Most marketing is manipulative rubbish.
You know it. I know it. Your audience definitely knows it.
But here’s the thing…it doesn’t have to be.
I call my approach open heart marketing. It’s exactly what it sounds like: promotion that’s transparent, respectful, and actually aligns with who you are.
Different to the usual bollocks, right?
When creative mates ask how I’ve built a six-figure a year publishing business, I’m often gobsmacked by how much there is to unpack. It’s massive.
But today? We’re focusing on email marketing. Specifically, how to do it without selling your soul.
The Problem Nobody Talks About
Businesses are absolute rubbish at maintaining meaningful contact with their audience.
Years ago, I asked several colleagues if they ran email newsletters. Their answers revealed everything about their real motivations.
As a foraging teacher, I’ve always needed a mailing list. It’s how I tell people about new foraging information, books, or online courses.
The responses from my colleagues? Eye-opening.
They showed just how differently people orient their work around their guiding principles.
What’s Your North Star?
Mine is simple: I want every single household in the country to use wild plants as food and medicine.
Full stop.
Every action I take serves this vision.
Social posts? Podcast episodes? Adverts? Email newsletters?
They’re all trying to spark curiosity about plants. Not just “oh, that’s interesting” before scrolling on. Real engagement. Getting your hands dirty.
So how do you stay front of mind when most people spend about three seconds on each social media post?
The answer isn’t chasing ever-changing platforms and their hyper-addictive algorithms.
It’s email.
Why Email Changes Everything
Email is a protocol, not a platform.
No corporation owns it.
Let that sink in.
Yes, you need providers like Kit, MailerLite, or Buttondown to host your list. I personally use Kit. But the list itself? 100% yours.
Back in the early internet days, I hosted mailing lists directly on my website. Those days are gone. The whole point now is getting emails into people’s inboxes, and for that you need specialist providers.
But the principle remains: ownership is absolutely crucial.
Social accounts get locked? Algorithms shift overnight?
With email, you can still reach your audience.
Problems with your mailing provider? Download your database. Take it elsewhere.
That’s why backing up your list is vital. Weekly is ideal. Monthly at minimum.
Your mailing list is one of your most valuable business assets.
Don’t let anyone tell you different.
Alignment Is Everything
Going back to my North Star: bringing wild plants into every home.
Every piece of content I create has to align with that vision.
I share loads of plant knowledge across different channels. Social. Substack. YouTube. Podcasts.
Although I’m not particularly active on YouTube. Video often feels two-dimensional to me. It encourages passive consumption rather than getting your hands dirty.
Podcasting though? More intimate. More effective. It sparks enough curiosity that listeners actually take practical steps.
I also use organic social media extensively. Every post builds presence and profile.
But here’s where email becomes crucial.
The Welcome Sequence That Builds Trust
When someone joins my newsletter, they enter a structured welcome sequence.
It introduces them to my work. Gently builds our relationship over time.
And despite what cautious marketers tell you? I’m not shy about emailing frequently.
People join because they genuinely want to learn more.
This idea that you should only email monthly or quarterly? Absolute nonsense.
Find a rhythm that feels natural and sustainable. I send an email every four days.
Pop over to my nature connection newsletter subscription page.
You’ll see a transparency statement making it crystal clear: subscribers get 80% valuable content alongside occasional promotions of my books.
Being transparent has never been a problem.
In fact? It’s fundamental to open heart marketing.
Respect Is Non-Negotiable
Few things are more infuriating than subscribing to a newsletter and immediately getting bombarded with aggressive sales pitches and hollow content.
That behaviour shows zero respect for the human being behind the email address.
The inbox is personal. Even sacred.
These days, people are understandably cautious about sharing contact details unless they trust the sender and understand what they’re signing up for.
Unfortunately, many businesses treat email acquisition purely as a transaction.
E-commerce companies are especially guilty. Offering discounts for email addresses. Then flooding inboxes with relentless promotions.
Are you feeling into what I’m saying?
If we want to build a new way of promoting creative work, one that fosters long-term trust rather than resentment, we need a different model.
Open heart marketing offers that healthy alternative.
Twenty-Five Years of Learning
I’ve been doing email marketing full-time since the end of the last century.
Over twenty-five years now.
Early in my career, I was steeped in traditional direct response marketing. Relentless focus on sales.
By 2005, I recognised this approach was completely out of alignment with my personal values.
I changed direction.
This misalignment between values and actions? It’s everywhere.
You can spot it even in radical communities banging on about being anti-capitalist. Their newsletters and marketing behaviour often mimic the very corporate practices they claim to oppose.
Hypocritical, isn’t it?
True congruence between our values and our marketing actions isn’t just nice to have.
It’s essential.
The Bottom Line
Open heart marketing isn’t only a set of techniques.
It’s a commitment to honesty, transparency, and respect.
It’s refusing to compromise your values for quick cash.
In a world saturated with noise and manipulation, this approach offers a genuine path to connection and sustainable success.
And isn’t that what we’re all after?
So here’s my question for you: What’s your North Star?
Because once you know that—really know it—everything else becomes clearer.
Including how you talk to your audience.
Now’s the time to figure it out. Not tomorrow. Not next week.
Now.
Affiliate note: Some of the links in this post earn me an affiliate commission if you purchase. I only ever use affiliate links for products or services I actually use myself.