Edition #152

August 11th, 2026

Have you been seeing all the Canva hate lately?? I'm still a bit out of the loop, but I have been seeing some posts about sneaky things they've been doing with AI lately...

like removing the tag that indicates whether an image or element is AI-generated, which has me feeling some type of way 🥴🥴🥴

Disgusted. Disappointed. Defeated. Disrespected. Deceived. Delirious. Depressed. Drained.

... okay I think that's all the negative D words I can think of that fit the vibes because COOOOMMEEEE OOONNN.

For years, Canva felt like the white knight in shining armor of creating content.

And now they too are falling into the "let's cram AI down everyone's throat because we invested way too much dang money into it"

While I don't often use their images or elements (and have avoided that weird "Ask Canva" option since it originated), I do feel disheartened.

(hehe, another D word)

But also rather stuck this time. I already pay for it annually, & other options are waaaay more expensive. With a huge learning curve.

Staying true to my values, though, I also don't think I want to continue to support a brand that keeps effing over its consumers, unless it's *literally* the only option I have.

(or they issue corrections & an apology, but let's be real...)

Do you know of an alternative that's comparable in price ($120/yr?) & ease of use??? Because I'm all ears if you have one, Reader!

Anywho, let's dive into the email education👇🏼

​Last week, we went over the bare minimum to full suite of recoemmended flows that all e-commerce brands should have.

Which means today marks Day 1 of breaking down why each flow matters, what to include in each one, and sharing examples you can swipe for inspo!

First up: Your welcome flow!

This is the NUMBER ONE FLOW every single business needs to have in place. I joyfully fight anyone who tries to say otherwise.

Not only do welcome flows perform the best (often at 80%+ open rates and 20%+ click through rates // compared to 20-30% + 1-5% for other emails, that's a LOT), but they also serve multiple curcial jobs.

They:

1. Confirm to your subscriber that everything went through as expected (ie, they actually signed up)
2. Welcome them and provide the promised value/incentive immediately
3. Lay down the foundations to build a relationship with your new reader
4. Share reassurance with your potential customer that they're around like-minded folks (aka joining a community)
5. Give them a reason to care about your brand besides just the dangling carrot of 10% off.

What to include in your welcome flow:

You should have at LEAST 4 emails in your welcome flow.

1. The initial warm welcome + delivery of whatever they signed up for (a discount, a code, or a free resource)
2. The brand story, mission, and why they should care about your brand outside what you're selling.
3. The direction of what to shop for first. Aka, what are your best sellers & WHY??
4. The social proof! So they can see it's not just you loving on your product, but others do, too!

Swipe these for inspo:

1. ​Delivery​
2. ​Brand story​
3. ​Direction​
4. ​Social proof​

If you'd like MORE examples, reply to this email & lmk!

Stay tuned! Because we'll be breaking down a new flow each week until we run out of flows to talk about 🤓

And if you need your flows set up NOW because the holidays are coming...

i know a girl who can help

Okay, so the "trick" I mentioned last week...

Isn't really a trick, BUT the daydreaming exercise from the Creative Writing Challenge is good practice for getting inside the core desires of your ideal customers!

And then use that in your marketing to make your emails sound more personable, human, and relateable. Not to mention, more enjoyable!

Moving onto this week 👇🏼

Your low-lift Creative Writing Challenge for the week:

Write bad copy. ON PURPOSE.

Write down lines that bother you or sentence structures that SCREAM, "oh you plugged that into claude, didn't you?"

Anything that makes you cringe because it's so bad.

For example:

• It's not just an eye cream; it's your holy grail to remove dark circles.
• I tried the quick fixes—apps I never opened, self-help books collecting dust, even some expensive stuff that didn't really help.
• The real problem? I didn't have a simple, consistent way to make self-care a habit.

(Yes, these are all AI-generated isms - not I did not use AI to create them. I used my brain for the first one and the second 2 are from ad copy that clearly wasn't human written)

Same thing as I always recommend - set a timer for 15-20 minutes to write as much bad copy as you can about your products.

This week's creative writing challenge is SUPER practical! I'll tell ya on Friday why that is in the psych breakdown 😉

📚 Currently reading... Seven Faceless Saints, yes still. It's been three weeks, and by this slow ass reading speed.. you can clearly tell it's been that long since I've had a beach day 😆 (Fret not friend, if the weather cooperates, I'll be going on Saturday!)

🎶 Currently listening to... Queen of Shadows because I caved and signed up for Audible because I want to finish the books on audio!!! Luckily, I get 60 days free sooo 2 books worth 🥲 (it should be included in a Prime membership!!!! but I digress)

💡 Currently recommending... To decorate your space - put ish up on your walls (even if it's taping stickers you don't want to use into a photo frame lol). I spent a couple hours doing this over the weekend, and to say I'm in love is an understatement.

😍 Currently obsessing over... This social media trend. Looook, you know I'm not usually one for social media... or trends lol, but it turned out so cute!! And it was an absolute delight to do 🤩

That's it for now, lovely!

Catch ya on the next wave,