Hey Reader!

I wholeheartedly subscribe to the ‘good enough’ theory of nearly everything.

(Parenting is a glaring exception - how can I be satisfied with being a good enough parent when my children obviously deserve so much more? But I digress.)

Good enough housecleaning or jobbing or budgeting or whatever is just that; good enough. It’s an antidote to the perfectionism that burns so bright in the breast of most entrepreneurs.

Do it, get it done, stop stressing about the itty-bitty details.

If you think I’m about to tell you that you can write good enough emails, you are correct! If you’re starting to suspect that you are reading just such a missive, right again!

Some weeks you just might not have the time, energy, or wherewithal to author a top-notch, Pulitzer-worthy email.

This is just such a week in my life. But rather than despair, I’m writing you an email that is good enough.

(Actually, I did despair. Shoutout to my terrific friend Anne who talked me off the ledge and reminded me that good enough is, indeed, good enough.)

So what makes a good enough email? A cheery greeting, a quick note, a call to action and maybe, if you’ve got it in you, a fun PS. That’s it. It can be short. It can be basic.

It can be whatever you have the energy for as long as it’s sincere and is still worth reading to the end.

There's a really effective strategy you can use to avoid these dark mornings of misery. It’s called batching.

As the name suggests, it’s an approach that entails writing a bunch of evergreen emails ahead of time so you’re not balls to the wall when it’s time to hit send.

(In this case, ‘evergreen’ refers to content that’s always relevant.)

My friend Nedra is really good at this. She writes thoughtful, interesting emails and I happen to know that she writes many of them well ahead of time.

If you’re a planner, I highly recommend this approach. You’ll build a cache of emails that can be tweaked or added to depending on what’s current in your world.

Alas, this is not a thing I’ve ever been able to do. I have good intentions, but I guess we all know exactly how valuable those are. I will always have the deadline in my sights when I begin; it’s like this with everything I do. 🤷‍♀️

Now that I’ve confessed, here’s what I want to tell you this week:

If you live in Portland, or I guess the Greater Portland Metro Area, you might want to join me for an in person workshop on September 16.

I’ll be talking about some of my best strategies for getting people to join your list, open your email, and fall in love with your words. There will be a little hands-on work and time for questions.

It’ll be fun! I hope you can make it. Here are the deets:

Open, Read, Repeat: Crafting Irresistible Email

Tuesday, September 16, 11:30-12:30 at Kiln​

1120 SE Madison St., PDX 97214

It's free, and there is no registration, but if you're planning to come please let me know! It will lift my spirits.

For those of you further afield, I aim to do an online version soon. Let me know if that’s something you’d be into.

Look - I’ve managed to give you an email that I hope is helpful, at least somewhat entertaining, and which conveys the information I’ve got to impart this week!

Yours in relief and reliability,

Julia

PS - Need help being consistent, finding your voice, or creating a strategy around you newsletter? I can help. For a quick and easy way to see if I'm right for you sign up for the Email Power Hour, a fun-packed deep dive into your very own email empire.

​The Beatles knew that sometimes you're just really tired, and so does this email. Forward it to someone who could use a rest.

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