Can I Just Make Pretty Things and Be Normal?
It was 4 a.m. when I woke up thinking about email lists. Four. In. The. Morning. I was tired, half-offended, and very aware that email lists do not deserve that kind of access to my sleep schedule.
But there I was, wide awake, thinking about something every creative business owner hears from the beginning: build your list, grow your list, send the email, get people to your shop, do not rely on social media, and keep showing up. And the advice is not wrong. It is just a lot, especially when you are also the person with an inbox full of emails you have not opened because you already know what they want: buy, click, hurry. Sometimes I do not even open them because I am tired before I start reading.
That made me pause, because I do not want to become the very kind of email I skip. I do not want to keep showing up sounding like I am begging or coercing you to buy something. No ma’am. That is awkward for all of us.
The truth is, I am still learning the balance. I know businesses require marketing, and here I am, a creative who balks at doing it. So where is the balance? I think it lives at the intersection of community and honest conversation.
You already know I like making things. That part is not the problem. But if I am building something meant for real people, then I need real input. I want people to open because it feels worth it. I want people to browse because it feels inviting. I want people to come back because it feels like something they want to be part of. Not pressure. Not guilt. Not noise.
And I want the conversation to go both ways. That is not begging. That's building. At least, that is what I am learning.
A list is not the same thing as a community. A list can sit there quietly. A community talks back. A community gives feedback. A community tells a friend. A community helps shape what lasts. And that is what I want to build. Not just a bigger list. Something that lasts.
So let me ask you this over coffee: what makes you open, reply, browse, buy, or come back to a small creative business?
Until next Sunday...
From my coffee cup to yours… enjoy the rest of your coffee, carry a little grace into the week, and I'll meet you back here next Sunday.
– Renee 🤍
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