"I just want to write, not to do any marketing."
"I write because I want to create art. Not money."
These are things I hear among fiction writers.
But even among marketers, we have this…
"This is not an affiliate link," from person sharing a link to a product.
"I write ethical emails. I don’t care about the money."
Is it dirty to want money?
Back when my ex and I wrote newsletters with news about sects/cults, we often heard that they should be free.
We shouldn’t charge money for knowledge.
If you want to get paid for the time you spend finding knowledge…
Are you greedy?
I Would Love a Money-Less Society
One of my favorite things about Star Trek Next Generation is that they no longer use money.
Everybody works, nobody is lazy, and even the dangerous jobs get taken by volunteers.
I would love to share everything you find worthwhile learning for free.
I bet you would, too.
I would also love it if somebody came here and painted my house for free.
And that someone came and did something about the path outside so we can walk through it even during the rainy period of the year.
But we rely on money. Which is probably easier, too, than to bring a sheep (pecus ⇒ pecunia) to the doctor before your next visit.
What If You Gave and Gave and Gave
So let’s for a moment say that asking for money is dirty.
Money doesn’t matter.
You should follow your passion and do what you love.
Before you do that, let’s take a flight together.
Here were are, mashed into small seats, lined up like cattle in a stall.
We hear the hiss of the air circulating in the metal body of the plane. We hear the click of the loudspeaker and the light howl as the stewardess at the front of the plane puts on her microphone.
Then she goes through the procedure of showing everyone where their oxygen masks are while the kid next to you munches on peanuts and fills the air with their stench.
"Put on your own oxygen mask first," the stewardess tells us.
Don’t be a hero, because you cannot help anyone if you’re dead.
Or broke.
Many years ago, I found email marketing and loved it.
I started a list about computer tips, made a daily living with that, and then shared what I’d found about blogging and making money online.
That made me more money.
"Oh," Bright Britt exclaimed one day. "This works. I can make money sharing what I love. Let me create a new list."
So I created a list about brain puzzles.
I love brain puzzles and it turned out that so did many others.
The list grew fast, and I would always get a ton of emails with solutions to that week’s puzzle.
BUT nobody clicked my ads or bought the things I promoted.
I kept the list running for a while, because I really enjoyed it, as did my subscribers. But in the end, I ran out of time and energy.
So I had to kill the list.
Yes, Money Matters
Because you need to pay your rent, food, electricity, transportation, health care, water, and a thousand other things.
But if money matters… Should you always ask for the sale?
Should every one of your emails lead to a product that can make you money?
Some say yes.
I don’t think so.
There are other things here in the world than money, although they are important.
But personally, I feel it’s liberating just to share instead of asking for compensation.
And another thing…
If you really, really need the money…
Don’t ask for it.
Don’t be needy. Neediness repels.
Back to the Roots
The first thing I remember learning about email marketing was to give 80% and ask 20%.
That’s a good rule of thumb.
That doesn’t mean that you should send 5 emails per week and only sell in 1.
I could mean that.
But it could also mean that you give in all 5 emails and also ask in all 5. But give 80% of each email (entertainment, info, knowledge, tips) and ask in the last part.
When it makes sense.
Ready for my ask here?
None coming.
But here’s a give.
I’m doing a live event on LinkedIn Tuesday at 2 pm EST. You’re welcome to join.
The topic is You vs AI – Finding Your Email Marketing Voice and I’ll do it over zoom so you can ask questions and comment.
If you’re interested, you can sign up here:
https://www.linkedin.com/events/youvsai-findingyouremailmarketi7028441714616877056/
That’s it for this week’s newsletter. Enjoy your day and have a nice week.