Sticky Notes - How I've sold $35,000 worth of poetry.

IF YOU CAN SELL POETRY, YOU CAN SELL ANYTHING.

I've written three books of poetry & prose:

1. One Minute, Please? 
2. After her
3. Guillotine

I could tell you they contain some of the best writing I've ever done and that I poured my heart out in-between each one of their covers but... well... let's cut the shit. 

You don't give a flying fuck about my poetry. You just care about how I've managed to sell my poetry.

While for most of my career I've been denying this truth harder than a conservative Baptist Preacher denies the possibility of his college-aged kids not saving themselves for marriage, sooner or later both myself and Father John must recognize that denial isn't just a river in Egypt. 

So, this is me giving you what you want. 

Moving $35,000 worth of poetry & prose as an independent writer is harder than moving $3.5 million worth of software at a start-up.

Mark my words, if you can figure out a way to break even (and maybe even earn some beer money along the way) as an independent artist, you can out-market 90% of all those greasy marketing "thought-leaders" who'd push their wives into a woodchipper if it meant they could achieve some level of LinkedIn fame. 

The sharpest CMO I know doesn't even post on Linkedin. He's too busy marketing his goddamn company. It's a fella named Dave Peterson over at Celonis. Look him up. They're valued at about $11 Billion (and that's Billion with a "B"). 

Several months ago Dave and I were having dinner at a steakhouse in New York called Keens. I asked him what his secret was. He pointed at Max Pepe across the table –– Max serves as the VP of Marketing & Content at Celonis –– and he said "I hire pirates".

While Max kind of resembles a pirate, Dave was hinting at the fact that Max wasn't born a marketer nor did he go to school to become a marketer nor did he constantly post about being a marketer on Linkedin; that Max is a musician and an artist that later fell in love with marketing and, because of this, he had something the vast majority of marketers don't have: Original Fucking Thinking

All that to say, if I were building out a marketing A-team, I would ask every candidate that walked through the door the following question: "What's the most creative thing you've ever done to pay the bills?"

Then, I'd shut up and listen. 

If I were ever asked this question, I'd explain how I've managed to move a few thousand copies of my poetry books. 

I'd tell the hiring manager that I marketed
One Minute, Please? by writing it in public, sharing every single piece on Instagram and then turned around and dedicated it to the hundred or so people who rooted me on by tattooing their names to the inside of the cover. 

I'd tell them that I marketed
After Her by remembering Don Draper's "It's Toasted" advertisement for Lucky Strikes; that I took matches to the cover of After Her to "toast" my own literature, and then downed four or five shots of bourbon and filmed a 3-minute-long spoken word poem

I'd tell them that I marketed
Guillotine with a tub of red paint, a flailing paintbrush and a miniature film documenting this entire process of "bleeding" on my covers from start to finish. 

All that to say, advertising is dancing with the devil and if you're going to sell off part of your soul to dance with the sonofabitch, don't waste the sale on pay-per-click ads, Linkedin Broety, performance marketing and inside-the-box thinking. 

If you're going to dance with the devil, be creative and have some goddamn fun while the two of you tango.

But, I digress. 

Cheers,


Cole.


P.S. So far, you've gotten 0 folks to subscribe to Sticky Notes –– keep firing off your referral link (https://join.honeycopy.com/d9dc9c3a) and you'll have some goodies coming your way in no time.

If I were to pick a favorite...
Copyright © 2022 Honey Copy, All rights reserved.
A while back you opted into a weekly email called "Sticky Notes". Remember? If not, you can always unsubscribe below... and risk breaking this writer's heart.

Our mailing address is:
Honey Copy
3116 N. Central Park
Unit #1
Chicago, IL 60618

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

Key phrases

Older messages

The time Don Draper bummed a cigarette off my buddy. 

Friday, May 27, 2022

I was in New York City with my girl for the release of her most recent album. AND THIS AIN'T NO SHIT. THE TL;DR... How to become the Don Draper of cold email is an afternoon-sized guide that will

I got you something. 

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Is it a... pony? SPREAD THE WORD. Growing a newsletter is tough work. It's like trying to resurrect the Dodo. That being said, I need all the help I can get... I run a referral program at Sticky

You're looking at Sticky Notes first ever referral program.

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

You bring me subscribers & I send you cool stuff. SPREAD THE WORD. SPREAD THE WORD. SPREAD THE WORD. TL;DR... So, I've rolled out a referral program. 💌 It's fairly straightforward: 1. You

Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Monday, May 23, 2022

Or, risk suffocating beneath your own ambition. Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. If you make your living as a writer, a designer, a marketer or an entrepreneur, there is this invisible pressure

Rub some dirt on it.

Monday, May 16, 2022

My argument against a culture obsessed with hyper-sensitivity. THIS EMAIL LOOKS DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT IS DIFFERENT. THE TL;DR... You're about to read a complimentary issue of Chasing Hemingway.

You Might Also Like

👀 3 small biz ideas you’ve never thought about

Thursday, March 28, 2024

These unconventional Main Street biz's will raise your eyebrows... 3 small biz ideas you've probably never thought about Hey Contrarians, 🚨 Brace for impact 🚨 Our BigDeal podcast is coming to

3-2-1: On muddy puddles and leaky ceilings, the secret to productivity, and how to spoil a great relationship

Thursday, March 28, 2024

3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

24 Hours Left: Grab Your Discounted CEX Ticket Now!

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Last call to save on your ticket - spring pricing goes away at the end of March ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Every cold outreach intro:

Thursday, March 28, 2024

I'm so impressed by what you are doing ‌ ‌ ‌ We have 4 updates for you this week: 1. On Peep's Mind Every cold outreach starts with a variation of "I'm so impressed by what you're

Here's What You Missed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Last week, David hosted a live Q&A about all things writing and Write of Passage. Here are ten of the best questions we covered. Write of Passage logo transparent-1 The Write of Passage Bootcamp is

Do you know where your burnout is hiding?

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When “outer work” meets “inner work” ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Beard Dough

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When Russians paid the government for the right to have facial hair ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

🧙‍♂️ 6 new sponsorships opps we hunted down

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Plus secret research on Lululemon, NerdWallet, and WHOOP ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

It's Q2: Time to build

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When people ask what Copywriting Course is, I have to explain it's actually a series of courses. It's like a tote bag that comes with a bunch of items: ​ You don't become a world-class

• Email marketing for authors + posts to 100K FB Group readers + Tweets

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Reserve your date... Email Marketing for Authors by ContentMo enable images to see this "Books of the Day" Promotions for Authors and Publishers with Social Media Extras! Dates Fill Up Fast,