The other night I had a crazy idea.
I’ve written a LOT (a LOT!) of Black Friday / Cyber Monday emails for my clients—but in ten years, I’ve never, ever written one for myself.
But this year, I’m going to. On Small Business Saturday, I’m sending out an offer for $500 off The Craft, and it will apply whether you pay in full or in installments.
That’s not the crazy idea—the crazy idea is, every day from now until then, I’m going to be releasing an exclusive bootleg from the vault: A bona fide, money-making, Sam original that was written for one of my copywriting clients for Black Friday.
These are my favorite emails. The best-performing emails. My most original, creative emails. The ones I’m the most proud of. The ones I really broke a sweat on trying to stand out in the sea of emails that is Black Friday.
Part 1 of the Sam Hall of Fame is an email I wrote in 2020 for Danielle Leslie, one of the OGs in the online course space. Danielle teaches others how to create and launch their first online course (and she was doing it before Porterfield, just sayin’).
That year, Danielle was very into Lovecraft Country on HBO, and many of the themes of the show aligned with her messaging. We love it when that happens.
Tiny craft note: see if you can pick up the differences in voice here. This is from Danielle… not from Sam. I changed the name tags so it seems like it's addressed to you.
Hi Reader,
Did you watch Lovecraft Country earlier this year?
In episode 7, a character named Hippolyta discovers another world—"A world where I can name myself anything."
I'm not going to try to explain this to you right now, because 🤯 —but if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend.
But it's a journey of a woman, a Black woman, who is offered a chance to fully BE whatever she says she is. Hippolyta, dancing onstage with Josephine Baker. Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Hippolyta, wife and mother.
Experiencing this freedom, she can finally see what the world has robbed her of. How small she's made herself as a result.
Seeing how big she can be, she knows she can't ever go back to a version of herself that's shrunk.
This episode had me SHOOK.
You know that quote... "We are our ancestors' wildest dreams."
It's so true.
We are capable of being bigger and freer than any generation to come before us.
So, Reader—if you could name yourself anything, what would it be?
Tonight, I'm inviting you to explore the idea that YOU ARE whatever you say you are.
And everything that you are—your knowledge, your experiences, your sensitivity, the things you've accomplished & overcome in life, where you're from, who you love—
It's a one-of-a-kind concoction that can never be replicated, and it brings value into every space you enter (even... outer space ;) 👩🏽🚀).
I call this your Culture Add.
And in my Course From Scratch program, I teach you how to harness your Culture Add and turn it into an online course (or coaching or consulting offer) that can reach & teach people all over the world—people who need to learn from YOUR unique perspective.
Here's how it works—
STEP 1: SELECT YOUR COURSE TOPIC
You'll evaluate your areas of expertise and knowledge, along with all the challenges you've overcome, and choose a course topic around the things you're most passionate about.
STEP 2: UNCOVER YOUR CULTURE ADD
You add value to every single room you walk into. Your Culture Add is about learning to own that, stand in your truth, and articulate it (to yourself and others).
STEP 3: TEST YOUR AUDIENCE
I show you step-by-step how to build your ideal customer profile, then reach out to real-life potential customers and find out what would help them the most.
STEP 4: CREATE YOUR FRAMEWORK
We'll package what you teach into a Fancy Framework that sets you apart from others and commands a premium price.
STEP 5: GET #BUTTSINSEATS
Learn to have connection conversations that convert to course sales.
(BONUS—STEP 6: BE YOUR BIGGEST SELF BY HELPING OTHERS BE BIG, TOO)
🙏🏽 💜🏆☺️
And if you have no idea what you'd teach, don't feel like an expert in anything, or have zero online presence or email list, then this is ESPECIALLY for you.
Join now. We're going to work through all of that together.
We decided to extend our enrollment period a little bit—50% off Course From Scratch enrollment is available until midnight TONIGHT.
Join today to take advantage of the special pricing AND get in our next Live Kickoff Call.
You can see all the details & bonuses here. >> (link)
I see you, Reader.
And I want you to be as big as you can be.
Much love,
Danielle
If you made it all the way down here, then guess what… I can teach you every bit of writing and messaging craft that went into the creation of this email.
But wait until Saturday, so you can save 500 bucks. Early access here.