It’s November. The inbox circus is in town.
Hot off the shit heels of Halloween puns, we’re rolling straight into BFCM mania.

It’s wild in these marketing badlands - buckle in, motherf***er.

This week, we’re not shouting louder.
We’re remembering there’s a person on the other side.

So this week’s issue is about staying human while you sell.

So, let’s get into it..

🧠 Copy Chops →  Stop Guessing

🧲 Magnetic Marketing → The Finger-Pointy Test

📣 Client Chronicles →  This Call Stuck With Me

🌀 Weird Marketing → Come and Play

Loads of us are guilty of ‘knowing too much’. We think we know what’s most important to Suze or Jay. We think what they want is to be visible/lose weight/grow their business/get leads/get main character energy.

Sometimes we’re right. Often, we’re not.

And this isn’t a newbie thing, it can happen if we’ve been doing this a while. 

So before your next offer, try this painfully obvious email and invite them to reply (plain text email works best)

“If I could help you with ONE thing this month, what would it be?” 

Swap in your own outcomes. The point is to get their words, not yours.

Now you’ve got the language straight from your market - not your head.

Then you’ve got feedback for your next email..

“Earlier this week, most of you said the hardest part right now is [insert top response]…”

That one line does more than any countdown timer ever could, cause it proves you were listening.

💬 Then Build on It

Once you’ve shown you were listening, keep the conversation going one to one.

When people reply to your “earlier this week…” email, don’t pitch - probe.

Your questions turn replies into proper insight. Once they open up, it’s easier to connect their challenge to something you can help with- whether that’s a resource, some actual advice, or y’know, your paid offer. 

You’re not forcing the sale; you’re earning it by following the thread of what they said matters most.

I’m sorry if this is obvious. But if this feels obvious and you’ve not done it, maybe try it and see what happens..

A lot of marketing is general as fuck. And sometimes you have to be general because you don’t have the specifics. And where do we get the specifics? Yeah, yeah, I know, I’ve covered that.

The point is, if your reader can’t point a finger at what you’re describing, they won’t feel it.

It’s the difference between saying

“Our clients struggle with filling their programs”

VS

“You open your launch doc again, staring at the same three sign-ups. You’ve posted, emailed, even tried a bonus call — and still, crickets. The start date’s creeping closer, and that abundant mindset flips to scarcity.”

One makes sense. The other makes contact.

The Finger-Point Test:
Before you hit send, ask yourself - can my reader literally point to this in their life?

If not, you’ve got generalities, not specificity.

If they can’t point at it, they can’t feel it. And if they can’t feel it, they won’t buy it.

A few weeks back, I had a call with a coach - high-ticket offer, a nice vibe, all the right ingredients.

They were pleasant. But something felt off.

We got talking about why they do what they do, and they said something that stuck with me.

“Honestly? Right now, it’s just for the money.”

And for a second, my inner critic wanted to jump in. Because, in my head, you’re supposed to love your clients. You’re supposed to care deeply about what they need, what they struggle with, what they dream about.

AND YET

I’ve had my back against the wall before. I know what it feels like to take the job, the client, the deal - because you need the cash.

Sometimes we sell because we love the work. Sometimes we sell because the lights need to stay on. Both can be true.

Still, I can't help feeling: If you don’t love your reader - even a little - the work eventually eats you. Or you fall slowly out of love with your business every week.

This might not be for you.

But don’t you miss playing? I want to play, and I’ve been trying to connect this to my work.

Enter, the playground.

In full disclosure, I’m still figuring out what this is. But here’s where I’ve got to so far, if you want to collaborate with others and find some playful ways to make money, I’d love to have you.

Plus if you’ve got a skool group (or other community) and you want a fun way to inject some life into your group, there’s a really fun auction strategy I’ve just discovered in the classroom.

👉 Come and Play - it’s free, fun, and it’s the good kind of weird.

PS, it’s just getting started, so I’d love for you to talk to me whilst we’re inviting people in.

I’ve been doing a lot of talking this issue. Now I want to listen.

If I could help you with one marketing related thing this month — what would it be? 

Here’s some context.

I am not pitching you dear reader. I am making friends and getting into a rhythm with my newsletter. I do want to partner with great coaches who want to sell more without hustle, so if you fit that category, let’s chat. But if you don’t, just know that I’m down to talk about marketing and biscuits. 

And if I can’t help, but you just want to rant, hit me with that too. If it would help..

Also, happy bonfire night. Treacle toffee is the shiznit, isn’t it?

Until next time,
Annabelle