Since returning from maternity leave last year, I’ve been playing peek-a-boo with my toddler my community… For good reason.

Having six months off from the world of marketing, online courses and working with clients?

(Much of which was spent wide awake, bouncing my little one to sleep on our exercise ball at 2AM, 4AM, 6AM — you get the point.)

It was the much-needed break that allowed me to dip my toes back in — purposefully.

And ya know what? There’s *many* parts of this industry that just don’t feel… Great anymore.

I’ve given myself permission to break *five* rules I thought I had to follow and take a different approach — and I invite you to do the same if you’re feeling blergh about your strategy, too.

Rule #1: “I need a gigantic email list.”

Does a bigger list equal bigger profit? Sure. But does it mean greater connection? It depends! My list is actually teeny-weeny (compared to many of my peers), and honestly, I like it that way.

Of course, I *always* appreciate a flood of new subscribers — as long as they’re coming from a space of alignment. But ice cold leads from the middle of nowhere? Nope. I’ve often found that high unsubscribe rates follow after I suddenly get a ton of new subscribers. It’s likely something specific brought them in (i.e. a speaking event), but they wanted something specific (i.e. a freebie) and nothing more — meaning that they weren’t necessarily quality subscribers, or folks who want to stick around for the long haul.

I want to be able to hold real conversations with people like you, and the engagement matters *far* more than the numbers. I’ll keep my 45% open rate, please 🙂

INSTEAD, I’m going to focus on:

• inviting aligned subscribers (through revamping my quiz)
• pitching smaller podcasts I love and respect (and ensuring I build solid relationships with the hosts first)
• sharing my expertise with intimate group programs as a guest expert

Rule #2: “I need to show up on as many platforms as possible.”

Time away proved that my business could still grow and thrive without daily stories on Instagram, managing a Facebook Group, emailing you every single week or launching a course every five minutes.

Wanna know what mattered more? Nurturing and caring for the deep *relationships* I’ve built with customers and clients over the last couple of years — in a totally non-icky way. I’m always happy to answer questions, share resources, and heck — even refer out to other copywriters during my time off or when I’m booked up.

INSTEAD, I’m going to hone in on what works:

• email my list *only* when I have something valuable to share
• continue to maintain my pool of incredible, like-minded business owners (most of whom I connect with over Instagram direct messages)
• leverage more email content for my blog (this dusty ol’ thing!)
• reach out to more aligned folks 1:1 to build personal connections

Rule #3: “I need to fill my calendar with work!”

When I returned to work *with* childcare support, my nervous system was yelling at me to was to put THINGS on the calendar for the days I had my daughter taken care of and make sure I was “using” it. Calls! Mastermind meetings! Meet + greets! So. Many. Things. (I’ve made this mistake before. I should know better!)

What happened — very quickly — was benching my personal projects (*sob* my book), a quick path to burnout (that was already halfway there) and an instant loss of motivation because I was so tired.

It can be so easy to stack your calendar to prove to yourself that you’re “busy”, “growing” and “marketing”, but as my Human Design constantly tries to remind me (any Manifestors over here?), I truly thrive with toonnns of white calendar space.

INSTEAD, I’m going to:

• limit meetings to *only* what’s necessary
• ensure one of my days has absolute nothing on the calendar
• hold my boundaries down like the gatekeeper I gotta be!
• keep on writing my book (a memoir of stories from Kenya + my experience rooting into Canada!)

Rule #4: “I can only scale my business with group programs.”

It’s the quick ticket to success in the digital industry, right? Sure! IF… You have the capacity to keep launching, breathe life into Facebook Groups constantly, hold space for many people all the time and allow yourself to fail. A lot. While I still love and will continue to improve my own group program — The Intention Infusion — I feel like the industry can do better to ensure folks actually *complete* programs and get lasting results.

INSTEAD, I’m going to:

• create digestible digital products
• test out my creative writing membership, The Tide Pool
• add more 1:1 support to my group program, The Intention Infusion
• focus on elevating my private client experiences, notably my Spa Week and launching The Circuit

Rule #5: “I have to choose between evergreening my programs or live launches.”

As you can likely tell, I got a bone to pick in this arena too. Both launch models require energy and effort… And instead of switching everything on or off, I’m open to blending them so that I’m not burned out after every live launch OR gatekeeping valuable content for the sake of capitalizing on an open launch window. Lower blood pressure? Yes, please.

INSTEAD, I’m going to:

• evergreen my proven, existing digital products (scroll to the end for more on this!)
• offer self-study options for my group program during live launches (I tried this last time, and it worked!) AND:
• have an option for more 1:1 support and guidance for my group program
• live-launch *only* when I truly have capacity
• optimize my quiz funnel to sell my evergreen products

Phew! I’ve clearly been sitting on a lot here — guess that’s what happens when you step away from your biz for a while.

This *fresh* website is the sign of new changes around here, and I’m so excited about t.

Thanks for being on the journey of learning, unlearning and rebuilding with me.

If any part of this resonated with you, comment below and share — or send it along to a biz pal that you know might be thinking along the same lines.

I think there’s a lot of opportunities for problem-solving and optimizing experiences for the people we serve, and I’d love to know what you’re working on, too!

Here’s to breaking more rules… Together.

P.S. Curious which products of mine I’m evergreening — that can be yours, today?

→ Check out my Sales Page Personality Kit if you’re planning on launching anytime soon (or have a sales page in need of a refresh!) + my Testimonial Makeover Kit if you want to gather 5-star testimonials from your clients or program members.

Hundreds of folks have used these resources to help their copy finally feel true to who they are and ensure they extract the best possible feedback from their community. I hope they help you too! 💖