I Replaced Mailchimp This Week
This email you're reading right now? It wasn't sent from Mailchimp, or any email platform you've heard of. I built the system that sent it. This week.
No login screen. No dashboard. No drag-and-drop editor. I open a terminal, tell an AI what I want to write about, we go back and forth on the draft, and when it's ready I say "send it." That's the whole process.
I know that probably sounds strange. But stick with me, because I think there's something bigger going on here that matters for anyone running a business.
Why I ditched Mailchimp
Mailchimp was fine. It worked. But it was also $45 a month to send a handful of emails, wrapped in an interface that got more bloated every year. And it got me thinking: what am I actually paying for? The answer is an API that sends emails. Everything else, the templates, the dashboard, the analytics, is just a layer on top.
And honestly? The friction of using Mailchimp, clicking through templates, dragging content blocks around, fiddling with formatting, meant I just stopped sending emails. For months. I know that probably sounds odd, but once you've spent your days talking to AI in a terminal, going back to point-and-click interfaces feels like trying to have a conversation by filling out a form.
So I built my own layer. One that works the way I actually work.
That's an actual screenshot of this email being drafted. I'm talking to an AI, it writes a draft, I tweak it, we go back and forth, and then it sends it. I know it looks like something out of The Matrix, but honestly, this is how I work now most of the time, and I'm not going back.
This isn't just about email
Over the past year, I've been quietly replacing a lot of the software Jezweb pays for. WordPress plugins, SaaS subscriptions, tools that do one specific thing and charge monthly for the privilege. One by one, I've been building replacements using AI, and honestly, most of them are better than what they replaced. Not because I'm some genius developer, but because AI has made it possible to build exactly what you need, nothing more, nothing less.
It reminds me of the early web, before we all got funnelled into a handful of giant platforms. Back when people owned their own stuff and built things that worked for them. There's a bit of that energy coming back, and AI is the reason.
What this means (and doesn't mean)
I'm not suggesting everyone should go build their own email system. That would be mad. But I do think we're at a turning point where small businesses have options they didn't have even six months ago. The gap between "I wish this tool worked differently" and "I'll just build what I need" is shrinking fast.
That's what I want to share with you through this newsletter. Not AI hype or sci-fi predictions. Just real things I'm learning, building, and discovering as someone running a small business in regional Australia, figuring out what's actually useful and what's just noise.
So here we are
You're on this list because we've crossed paths through Jezweb at some point over the years. If you're curious about where things are heading with AI and small business, stick around. I'll keep it practical, honest, and short.
And if you're thinking "actually, I'd love to know more about replacing some of my software subscriptions," just reply to this email. It comes straight to my inbox.
Away from the keyboard this week: Out on the harbour with the Newcastle Outrigger Canoe Club, steering one of the big OC6 canoes for the Maryland Shortland Scout Group. Nothing clears the head like being on the water at sunset.
