I deleted all my scheduled content

See you all in 2026 ✌️

I used to hate Christmas. I think most people who had to spend Christmas Day at two separate family lunches, and consequently miss out on the magic of both would feel this way.

I’d open Christmas presents at home with Mum, before heading to my grandparent’s for lunch. Everything always felt hurried - lunch, presents, playing with cousins - before Dad came to bring me to his sister’s house for their Christmas lunch.

“Not hungry?” my Bubba would say in her broken English. “What you mean? Johnny, why doesn’t she eat?”

“She’s had lunch already, Mum.”

“But she can still eat.”

This went on for several years, until I got older and realised my Bubba’s cooking was way better. Sorry grandma 😅

Once I was old enough to choose what I wanted to do on Christmas day, I was working in retail, where any potential for Christmas spirit was crushed by the deluge of insane customers and consumerism.

Is it ironic that I then started a career in marketing? 🤔

My mum stopped putting up a tree once my brother was in high school. I didn’t even own one (let alone a single decoration) until about two weeks before my daughter’s first Christmas.

“She’s not even one yet,” I said to a friend when my faux pas was revealed. “It’s not like she’ll remember.”

“Just because you’re a Grinch doesn’t mean Molly has to be,” she replied.

Her words stuck with me, and a few days later I bought the damn Christmas tree 🎄

And then the next year we paid the extortionate fee to take a photo with mall-Santa 🙃

And then the year after that we got the bloody Elf on the Shelf 🤦🏻‍♀️

Molly is 4 in January, and I’ll admit the Elf on the Shelf has been pretty fun. As has been watching my husband decorate the tree with surgeon-like precision.

We’ve been in Adelaide visiting family for the holidays, and earlier this week I was unfortunate enough to fall sick. I was feeling better by Christmas Day (just) but on the 23rd, I spent the day lying in bed:

• Sleeping

• Feeling sorry for myself

• Scrolling social media

Not necessarily in that order.

And as a result, I decided to delete every post I’d scheduled for the next two weeks, both on Substack and on LinkedIn (the only two social media platforms I’m currently active on).

Reading back my last LinkedIn post, I could see I was phoning it in. It read like AI and it was selling an idea I’m not sure I even believe in anymore. My Substack notes weren’t much better.

Once everything was deleted, I wrote a quick post on the fly:

Doesn’t that content look familiar? lol. View post.

And then I closed all my social media apps and spent Christmas with my little family.

It’s now the 27th, and I’m back in Melbourne. Steve has taken Molly out for the afternoon, and I’m writing my weekly Substack newsletter.

Originally, I was going to publish another interview (I’ve got a great one coming, so don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already 😉), but I decided to write this instead.

Don’t miss out on the first interview of 2026 - it’s a ripper!

This year has been my first full year in business for myself.

I started freelancing in late 2024 and launched my content agency Wordcraft in January this year. Before that, I’d worked in marketing since 2015, starting as a Community Manager and working my way up to Head of Content, before moving into a Marketing Manager role.

I’ve managed over a dozen copywriters directly, mentored plenty more and worked with hundreds of brands from small business and startups to large enterprise, across a wide range of industries.

I know what I’m talking about when it comes to copywriting and content strategy.

But when it came to running my own business?

…

…

…

…

…Well, I actually think I’ve done pretty well 😅

I’ve made some mistakes. I’ve changed my mind a lot. I’ve spent more money than I expected to, but I’ve also made more than I expected to, as well. I’m not rich, but my husband hasn’t side-eyed me and told me it’s time to “get a job.”

In short, I’ve learned a lot:

• About myself

• About the kind of business I want to operate

• About the future of copywriting

• And the future of the marketing industry in general

With that in mind, I have the following announcement:

I’m taking a short break until mid-January 2026.

For the last month or so, I’ve been working on a new business plan. It’s been held up over the Christmas period, but I’ll have everything finalised in early January 2026.

So I’m taking this time to pause all content production for my brand.

I won’t share all the details of the plan here, but I’ll give you a quick head’s up of what you can expect in 2026:

• More frequent emails, coming from a new address: email@casswhitaker.com (keep an eye out for it in your spam/promotions)

• A new site at casswhitaker.com (the current version is a placeholder lol).

• New, exciting offers that you’ll love if you’re a copywriter or wanting to write online to promote your business.

• Copy THIS will remain on Substack, but it will primarily host interviews with other copywriters and adjacent business people (my strategy content will be for subscribers only).

• Wordcraft will continue to operate as my DFY content agency.

I’m not going anywhere.

But I am logging off for the rest of the year, which is… about 4 days? lol.

After that, I’ll be around - leaving comments and engaging. Just not posting until everything in the above list is ready.

Thanks to everyone who has subscribed. Everyone who has supported me. Everyone who is reading this. I hope you have an amazing new year!

See you in Jan ✌️

P.S. It’s mine and Steve’s 6th wedding anniversary tomorrow. I’m using it as a hook to encourage you to share this post (or any post on Copy THIS) with others you think may benefit from the insights I share. What a thoughtful gift to help me celebrate 😇