A few days ago I realized my gmail account was hacked. It actually started weeks ago, when Substack was attacked by a third party and breached a lot of the email accounts of it's users. My account was one of them. When I realized, I reached out to people I know and asked them if they know any experts. I found two. From there advice, alhamdulillah, I took control of everything. Here’s what to do if you sense your account or device hacked: 1. Change passwords of all your accounts from another device. 2. Check for any malware (any app or file you don’t recognise) in your device and delete them. 3. Consult with an expert. (This should've been the first thing you should do but I don't think you should wait for that long. But if you can find an expert fast, then do so.) 4. Backup your important files (videos, images, documents etc.) 5. Factory Reset your phone. And to prevent all this trouble: 1. Be cautious of any link you click. 2. Use this website to see whether your account was found in data breaches or not: https://haveibeenpwned.com/ (Just put in your email and it will tell you whether you email address have been pawned or not. If it was pawned, then do the 1st 3 steps stated above immediately.)

Months ago, I learned about Nathan May's client acquisition strategy. For context, Nathan May is the founder of feed media. An agency that works with media operators and newsletter-first businesses. His client acquisition system work like this..... He has a private newsletter. He cold/warm DMs his ICPs and asks them if they would like to be in a private email list where some of their competitors are already in. He would name a few of them. The prospect is more likely to accept and give him their email address since it's free, a private newsletter and also their competitors are there. And then over time, he sends them biweekly email newsletters with current situations and trends and what's working and what's not in their inductry. That shows his credibility and niche expertise. At the end of each email, he just mentions that he has an agency that helps people in that specific industry with a specific outcome. That's it. The results show that he has only 1000+ subscribers and he makes $1M ARR. (Although that was about a year ago, don't know how he's doing now). Hope that helps.

Email marketing has been declared dead every time a new digital technology appears in all its shiny newness. Yet, it remains one of the most effective, profitable and controllable digital channels available to marketers. But so much of the email advices surface around "optimising for mobile". At the same time, TikTok and Instagram reels are optimising for human behaviours. And that's what we are up against. We aren't just competing only with other email senders now. In Reels, contents are engineered especially for engaging a reader in seconds. I recently read an article from MarTech on “What TikTok gets right about attention and what email overlooks”. Successful TikTok content rarely relies on a single hook. Creators stack multiple hooks to earn attention and keep it. Most TikToks have three hooks: 1. A visual hook — movement, contrast or disruption that catches the eye. 2. A verbal hook introduces curiosity, tension or a pattern interrupt. 3. A text hook reinforces or reframes what’s happening. Now, here’s where email crosses paths with TikTok. Technically, email has all three hooks, too. 1. Subject lines are verbal hooks, while preheaders should be re-hooks. 2. Design and layout provide visual signals. (Make it look easy-to-digest.) 3. The opening line or copy block should be used to hook the reader. (Yes, hook them again after they have opened your email) ^~^ Another structural difference between TikTok and email is how each handles call-to-action. On TikTok, creators don’t wait until the end to ask for engagement. They introduce micro-CTAs early and often — low-effort actions that build momentum, such as: “Keep watching.” “Watch until the end.” “Comment if this sounds familiar.” Email tends to save the CTA for the bottom of the message. A typical message has one primary action placed after all the explanations. This format assumes readers still stick around long enough to find it. The traditional model no longer reflects how people consume content. Humans don’t wait until they reach the end of the message to make decisions. They make them along the way.

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If someone only became your friend to use you for their own benefit and they didn't care about you at all, how would you feel? Pretty shit right? Used, manipulated, angry probably a bit stupid for falling for it. Well that's exactly what bait & switch outreach feels like to business owners. You slide into their DMs pretending to be a fan, asking innocent questions, building 'fake' rapport... When really you just want to sell them something. And when you finally pitch them? They feel exactly like that person who got used by a fake friend. Manipulated. Annoyed. And definitely not buying from you. It gives off the impression that you are only using them for your benefit and your not actually here to help them. And look, I know it's not your fault because that's what these gurus have been teaching us to do, I don't blame you one bit... That's why I stopped doing it. That's why I hate it. I don't want to make people feel like they've been tricked. Business owners would rather you just be direct, personalised, and honest. Authenticity beats manipulation every.single. time. The people making real money in freelancing stopped playing games years ago. They just tell the truth.