Edition #150

July 28th, 2026

Last week, I was coworking with a friend, and we got on the topic of email marketing (I'm sure you're insaaaanely surprised that the email girlie was talking about emails, right? 🤪)

She said something along the lines of, "I'm going to need to hire you soon because I don't have the time to learn a whole new skillset on TOP of all these networking events I go to AND trying to grow my business."

Which, FAIR 💯. That's the EXACT reason why most people work with me. Not because they don't know how to or don't want to, they simply.... Don't. Have. Time.

We all only have 24 hours in a day (or about 4,000 weeks in a lifetime - you should def click on that link & read the book if you haven't yet).

If you're in the same boat, hey, hi, hello. Dibs! 👋🏼

But if you're in a different boat sailing further away from the shoreline, sick! That's why this newsletter exists. To help you DIY until you're ready to toss out your anchor & let someone else take the reigns. 😉

Over the last few weeks, we've been talking a LOT about the foundational pieces to building a newsletter you and your readers adore. All centered around Dead Reckoning.

Well today, we're switching gears because there's a common misconception we need to clear up:

Not all businesses need a newsletter.

Especially when we're talking about DTC founders. While having a newsletter from the founder DOES help build brand loyalty, trust, and connection, not all founders WANT a business model like that.

So let's talk about that. If you don't have a newsletter... What DO you have?

1. Campaigns
2. Flow emails

Now stick with me, because sometimes the terminology can get confusing. A newsletter *can* be a TYPE of campaign.

Because all a campaign means is "a coordinated series of marketing messages sent to a group of subscribers to achieve a specific goal."

This can be newsletters, promotional emails, product launch emails, or anything else that's sent one-off.

And a flow email is similar but refers to the automated version of that (think: welcome flow, post-purchase flow, winback flow, etc etc).

To put it succinctly: an email campaign is a manual, one-time broadcast sent to a specific list of people, while an email flow is an automated, continuous sequence triggered by a user's specific behavior.

Why am I getting into the nuance of this?

Weeeeelll dear reader, over the next few weeks, we're going to dive in deeper to all of these topics, from your email opt-in to types of e-commerce flows you need and every small detail in between.

BEFORE YOU UNSUBSCRIBE

Thinking, "well this doesn't apply to me anymore; I sell services, not products." I promise there are a LOT of transferable email strategies and tips you can easily apply to your business as well.

And if I'm wrong? Reply to this email after the series wraps up to tell me otherwise and we can duke it out 💅🏼

JK, but I will give you a 30-minute strategy call for free if I agree with your reasonings provided (yes, that's how confident I am that I'll deliver on this promise 😉)

oh look: a cutie, unrelated button that takes you to my services page

Wild (to me) story: on Friday, I went on another first date (a girl is trying to put herself out there lmao) and this boy told me:

"Yeah, sometimes I'll go outside, watch the birds, and write out a backstory for them. What their life looks like, what they're on their way to do, and everything in between."

OH??? YOU MEAN LIKE MY VERY FIRST EVER CREATIVE WRITING PROMPT MENTIONED INSIDE EMAIL PARADISE?!

(I didn't tell him this part. But I needed to tell someone about this coincidence so ty for letting me get that off my chest).

Anywhooo, that was my real-life proof that weaving in creative writing practices is good for ANYONE and EVERYONE. Even army brats.

Your low-lift Creative Writing Challenge for the week:

Inspo hunting!!! I try to do this weekly, and I truly do think it's half the reason I've been able to create more content.

Set a timer for 15 minutes (timed work helps you stay focused) and open... any social site *on your laptop*.

It can be Insta, LinkedIn, Substack, wherever you consume the most content. And look for things that inspire you in terms of, "wait, I have something to say about that."

Whether it's agreeing, disagreeing, or simply adding to the original creator's thought. Try to aim for at least 5 different pieces of content.

Copy & paste the portion of it that inspired you into a google doc.

Once you finish that, set ANOTHER 15-minute timer, and this time, journal out your thoughts on the topic!

Have fun!!! I'll tell ya on Friday the psychology behind why this is a helpful creative writing tool.

(bonus points if you turn your journaled thoughts into a new piece of content & post it before the week is up!)

📚 Currently reading... Seven Faceless Saints. I found this author on threads! And bought her book! I'm only 30 pages in (out of... 400?), so TBD on my thoughts, but she does use a lot of fun language 🤭

🎶 Currently listening to... I DNF'd A Court This Cruel & Lovely, because I was just taking too long to listen and Libby said "nope, your time's up!" so I'm back to Heir of Fire since my Spotify audiobook hours reset 😋

💡 Currently recommending... That maybe, possibly, once a month you work 4-5 hours on a Sunday to do all the tasks that you never seem to get to during the week. I did this recently, and 😮‍💨 it was actually kinda fun. Would recommend (not every week tho).

😍 Currently obsessing over... Chainmaille! Still, yes, I freakin' love it. I've been learning so many cool weaves like this one. And YES, I'm "spelling it wrong" because "chainmail" feels too masculine and I like how it looks with the extra "l" and "e" better 😂

That's it for now, lovely!

Catch ya on the next wave,