy and local."

ShareBirdy Walkthrough

✅ ShareBirdy prep guide

We line up one real local prize. We write a one-line poll question. We choose a small reward at 10 referrals. We decide which lists get the new joins and set those tags in GC. That way we can go live the same day early access opens. See the entire blueprint with examples

"Have the prize and the milestone ready. When ShareBirdy opens, you can be live before lunch."

ℹ️ AI Bot Studio — feature work paused

New builds are paused while AI providers churn. Work will resume once the platform APIs settle. Current tools keep running.

"We’re waiting for the ground to stop moving before we stack new features."

🟡 Cracking the Code tracks

Iman is packaging local SEO steps and tracking picks. Jim is shaping contests and vacation rewards. Jordan is mapping steady local sponsor outreach. These will land as short, practical courses in the Mastermind.

"We’re turning the working playbooks into short courses you can copy."

✅  Live Titanium Event – Mid-September 2025 - Las Vegas, NV

Plans are in motion for a live event in mid-September with niche newsletters as a headline topic. Expect demos, workflow strategies, and the ShareBirdy launch. Conny is working on locking in the date.

Wondering why small lists can beat big ones? This article explains the strategy and shows real-world examples.

🔥 Run the Trilogy and act like a media brand

Chad’s push is simple: run three related publications: Community, Food, and a Cause, so they help each other grow. 

Food gets the quick attention and cheap clicks. Community carries the broad stories and most local sponsors. The Cause builds trust and opens doors with larger brands. Together, they make you look and act like the local media, not “just a newsletter.”

Why start now? Two reasons.

First, articles are indexing and ranking fast with the current setup, so each piece you publish can pull in new readers on its own.

Second, cross-publication sharing plus the new auto-subscribe option means one good story can grow two lists at once. Flip one checkbox in your publication settings, use clear link text, and clicks can quietly join the right list. 

Worried about workload? Don’t be. Chad says to publish one article a day if you can and “every other day” is fine. Keep a weekly send. Pull the best article into the newsletter, and share across your own publications when it truly fits. That’s how you “populate three newsletters for the price of one” without burning out.

The goal is local authority. When people search your town, they should find your articles, your videos, and your pages.

The trilogy gives you more ways in: posts that spread on social, stories that rank in Google, and a cause that makes the community proud to share you. That’s the path to being the “biggest thing in your area.”

“When I talk about this trilogy… there are three parts. Your community. The publication that gets the most engagement—food. And a cause. Lead the way and it can spread like wildfire.” 

“You can cross-reference your newsletters… cross-promote ’em automatically… Community, food, cause—whammo. That’s the trilogy.” 

“If I pull an article in from food and somebody clicks… when you allow auto-subscribe we assign the tag… you’re going to build these newsletters… click that checkbox—boom.” 

“Own that town… shoot a video, put it on your article… article goes in the newsletter… you’re now a media company—especially with community, food, and a cause.”

This issue sponsored by:

BuzzAgentsAI - Social Media Posting Platform

Not sure if you’ve seen this yet: Buzz Agents AI. It launched last week and is the top product on JVZoo for the week . This platform lets you auto-post to your Facebook pages (and other socials). You publish in Letterman, then let this tool drip posts for you. No more copying links and pasting the same update to each page by hand.

This could keep our pages fresh between issues. Take one article and spin a few quick posts through the week: a headline, a quote, a photo. Point them to /articles or /signup. If you run community, food, and cause, you can send the right angle to each page without extra work. Set the times, and let it run.

I picked this up as it seems to fill a real gap for us. In addition to creating posts with AI, it also creates images, all in the one platform.  If you are interested in checking it out, here’s more info: Check it out here 

[Note: this is an affiliate link. Thanks in advance if you find this product useful and purchase.]

🔮 What to Expect Next Week or Soon

Comments on articles and in-article video are on the way in Letterman.

GC’s simple stats boxes will make checks faster.

ShareBirdy opens to Mastermind members this week, so line up a prize and a one-line poll now.

One more ask from Chad: help get MintBird into Offer Lab so more affiliates can find your products. Sign up and submit the request here: https://chadnicely.com/offerlabs.

🖖 See you next week.

Real calls. Real updates. Zero guesswork.

-Brian

P.S. If you haven't been on one of Chad's weekly live calls yet, you should. They're packed with value and you can't beat this: they're free!

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