The Laidback Business Bulletin
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Inbox Insider #33 - September 14, 2025Welcome to Issue #33 of "Inbox Insiders": Your Email List-Building Backstage PassIn this issue:
Welcome to Issue #33"Inbox Insider" is my Sunday newsletter sharing the behind-the-scenes of what I'm doing to grow my email list to 100,000. I share what works, what doesn't, and how I'm growing. Thanks for reading. Let's dive in: By The Numbers:My Email List
My Ad Account - Lead Magnets:
Instagram (@emailschool): Started Feb 1st
Email School (Email-Focused Membership):
Other Audiences:
Deep Dive: StuffedTHIS SOUNDS LIKE A FAKE JOBMy wife, Christy, is a luxury event planner, which means she goes on epic site visits a few times a year. I’m her husband, and I don’t want her to go alone, so I sacrifice my time to endure plunge pools, private villas, and test different yachts. Sounds like I’m making it up, but it’s an actual job. (Hey, someone’s gotta try five luxury spas to see who gives the best massage.) One year, her top client wanted to host a women’s retreat in Costa Rica. We got someone to watch the kids and flew to Liberia. The whole trip felt like a Bachelor finale. The best food, zip lining, hiking, volcanic mud baths, and private dining. We went during the off-season, so the main restaurant was closed due to lower hotel occupancy. When the hotel event coordinator informed my wife, she frowned. “Oh, that’s too bad,” Christy said. “We were really hoping to try the food.” The coordinator got a glimmer in her eye and said, “Let me see what we can do.” The next morning at breakfast, the head chef approached our table. After some Costa Rican niceties, he said, “It would be my honor to personally host you at dinner tonight.” I stifled a grin and thought about my wife’s persuasion skills. “Man, she’s good.” Later that night, we ascended a candelit stairway to a beachfront restaurant. The entire staff came out to greet us. It was the best meal, service, and attention to detail. Even remembering it now, it feels like it was a dream. THE FULLEST I’VE EVER BEENHave you ever had four full meals back to back? I have. The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel. I have the appetite of a sabre-tooth tiger and consume food as if I never know if I’ll eat another meal again. Needless to say, I left breakfast feeling full. Unfortunately, we had a series of restaurant tastings lined up. I wobbled to the van, and we were escorted to a beachfront restaurant on the other side of the bay. I wasn’t hungry, but didn’t want to be rude. So I drank the welcome drink and tried everything they brought out. Now, I’m very full. But we weren’t done. Next, we drove 20 minutes away to another beach club. Again, I wanted to be polite, so I drank the welcome drink and ate everything they brought me. My fullness began to feel like a Shel Silverstein poem.
I was in trouble. But we weren’t done. The event host saved the best for last. They rolled me back into the van, and we headed to one of the best restaurants in the area. Again, we were greeted by the head chef and restaurant owners. I hiccupped as they informed me they had arranged a tasting of their entire menu. Course by course, bite by bite, I forced it down. The whole ordeal felt like a July 4th hot dog-eating contest. Honestly, I’m kinda proud. I was airlifted back to the hotel and vowed never to eat another bite. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH BUSINESSSometimes, this is the exact same strategy we put into our programs. We force-feed our clients course after course, regardless of their appetite. I used to work at a coaching company where we helped public speakers grow their business. We had quick success with a sales event, so we poured the profits into a course. We paid tens of thousands of dollars to a script writer, video team, location rental, costume changes, and fancy equipment. At the time, there were just 4 of us working out of our boss’s basement. So he rented a co-working space and even hired extras to mill around in the background. When it was all said and done, we had a course that took 40 hours to complete. I was the tech guy, and I put the whole course together while he got about the business of selling. After about 6 months and hundreds of customers, I looked at the back-end stats. There was one completion. One brave soul had actually made it to the end. That person? Me. When I put the course together, it triggered each lesson, which now looked completed. Yikes. FINGER FOOD CONTENT2 weeks ago, I was interviewing a guy I was thinking of hiring. I wanted the outcome he provided, and his pricing looked acceptable. “How does it work?” I asked. “Well, you get A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I…” The list was long. I didn’t want any of the "things" in his program. I just wanted the outcome. So, I told him no thanks and moved on. MY OBSERVATIONThe less I put into my programs, the easier they are to sell. Whether a low-ticket workshop, mid-priced membership, or high-ticket coaching… If I can streamline the delivery, people say yes way faster. Finger foods. Not a bottomless buffet. Your action item: What is the smallest, most credible, most meaningful outcome you can create for your people? Sell that. Thanks for reading. ~ Cody What's Next:
Thanks for reading this issue of "Inbox Insiders." See you next week, ~ Cody |
The Laidback Business Bulletin
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