Build your own AI newsletter - complete guides
Everything you need to self-build an AI-written news digest: full code, exact node and Zap configuration, deployment, and the honest costs nobody puts in the demo video. These guides are complete - nothing is withheld to sell you something. If you'd rather not run the plumbing, Briefed exists, and the DIY vs Briefed comparison lays out the trade-offs with numbers.
| Stack | Setup | Running cost |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT API + Python + cron | 3-6 h | $1-5/mo + hosting |
| n8n workflow | 2-4 h | n8n Cloud or ~$5/mo VPS + API |
| Zapier + OpenAI | 1-3 h | paid Zapier plan + API |
| Pure Python on a VPS | 4-8 h | ~$5/mo VPS + API |
| RSS-to-email (no AI) | 0.5-2 h | $0-10/mo |
Full cost breakdowns - including deliverability setup and maintenance - are in each guide and in the DIY vs Briefed comparison.
Tutorials
- How to build an AI newsletter with the ChatGPT APIBuild a daily AI newsletter with Python, the ChatGPT API and cron: fetch RSS feeds, summarize with gpt-4o-mini, send via SMTP. Full working script. · 6 min read
- Build an AI newsletter with n8nStep-by-step n8n workflow for an AI newsletter: Schedule Trigger, RSS Read, Code node dedupe, OpenAI summarization, SMTP send. Includes docker compose. · 8 min read
- Build a GPT news digest with ZapierStep-by-step Zapier tutorial: RSS trigger, Digest by Zapier, ChatGPT summarization prompt, Gmail or SendGrid send - plus honest task-count math. · 7 min read
- Build a Python news digest: feedparser + LLM + SMTPA modular Python news digest: feedparser fetching, pluggable OpenAI or Anthropic summarization, SMTP delivery, deployed with a systemd timer on a 5 USD VPS. · 5 min read
- RSS to email: the no-AI baselineGet RSS feeds delivered to your inbox without an LLM: Blogtrottr, Feedrabbit, Kill the Newsletter, self-hosted rss2email, plus a 40-line Python digest script. · 5 min read
When it breaks
- Why your automated newsletter lands in spam (and real fixes)Your self-sent newsletter lands in spam because of missing SPF, DKIM, DMARC and zero domain reputation. Here is how inbox providers score mail, and how to fix it. · 7 min read
- Why your GPT newsletter gets repetitive (and how to fix it)DIY LLM digests degrade predictably: static prompts, no dedupe memory, source rot, context stuffing. Concrete fixes with code for each failure mode. · 6 min read